← Going West: True Crime
Going West: True Crime
Sandra Birchmore // 474
00:45:13
In February of 2021, a 23-year-old aspiring police officer in Massachusetts was found dead in her apartment under suspicious circumstances. After police investigated the scene, they concluded that she had taken her own life. But as her family pushed for answers, they uncovered a shocking case of abuse of power and assault by multiple men she knew and trusted. This is the story of Sandra Birchmore.
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- [00:00]
A
Foreign. What is going on, true crime fans? I'm your host, Heath.
- [00:17]
B
And I'm your host, Daphne.
- [00:19]
A
And you're listening to Going West.
- [00:21]
B
Hello, everybody. Hope you're doing well today. Big shout out and thank you to Danielle, Becky, Megan, and Caitlyn, who all recommended this case for very good reason.
- [00:34]
A
Yeah, this is one of those cases that is going to piss every single one of you guys off. It is a ton of corruption, a ton of scandal, and it spans for years. I mean, it is truly heartbreaking and severely angering.
- [00:49]
B
Very well said. So true. So without further ado, let's just dive right into this one because we have so much to get into. And like you just said, Heath, it is infuriating.
- [00:59]
A
All right, guys, this is episode 474 of Going West. So let's get into it.
- [01:33]
B
Sandra Birchmore's death happened three years ago.
- [01:36]
A
Again, it was ruled a suicide at the time. Now, a former police officer arrested disturbing allegations against him.
- [01:44]
B
How'd we get here?
- [01:46]
A
Her own family, they took it upon themselves to hire a private pathologist who took another look at her death and.
- [01:52]
B
Decided that no, there were signs that.
- [01:54]
A
This was homicide and not a suicide as it was originally ruled. We know that there was an investigation to sexual misconduct, that they had believed that this officer plus some other officers in that same Stoughton police department had been involved sexually with this young woman. And during the time that she was a minor.
- [02:20]
B
In February of 2021, a 23 year old aspiring police officer in Massachusetts was found dead in her apartment under suspicious circumstances. After police investigated the scene, they concluded that she had taken her own life. But as police and her family pushed for answers, they uncovered a shocking case of assault and abuse of power by multiple men she knew and trusted. This is the story of Sandra Birchmore. Sandra Birchmore was born on May 13, 1997, to her mom, Denise Burchmore, in Stoughton, Massachusetts, a peaceful suburb just 20 miles or 32 kilometers south of bustling Boston. In and there, Sandra was raised by her single mother alone, as her father was never in the picture. And actually her surname was that of Denise's beloved late husband who died years before Sandra was born, which was one of many hardships her mother had to deal with, along with the fact that Denise was battling chronic illness. So they frequently had trouble making ends meet as Denise dealt with her health issues while also trying to be a supportive mom. But because of this, they moved around quite often, regularly doing stints at the house of Denise's aunt and uncle, Claire and Gerald Gaudette. And thankfully in them, Sandra found the stability she needed. And they were a very positive influence in her young life, actually, so much so that as a child, Sandra regarded them as her grandma and grandpa instead of her great uncle and great aunt. Like they were just very, very close. But in particular, Sandra really looked up to Gerald as an army veteran, and he really helped create this love of authority in her from a young age. So because of his influence, she became determined to become a police officer one day. Naturally, Sandra was devastated when Gerald passed away in 2012 at the age of 88, just one day after Sandra's 15th birthday. Despite the best efforts of her extended family showing her love and support, things were really tough outside of home for Sandra because sadly at school she was bullied and reportedly had difficulty making friends. A former elementary school teacher of hers later explained, quote, she wasn't a bad kid, just a kid starved for attention, acting out to be noticed. The signs of neglect were unmistakable. Now, her mother, Denise, continued to, you know, make attempts to kind of get them back on track. She even enrolled them in a 14 week state sponsored program to help foster healthy boundaries and coping mechanisms between parents and their young children. But this unfortunately did little to help Sandra's confidence as a seventh grader. Another teacher of hers recalled her attempts to garner attention from her fellow students, including inventing different stories. And her teacher described her as, quote, socially dysfunctional and said that she actually got along better with adults than her peers. It's always so hard to, to talk about this kind of thing and read about it because so many kids struggle to feel like they fit in. And I feel like so rarely Heath and I have talked about this before. You know, do adults around them tell kids that being popular or well known shouldn't be the goal and that just finding people that get you or who are nice is really all that matters and just being a nice person, not doing things because it's cool or because you think it's what you should be doing.
- [06:28]
A
Yeah, I mean, if I could go back to high school, Heath, and tell him that none of this matters and in, you know, 20 years, you're probably not going to talk to most of these people that you're going to school with anyway, like, I would, you know, I'd go back and reassure myself that, hey, you're, you're just going through some changes in your teenage life, it's okay. And eventually none of this is gonna matter.
- [06:51]
B
Yeah, just like be your authentic self and let people appreciate that. Because so many people had amazing things to say about Sandra and who she was at her core. But she, like so many other kids and teens, just felt like she had to mask her true self or copy what the next person was doing to make herself desirable. And that's just not true.
- [07:12]
A
You know, it's definitely sad to see how a lot of teens feel the need to fit in. But yeah, I totally agree with you. Just be your authentic self and you'll probably have a better time. Well, let's talk a little bit more about Sandra now. Possibly due to all of this trauma of occasional home life instability and feelings of neglect, Sandra reportedly maintained slightly childlike sensibilities. And colleagues later reported that she came off as more of a teenager than an adult even when she was in her 20s. And they didn't say this in a negative way. It was just kind of more so that they just found her to be so kind and gentle. But this is really important to note either way because it plays a huge part in what's to come. And even though she could be meek and childlike, Sandra kind of seemed to have this amazing ability to strike up a conversation with anyone about any anything. She just loved meeting people. She was also described as quirky and sweet. And her cousin Colin added, she was hilarious. And she was smart as a whip too. So following the interest that she expressed to her grandpa Gerald about joining law enforcement, Sandra's mom Denise allowed her to join her town's Police Explorers program for young law enforcement hopefuls. Now, Denise was initially a little bit hesitant just knowing how vulnerable and impressionable Sandra was. Like Daphne said, young Sandra felt like she needed certain people's approval. And knowing how much she idolized police officers, this kind of worried her mom.
- [08:42]
B
Which is honestly eerily foreshadowing and intuitive.
- [08:45]
A
It truly is. But after years of begging and begging, as well as getting wait listed, Denise finally allowed 12 year old Sandra to join the program. And it was there that young Sandra met Matthew Farwell, an officer 12 years her senior. So he was about 26 years old when she finally joined the program and they met each other. Like Sandra, Matthew idolized police officers and had dreamed of joining the force from a young age. And he actually dropped out of high school to enroll in the military before becoming an officer in Wellesley. And then he eventually settled in nearby Stoughton. Cause both of these towns are actually in the same county now. He worked with the Police Explorer starting when Sandra was 14 in 2011. So the year before her grandfather passed away and Matthew took a, let's just call it a special interest in her even helping her with homework and meeting up with her outside the program, which.
- [09:43]
B
Is inappropriate on so many levels.
- [09:45]
A
Well, it's about to get a lot more inappropriate because what started as an apparent innocent mentorship quickly developed into something way more sinister. By April of 2013, 27 year old Matthew and Sandra, who was just shy of 16 years old, began engaging in a sexual relationship. Now, it's worth noting that though Sandra may have described the sexual and romantic aspects of their relationship as consensual, the age of consent in the state of Massachusetts is 16.
- [10:17]
B
Well, yeah, just like we talked about in the Nicole Lovell case from two weeks ago, when you're a teenage girl, a lot of the if you're not told otherwise, you know, you might think an older adult man taking interest in you is normal, but it isn't. It isn't normal and it isn't right. It's creepy and it's predatory and manipulative and it shouldn't happen.
- [10:36]
A
Yeah, it's the definition of grooming.
- [10:38]
B
Yes. But with Sandra, you know, having this need to impress him and the other officers and some other people, he probably did a great job at making her feel like this was acceptable, even though he was a whole 11 years older than her in the period of her life where such, you know, age gaps are most important to acknowledge. You know, say it with me. Matthew is a predator.
- [11:00]
A
Matthew is a predator.
- [11:02]
B
And things between them would just continue. And shit is about to get even more horrific and disgusting because in text messages sent in 2019, when Sandra was 22 years old. Sorry, we are going to kind of jump back and forth a little bit. Sandra and Matthew reflected on the old days of their relationship. When Matthew asked her, what was the first day you said, omg, I want this guy to be my first. He quickly added, I absolutely would have fucked you in 2012. Which, let me remind you, was the year that they met when again, Sandra was 14 years old and he was 26.
- [11:45]
A
Just a nasty, disgust, disgusting, perverted pedophile.
- [11:49]
B
Yeah. And to this 22 year old, Sandra responded, I had butterflies so bad the day you took my virginity again when she was 15. She sang this at 22 though. And she then told him that it was the best day of her life. You know, also so ridiculous of him to say he absolutely would have taken her virginity when they met in 2012. As if that's so different from from when he took it a year later in 2013.
- [12:16]
A
Yeah. What?
- [12:17]
B
But this also just shows, you know, how he always looked at her, even as a Child through a sexual and, like, wolfish lens. Well, Sandra admitted that she had a crush on him as soon as they started to meet in the library for tutoring outside of the Explorers program, but that she was fearful that he wouldn't return the sentiment because of her young age. Matthew wrote back smugly, quote, did you think I wouldn't want to fuck you? And just FYI, he would even leave work on the clock to have sex with teenage Sandra. Meanwhile, despite his grooming of an underage girl, his personal life just continued to flourish. On May 11, 2013, he married his wife, Michelle. Yep. Of course, despite having, you know, been having sex with Sandra and just having had it for the first time a month prior and then continuing to do so as he is entering into this new marriage. But Michelle, none the wiser, enjoyed a beautiful wedding with her new husband, Matthew, at a historic hotel in New Hampshire. And they went on to have two children in the next few years, even. Wow. Again, his relationship with Sandra continued to intensify. According to the FBI affidavit released years after Sandra's death, Matthew had sometimes used sexual acts to punish Sandra for getting bad grades, for sleeping with other men, and even for failing to share her location with him early on. He was also forcing her to incorporate BDSM into their sexual relationship. So, you know, poor Sandra being horrifically manipulated by this man who, especially considering his position as an officer, should know what the law is and what is right from wrong. And then in the mix of all of this, in 2016, when she was 19 years old, life took more tragic turns when her mom Denise, and her grandmother Claire passed away just a month apart on May 18, 2016. So five days after Sandra's 19th birthday, her mother, Denise, died of a stroke at just 52 years old. And just over a month later, on June 24, 2016, her grandmother Claire passed away. Sandra's cousin Barbara Wright recalled, quote, it was horrible. Sandra was shattered.
- [14:49]
A
I mean, this poor girl. It seems like, you know, right after her birthday, these horrible tragedies are happening. Like, her grandfather died one day after one of her birthdays, and then her mother dies five days after another birthday. It's just like, oh, my God, like, what? What is happening here? Well, despite the unacceptable abuse being inflicted upon her, Sandra maintained her goal of working in law enforcement and enrolled in Massasoit Community College in the nearby city of Brockton to pursue their criminal justice program. Sandra stayed in the police Explorers program until she was about 18, and then she was ready to move forth into the career that it could Possibly bring her. After the passing of her mother and grandmother, Clare, two of her aunts, Darlene and Alice, moved into the house to be with Sandra. But with Sandra in the throes of grief, their relationship was often tense and laden with conflict and dissonance about how Sandra wanted to live her Life. Then, in 2020, her aunts moved to sell the property, which further devastated Sandra. Like one confrontation about the sale of the house grew so heated that one of her aunts called the police and officers brought Sandra into the hospital because they were worried that she was going to harm herself. And then when they decided that she didn't appear to be at any risk any longer, she was finally released. On that day, having gone a few hours without hearing from her, Matthew attempted to initiate a sexual conversation in which Sandra responded by explaining what had happened to her and why she had gone quiet that day, adding that she was sorry that she worried him. And then he added dryly, like an asshole, I wasn't worried. By contrast, Matthew's life seemed to be at an all time high. You know, he had a loving family, a prosperous career in law enforcement, and he and his wife had just purchased a house valued at over half a million dollars in Easton, Massachusetts. Now, following her family conflict, Sandra eventually moved out on her own when she was 23 years old, settling into an apartment in Canton, which is a southwest suburb of Boston, in 2020. But sadly, even with Sandra moving forward and creating this new life for herself, the abusive relationship that she was in would continue. And sadly, it would not stop at Matthew.
- [17:17]
B
That's right, because sickeningly, for years, Sandra had been taken advantage of by other officers in the force as well, including William Farwell, Matthew's own twin brother.
- [17:30]
A
So two disgusting men and one family tree.
- [17:34]
B
Yeah, seriously. Also, there was a US Army Reserve recruiter based in nearby Quincy, Massachusetts, who Matthew had connected with Sandra in hopes of giving her some career direction when she was a teenager. But instead, this man, who has yet to be named, engaged in sexual relations with her. And not only this, but he recorded their encounter and passed it around the police department, including sending it back to Matthew for him to watch.
- [18:04]
A
I mean, this is just so horrifying. These men who are supposed to be there to serve and protect the public, are taking advantage of and grooming this teenage girl. And not one, not two, not even three, but there are multiple men within this police department who are doing it all at the same time.
- [18:24]
B
It's insane because like you're saying, like they are supposed to be in this a different position than A lot of people, because they are law enforcement, like, almost they're held to a higher standard, I guess, if you will.
- [18:37]
A
I completely agree. Yeah.
- [18:38]
B
And so the fact that this is happening, this young girl who just wants to be a police officer, she's in this program to learn more from you, and you're completely exploiting her. And Sandra was also taken advantage of by a man named Robert Devine, who was the head of the Explorers program, who had known and mentored Sandra since she joined at 12 years old.
- [19:03]
A
Oh, my God, man. It's so disgusting.
- [19:06]
B
And as Sandra was being taken advantage of by multiple other men and she entered her early twenties, Matthew became more perverse because at his request, he began to force Sandra to indulge in his desire to roleplay rape fantasies. In one instance, he even asked her to pretend she was his sister and that he was sneaking into her room and raping her at night. And Sandra apparently shared some of these encounters with friends, but no one seemed to know the extent of how manipulative and abusive their relationship had really become and how bad this whole situation really was. But a school friend named Haley described Matthew as domineering and controlling, while his twin brother, William was apparently, quote, the sweet one, the best friend with benefits. It was a very sick, good cop, bad cop relationship she had with them. Haley also added, quote, sandra is a sex trafficking victim. They told her to do things and send pictures, videos of it. Matt knew she would be obedient to him. That was the dynamic. They mentally manipulated that girl until she had no voice. And one investigator who later pored over these text exchanges said that he wanted to wash his eyes out with holy water after reading them.
- [20:33]
A
Damn, that is pretty bad. But the same year that Sandra moved out, which again was 2020, she actually got pregnant, which came as an unexpected surprise, but one that she welcomed as a way to grow her own family after her three family members that she was closest with had all passed away. But here's the thing. Sandra had told multiple people that Matthew was the father. Sadly, not long after she got the news about her pregnancy, she did suffer a miscarriage, which completely devastated her. Cause she had really hoped to change something from her childhood and give her baby the father figure that she didn't have. And she wanted this picture perfect family like so many other people do. So after the miscarriage, her friend from college, again, Hayley, claimed that she became fixated on and even obsessed with getting pregnant again. And that she continuously borrowed money from Hayley to buy and take pregnancy tests. Now, in the fall of 2020, things seemed to be looking up again for Sandra. After moving out, she had secured a job as a teaching assistant at east elementary in Sharon, Massachusetts, which was just minutes away from her family in Stoughton, as well as being close to her apartment in Canton. And she was also able to secure a loan for a car with the help of her cousin. And I know that this might sound confusing that she's working at an elementary school, but while she was studying at Massasoit Community College, she started working towards a new dream, moving away from her desire to work in law enforcement and giving into her other interests to work in nursing and with kids instead. And although she maintained her relationship with Matthew, she seemed to be moving forward with her life until news from a shared acquaintance changed Sandra's perspective completely. In October of 2020, an animal control officer in Stoughton named Joshua Heal casually revealed to Sandra while they were engaged in sexual relations at his workplace, mind you, that Matthew's wife, Michelle, was pregnant with their third child and that she was due in February. So four months later. Now, Sandra was shocked and irate by this and confronted him with an ultimatum, telling him that she wanted a baby with him and that if he refused, she would expose their entire relationship history to his wife. And she is talking about Matthew, not Joshua. Now, according to Joshua Heal, Sandra hatched a plan to blow the whistle on Matthew's grooming scandal and the mass corruption that was taking place with the Stoughton Police Department. On October 5, 2020, she sent Joshua the text that she came up with, which read, I'm just messaging to inform you that your husband Matthew has been out cheating on you since before you guys were even married.
- [23:25]
B
But more than revenger blackmail, she wanted to have a baby with him and wanted Matthew to rise to the occasion and be the father that she wanted him to be. And this is tough. I think it's easy for any of us to think that she should find somebody else, like somebody better, anybody. But she had been manipulated and controlled in so many ways by Matthew for so long. Like, by this point, they had been in a mostly under the radar relationship for almost nine years. So she's probably thinking, why not me? And feels like she loves him and she wants it to work. You know, he was her first. They had history. Even though she knows that obviously he groomed her. She's just caught in this weird, twisted cycle.
- [24:12]
A
Yeah. And it's. And it's not her fault. It's Matthew's fault because he's not choosing one woman or the other. He wants his cake and he wants to eat it too, you know? Yeah, like he's not letting her go. So obviously she's having these feelings of love and like, why can't you just be with me? Like I'm pregnant now, we can have a family.
- [24:31]
B
Yeah, she's in this weird mind trap. So despite the malice and resentment between them at the time, Sandra started arranging sexual liaisons between the two of them that coincided with when she was the most fertile and ultimately when. Her plan worked because By December of 2020, 23 year old Sandra was pregnant. Determined to right the wrongs of her childhood. Sandra was thrilled at the news of becoming pregnant again and the fact that that this pregnancy seemed to be healthy. On December 28, 2020, Sandra decorated a poster with glitter paint, a rainbow border and baby feet that said congrats, we're going to be parents. And texted it expectantly to Matthew. This is how she is, telling him that she's pregnant with his child. But as you can imagine, she was met with less excitement than she hoped.
- [26:06]
A
Yes, a lot less excitement.
- [26:07]
B
Yeah, not just hesitation, but pure disdain. Matthew responded, I have literally nothing to say right now. How far are you? Sensing she had the upper hand for once, Sandra texted back, regardless of how far we're keeping it then Matthew said, okay, we'll need to talk then. To which Sandra snapped back, quote, no shit, that's obvious. And the birth certificate is being signed, which is basically her saying that he needs to legally be the child's father. And for anyone thinking you know anything about her willingly trying to get pregnant with Matthew without him knowing he is an adult man who fully understands the potential consequences of having unprotected sex. If he didn't want to worry about a potential pregnancy, he shouldn't have been.
- [26:56]
A
Cheating on his wife 100%.
- [26:59]
B
So after Sandra said this, they became engaged in a bitter debate over how the next few months were going to play out. With severe disappointment, Sandra told him, quote, I'm mad you're acting how you are over a choice we both made. Matthew responded, quote, I'm mad you act like you gave anyone a choice. Sandra said, lmao. Oh, so you didn't have a choice? Matthew said, quote, per usual, you make and do whatever you want. But Sandra ignored this and then said, you're mad she's due in February and I'm in September and you don't know how you're going to be there for both of us. He shot back, quote, you are truly the worst person on the face of the earth. But Sandra continued on to tell him that he would need to be there when she went into labor. And at one point Matthew told her, I wish you would kill yourself.
- [27:54]
A
Yeah, because obviously he knows that he's going to get caught and this piece of shit can't stand the fact that his life is about to be ruined for the choices he made.
- [28:05]
B
And him saying, you are truly the worst person on the face of the earth and I wish you would kill yourself. It shows how much anger is within him. Because she's the worst person in the world. Because she's pregnant. Because you got her pregnant.
- [28:18]
A
Yeah. There's some real deep dark hatred that's brewing inside of Matthew now. On the last day of her life. Monday, February 1, 2021. Sandra was busy prepping for an impending winter snowstorm and excitedly gathering baby items for her pregnancy, which was about 10 weeks along. She shopped online for a few necessities and scheduled her first appointment with an obstetrician set for February 10th. She texted Matthew about potential baby shower dates in March and also expressed excitement about a new baby item that had been delivered that same day. So she was obviously in good spirits. She ordered dinner on doordash, picking it up from the lobby of her Canton apartment at 5:01pm At 5:33pm she can be seen passing through the lobby of her apartment building again, but this time heading out to scrape the first few inches of snow off of her car. Almost four hours later at 9.08pm, Matthew texted her asking if he could come by for a second and Sandra told him that the door would be open. Just six minutes after he first texted her, he can be seen entering the lobby stealthily dressed in a black hoodie, jeans, tennis shoes and a face mask with his hands shoved into his pockets. And even though this sounds pretty normal to be bundled up in a hood with a face mask on, especially it was 20, 21 and the height of the pandemic and also during a snowstorm. It was noted by those who knew him best that Matthew was an outspoken anti masker and he only wore a mask when it was required by law for his job. So it seemed very suspicious that he would be caught wearing one in the lobby of an apartment building heading in to see someone that he knew. Almost like, I don't know, he's trying to conceal his appearance.
- [30:15]
B
The video is super good quality, it's color, it's honestly one of the clearest surveillance videos I've looked at for this show, if not the clearest. And he is so obviously looking down at the ground, hands in pockets, hoodie up, ball cap on under the hoodie, and a face mask on, like just on a mission, covering himself up.
- [30:37]
A
And it's just so stupid when you look at the video, like, you look more suspicious walking in the way you did than if you had just walked in regularly, you know, without this hood up and the mask on and everything like that.
- [30:49]
B
Comparing him walking in versus her walking back in. Because there's a video of her and him separately. You know, as Heath is talking about the timeline, when she goes to grab her food from the door, etc. Um, it's very different how they're both acting. She's nonchalant. She doesn't even, you know, probably think about the camera that's there. And, you know, he is. And we will post this on our social so you guys can see well upstairs.
- [31:15]
A
Sandra's last steps were logged on her phone at 9:40pm, so 26 minutes after Matthew entered the lobby. Then just three minutes after that, Matthew could be seen leaving at 9:43pm after only 29 minutes inside. Unbeknownst to Sandra, just before arriving at her apartment building, he had dropped off his wife at the hospital for the scheduled C section of their third child. So he's doing all of this. He's doing all this shady shit while his wife is literally about to give birth in the hospital.
- [31:51]
B
Disgusting.
- [31:53]
A
And within hours of leaving Sanders apartment building, he could be seen in the delivery room holding the newest addition to his family, a son in the exact same clothes that he was wearing when he murdered Sandra.
- [32:07]
B
Possibly due to delays caused by the snow, Sandra's inactivity wasn't noticed right away. But when she didn't answer any texts or calls and she failed to show up for work for three days straight, her employers called in a wellness check on her. On Monday, February 4, 2021, officers arrived at her Canton apartment building to find her deceased on the floor of her bedroom. Sandra was collapsed on the floor with a strap around her neck with the other end still attached to the closet door. Her body was upright and her phone lay just out of reach. And her phone was dead after two days without charge. So when officers found her, they contacted Sandra's aunt, Darlene Smith, because she had been the emergency contact in Sandra's lease. But the preliminary finding was suicide. And Darlene said through tears that she couldn't understand why Sandra had taken her life. You know, after her joy at learning she was pregnant, Sandra's cousin Barbara added, quote, we agreed something just wasn't right. Right we didn't believe it was a suicide, though. Sandra's apartment seemed to be mostly void of a struggle. The necklace she wore every day had snapped and was found with her body alongside a clump of her hair.
- [33:35]
A
So obviously this is kind of an insight into the crime scene because it looks like a suicide. The belt is wrapped around the closet door and then wrapped around her neck. But the one thing that wouldn't happen in that scenario probably is her necklace breaking off of her neck and laying a few feet away from her, along with a clump of her own hair. So how they determined that this was a suicide in the first place is kind of mind boggling to me. But we will get into more details here in a little bit. And by the way, I did say belt. We actually don't know what the object was. We don't know if it was twine, a rope, a strap, like what it was, because they haven't released that. But I just said belt because I know that that's pretty common in, in these scenarios.
- [34:19]
B
Yeah, I'm sure we'll find out soon as we'll get into how this all ends. I'm sure we will find out sometime this year what it was. But, yeah, this whole scene is so wrong. The fact that her necklace had snapped and there was hair with it, it makes you wonder if somebody had tried to grab her or, you know, yanked it off and there was a struggle. That would be a sign of a struggle to me. But what was almost more strange was the rest of the scene. Sandra had been in the middle of doing laundry and there were still clothes in the washer and dryer. And Amazon packages containing baby items, including a stroller and baby clothes, continue to arrive after her death.
- [34:58]
A
Doesn't really seem like a person that wants to take their own life.
- [35:01]
B
Well, yeah, and she was also, you know, she had just begun planning a gender reveal party and had contacted newborn photographers. But despite protests from her family, Sandra's death was ruled a suicide in May of that year, 2021.
- [35:19]
A
So when Matthew was questioned about his interactions with her in the days and weeks leading up to her death, he lied to the investigating officers, saying that he had just reconnected with her a few months before she died, having known her for years prior. From the Explorers program.
- [35:36]
B
Yeah, because of course, he's not going to say, oh, yeah, we have been having a sexual relationship for almost 10 years, by the way.
- [35:42]
A
Right. Well, though he was cagey on the details, he did admit to having too much to drink and engaging in sex with her. A handful of times. But he claimed that he had ended things and that if she was pregnant, he was not the father of her child. He also admitted to seeing her that very night, but claims that he had gone over to break things off, knowing that he shouldn't be seeing her with a wife, two children and a newborn baby at home.
- [36:10]
B
But also, how convenient. That's the night you break things off. Like everything he's saying just feels like part of a scheme.
- [36:18]
A
Well, he did tell officers that while she was upset, she was still alive when he left and intimidated. That perhaps she had been so distraught over the breakup that she chose to take her own life.
- [36:30]
B
But let us remember when he texted her that he wished she would kill herself. Yeah.
- [36:35]
A
And this is such a dark narrative that, you know, was only perpetuated by Matthew because her family disputed all of these claims, saying that she told them that both of her pregnancies had been fathered by Matthew and that she had been in love with him and talking about him for years. But it's obviously not clear to what extent, if any, they knew about the great grooming and abuse she had suffered as a teenager. Regardless of the ruling, Sandra's family and a growing number of concerned citizens joined forces to mount a campaign against the members of the Stoughton Police Department who had covered up years of horrific sexual abuse. And how the Canton Police Department, who had mounted a flimsy investigation, was complicit in helping them cover it up.
- [37:19]
B
Well, pressure from Sandra's family led to the resignation of both Robert Devine and the Farwell twins, Saya Fagenara, later douchebags. Well, thankfully, Stoughton's first ever female police chief, Donna McNamara, began growing concerned about the tips she was receiving regarding the horrific sexual misconduct of three of her officers. So she launched an investigation into their shared years of predatory behavior. These claims were also corroborated by a report made by her friend Hailey back in January, before Sandra's death, of course, which started actually as a dispute between the women over money that Sandra owed her, which she had borrowed to buy a plethora of pregnancy tests. When she was making the report, Haley added that Matthew was engaged in a sexual relationship with Sandra. But Matthew asked the officer who took the report to keep this information quiet. And guess what? The officer obliged.
- [38:23]
A
Protecting their own.
- [38:24]
B
Much to the dismay of Matthew Farwell, the Massachusetts State Police decided to pursue the case further. And on February 24, 2021, 34 year old Matthew Farwell was placed on administrative leave. Bye bye. And knowing his career in Law enforcement was most likely over, as it should have been. He obtained his commercial driver's license, possibly with plans to become a trucker. Then the following month, In March of 2021, he was forced to hand over his personal and work cell phones to investigator Nick Guarino, who claimed he conducted a forensic search of both in an effort to find evidence that would implicate Matthew in the grooming search scandal. But Nick reported finding no evidence of this on either device. However, when the FBI and the Massachusetts State Police stepped in to intervene, a federal employee found and extracted over 32,000 texts between Sandra and Matthew in just the year prior alone. Over the years, Matthew continued to refuse to admit any fault. But then finally, after over three years of painstaking investigation, Sandra's death was ruled a homicide by a chief medical examiner. On June 19, 2024, Dr. Michael Baden concluded that she died by strangulation and that the manner of death was homicide.
- [39:57]
A
And if that name Michael Baden sounds familiar to you, he was actually on the show autopsy. He's a very famous medical examiner, so.
- [40:07]
B
He'S got lots of experience under his belt. Now, here's what Michael Baden found. So, Sandra had fractured her hyoid bone in her neck, which was incredibly rare, if not impossible, during a hanging in which the decedent was seated as Sandra had been. So because of this, Dr. Baden believed that she had been overpowered and then strangled with the scene then staged as a suicide. And it is worth noting that Sandra was 4 foot 10 and Matthew stands at 6 foot 4, so he was significantly taller and bigger than her. Now, ominous text from Sandra herself also came back into play when two different friends remember her telling them how Matthew had come over a couple weeks before her death and surveyed her bathroom and closet, which Sandra actually took note of and found really odd. And remember, by the time he would have done this, he would have known about the pregnancy because he found out about five weeks before her death. Well, finally, after evading justice for over three years, 38 year old Matthew Farwell was arrested on August 27, 2024 and charged with one count of killing a witness or victim, which is a serious federal crime.
- [41:25]
A
It's so weird because this is the actual charge. But wouldn't like, every murder victim be a victim? Like, why, why wasn't it not just like first degree murder?
- [41:34]
B
I know this sounds like such a weird charge, but this comes into play because of the grooming and the statutory rape that would have occurred with them, you know, having sex for the first time when she was a minor.
- [41:47]
A
Still okay, that definitely makes a lot more sense.
- [41:49]
B
Yeah, totally. So, but. But the following day, which was August 28, he was indicted for Sandra's murder, and a judge refused to allow bail.
- [41:59]
A
But for now, Matthew is still awaiting trial. Joshua Heal, the animal control officer who revealed Michelle Farwell's pregnancy to Sandra, resigned from his position in the police force despite maintaining that his sexual relationship with Sandra, while unethical, was consensual. Matthew's wife and children have understandably stayed out of the spotlight and have virtually scrubbed the Internet of their presence. Like his brother, William Farwell was also placed on administrative leave and had his right to practice law enforcement revoked. So he has since relocated to Arizona and is now serving in the Arizona National Guard. But it was revealed via text messages between William and Sandra that the pair were still sleeping together at the time of her murder and did so as recently as 22 days before she died, despite the fact that he knew that she was pregnant with his own brother's baby. Robert Devine was also placed on leave, and he later resigned altogether. But currently a committee is working to decide if he should be permitted to maintain his police certification. As for Sandra's family, they've filed wrongful death lawsuits against Matthew and William Farwell, Robert Devine, and the Stoughton Police Department.
- [43:31]
B
Thank you so much, everybody for listening to this episode of Going West.
- [43:35]
A
Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. We will try to keep you guys updated on the trial that's going to be coming up on everything that happens with Robert Devine, the police department. But if you want to see photos from this case, head on over to our socials where you can find them. We're on Instagram @goingwest podcast and we're also on Facebook.
- [43:57]
B
Yes. You can also find the. The surveillance footage from the lobby of Sandra's apartment on our socials. So go check that out. We will definitely keep posted on when the trial happens for this case because we would love to do an update episode. So hopefully we can all be cheering as justice is again, hopefully served soon.
- [44:18]
A
Absolutely. Let us know what you guys think about this episode, leave us some comments, and we will see you guys on Friday. All right, guys, so for everybody out.
- [44:28]
B
There in the world, don't be a stranger. Sa Sa.