Local News

Protestors gather in Stoughton to demand justice for Sandra Birchmore

The pregnant young woman was found dead from an alleged suicide in 2021. A prominent doctor ruled her death a homicide earlier this year.

July 22, 2024

1 minute to read

Demonstrators gathered outside Stoughton Town Hall Saturday to demand justice for Sandra Birchmore, a young pregnant woman who was allegedly groomed and sexually assaulted by three former police officers before her death in 2021.

Birchmore’s case received renewed attention when a prominent forensic pathologist hired by her family determined her death to be a homicide, The Boston Globe reported. Previously, state investigators said she died by suicide after the 23-year-old was found dead in her Canton apartment on Feb. 4, 2021.

Dr. Michael Baden, the former chief medical examiner of New York City with decades of experience in autopsies, also questioned whether samples taken from her body and clothing were actually tested by the state.

Melissa Berry, an organizer of Saturday’s protest, told NBC 10 Boston that they want answers and for the state to reinvestigate her death.

“She was so excited to have a child,” one protester told the station. “For her to get blamed for her own death when it doesn’t seem to be that way is unimaginable.

#justiceforsandrabirchmore #sandrabirchmore pic.twitter.com/ZjHThHTVjo
— Justice for Sandra Birchmore (@SandraBirchmore) July 22, 2024

Birchmore’s family filed a wrongful death suit in 2022 against the three former officers, including Matthew Farwell, the father of her unborn child, according to the Globe. He and Birchmore began having sex when she was 15 and he was 27, according to the suit.

Farwell’s twin brother William and Robert Devine were also named in the suit for allegedly sexually assaulting her after they met her through a youth explorers program run by the department when she was 13.

Matthew Farwell was also the last person to see her alive, four days before her body was found, according to the lawsuit.

In 2022, all of the officers resigned after an investigation by the department found that each officer had “inappropriate relationships” with Birchmore. Last month, Stoughton Chief Donna McNamara said Baden’s findings were disturbing and troubling.

“The findings certainly warrant further examination at the highest level. As always, we will continue to assist with any effort to ensure that truth and justice prevail,” McNamara said. “Every good and decent police officer should be aware of and angry about the injustices inflicted upon Sandra Birchmore.”