New: Stoughton police chief reacts to officer indictment in Sandra Birchmore's death

Sandra burchmore I was a young woman that idolized policing and what it's supposed to stand for in society she saw none of that in the way she was treated by Matthew Farwell Sandra is on my mind today as well as her family and what they have gone through I'd like to thank the dedicated leaders and investigators with the FBI and the US attorney's office for their detailed and tireless work on this matter I'd like to thank the men and women of the stoen police department for the hard work and dedication they give to the stoen community each and every day that are there today doing just that this is a horrible situation I said this three years three years ago when it happened I said it two years ago in a news conference this is a horrific situation Sandra Burma received no justice in life immediately after her death an internal affairs investigation was opened up by my department and we worked tirelessly in that investigation an internal affairs investigation does not hold the same weight as a criminal investigation and what we discovered during that investigation was turned over to other agencies and you have seen some of that here today I cannot comment on the investigation that the FBI is is ongoing as you as you are well aware but today sander bmore in this case is one step closer to justice as I turned over what we found in our internal investigations what happens is in an investigation is people work hard and the investigators did just that they work rard for justice in this paper to Matthew Farwell a former police detective from stoen Massachusetts has been federally indicted for the death of Sandra burchmore with allegations that he killed her and staged the scene to look like a suicide Farwell 38 of North Easton allegedly had a sexual relationship with birchmore that began when she was just 15 and continued until she was 23 prosecutors claim he killed her after she informed him she was pregnant with his child to prevent her from disclosing their relationship and his related criminal actions Sandra birchmore endured years of grooming statutory rape and sexual violence at the hands of Matthew Farwell who served as an officer and later as a detective for the stoden police department throughout their relationship said acting us attorney Joshua Levy during a news conference on Wednesday Farwell was arrested by an FBI sweat team Wednesday morning in Riv stoden police the norick District Attorney's office and the Massachusetts Attorney General's office All released statements on the indictment soon after its release Wednesday stoden police chief Donna mcnamer called the allegations a horrific Injustice while a spokesman for district attorney Michael morresy said the office looks forward to supporting and assisting Federal authorities as they pursue this prosecution attorney general Andrea Joy Campbell called farwell's alleged actions malicious predatory and horrific read their full statements below birchmore who was 3 months pregnant was found dead at her apartment in Canton in 2021 while her death was originally ruled a suicide according to the Boston Globe a pathologist hired by her family found burchmore's death was in fact a homicide according to the US attorney's office the federal investigation reexamined old evidence and discovered critical new evidence that led to the indictment Levy declined to comment on why Federal investigators originally became involved in the case but said Wednesday they have been looking into it for around a year according to court documents birchmore became pregnant and around December 2020 told Farwell he was the father of her child in January 2021 someone allegedly called the stoden police department to report that Farwell had been having sex with birchmore according to acting us attorney Joshua Levy Sandra birchmore was excited about her pregnancy even making calls about a newborn photo shoot and baby clothes just days before her death in stark contrast Matthew Farwell who had spent years grooming birchmore reacted negatively showing signs of losing control patience and temper in February 2021 Farwell allegedly strangled birchmore and staged her apartment to look like a suicide the indictment states he killed her with malice of forethought willfully deliberately maliciously and with premeditation intending to prevent her from communicating information about his crimes to law enforcement he is charged with one count of killing a witness or victim and one count of wire fraud if convicted he faces a minimum sentence of life imprisonment prosecutors alleged that before burchmore's death Farwell instructed her to delete evidence that they had engaged in sexual activity before she turned 16 after her death he reportedly researched how to erase data from his own phone and lied to massachusett State Police investigators handling the initial case FBI Boston's assistant special agent in charge Steven kellerer emphasized that farwell's Authority as a police officer did not give him the right to violate the constitution or commit the crimes he's accused of including the sexual abuse and murder of birchmore and her unborn child in an attempt to cover up his actions Levy mentioned that his office along with the FBI would share the investigation results with the norick County District Attorney's office and other state agencies to consider whether State charges should also be pursued Farwell who was arrested on Wednesday met birchmore when she was a participant in the stoden police explorers Academy a program for youth interested in law enforcement burchmore joined the program at age2 in 2010 and continued until around 2016 the indictment alleges that Farwell began a sexual relationship with birchmore while she was underage including at times when he was supposed to be on duty Farwell is one of three former stoden police officers accused of having inappropriate relationships with birchmore though only he is accused of engaging with her when she was underage the other officers have denied the allegations burchmore's family has since filed a wrongful death lawsuit the case has drawn attention to abuse allegations within the Explorer program with The Marshall Project reporting earlier this year that there have been at least 193 allegations of grooming and sexual abuse by law enforcement involving the program over the past 50 years the Boy Scouts which created the program stated that it is committed to youth safety and holds leaders accountable when abuses of trust occur read stoden police chief Donna mcnamer full statement here the day after Sandra birchmore was found dead in her Canton apartment I ordered a lengthy and aggressive Internal Affairs investigation the instructions of which made it clear that no stone should be left unturned the stoden police department department has supported other agencies and worked with other agencies including the FBI investigation that today resulted in a murder indictment that concluded that Sandra was killed the alleged murder of Sandra is a horrific Injustice the allegations against the suspect a former stoden police officer represent the single worst act of not just professional misconduct but indeed human indecency that I have observed in a nearly three decade career in law enforcement it has been my life's work over these past 3 years to ensure that Justice was served as I have stated previously Sandra birchmore received no justice during her life it is imperative that Justice be served in her death and today's actions appear to bring our society one step closer to Justice read norick District Attorney's Office spokesman David tr's full statement here the birchmore investigation has remained open and active but as you know we do not comment extensively on active investigations that work has included collaboration with local police the Attorney General of the Commonwealth and the FBI as each entity has unique resources and jurisdiction two state police officers assigned to the norick district attorney's office were at the command post for the operation when the apprehension was made in R we look forward to supporting and assisting Federal authorities as they pursue this prosecution read attorney general Andrea Joy Campbell's full statement here while today today's indictment does not bring back the precious life of Sandra burchmore these charges are an important step in holding Matthew Farwell accountable for his malicious predatory and horrific actions I applaud the US attorney's office and look forward to continuing to collaborate with them as my office continues its investigation into this matter there were many comments made Canton Police Department seems rotten to the core another viewer said she was a little girl when it began she was not a woman woman when this started these officers are disgusting what do you think about the issue we raised above please comment and let us know thank you for listening God bless you see you in the next vid