MURDERED: Sandra Birchmore

In 2021, 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore was found dead in her apartment. And what Massachusetts investigators quickly called a suicide slowly revealed itself to be something much more sinister. Because out of the woodwork came friends, family, and co-workers with stories that Sandra had told them about her life. Stories of grooming, sexual abuse, and years of misconduct at the hands of several Stoughton Police officers… which began when she was barely a teenager. Three officers later resigned from the department. With a 2026 federal trial pending, the whole state has been left to wonder whether Sandra’s death was truly a suicide – as state police continue to maintain – or the end result of something much darker.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Ashley Flowers?

  Do me a favor. Put all five fingers up. Now, put one down if you have workout saved on Instagram that you haven't gone back to. Put one down if you were gonna go to a workout class this week, but there's just none that the times worked out for. Put one down if you don't like working out at home because you don't know what to do and you need someone to push you. Put two fingers down if you want to stop this game. Babe, we are the same. I don't have a lot of time and honestly, I'm not even someone who likes working out. But Ladder actually changed that. I literally had to waddle into the studio to record this because my butt is so sore. Ladder is quick. I'm not wasting time wandering around or doing reps of something that won't matter. I'm in, I'm out. I have a coach along the way who can help me make 30 minutes with weights feel better than two hours of whatever I was doing before. And it's $1 a day.

• 0:45Ashley Flowers?

  So if price was ever stopping you before, you're officially out of excuses. Remove the guesswork with Ladder and get a real coach in your ear telling you exactly what to do for every workout. No thinking, everything planned for you. If you have an iPhone, head to ladder.fit/crimejunkie and take a quick quiz to find your perfect ladder plan. Use my link and get a free seven-day trial with no credit card and $10 off your first month if you join.

• 1:13Speaker 01

  What I'm about to brief you on is something deeply troubling to me as a human being and as a police chief. On February 4th, 2021, 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore was found deceased in her apartment in Canton. What I am here to talk about today is her life and how she was failed by, manipulated by, and used by people of authority that she admired and trusted right up until her final days. Ms. Birchmore was a vulnerable person who had one constant in her life since childhood.

• 1:55Speaker 01

  Her unwavering admiration of police officers, of those serving the military, people in uniform, people with oaths and duties to protect and serve. The admiration led her to form relationships with men who were willing to take advantage of her. I stand before you today as a civil servant who is heartbroken and incensed by what has transpired and who pledges that this chapter in the Stoughton Police Department and the town of Stoughton is over. It must never repeat. The revolving door is closed.

• 2:42Ashley Flowers?

  There are so many stories we tell that involve corruption, cover-ups, or just downright incompetence or negligence that it makes me sometimes lose complete faith in the system, a system that is put in place to protect us. And doing this show for as long as I have, I have seen a lot more bad than good. I mean, the problems are systemic. And at times, I've caught myself thinking, what is the point? Like, we might as well just give up because the problems are so big and have been there for so long that maybe I'm the delusional one. And this is just how the world is: evil. And the evil is so deeply rooted that we are never going to win or make a difference. But then, when I often need it the most,

• 3:27Ashley Flowers?

  I get a glimpse of the good ones, the people who are fighting from the inside to make things better and fair and just, people who believe in right and wrong and know that no one is above the law. And those people give me hope all over again to keep fighting myself. And I felt all of those feelings when covering today's story: despair that an entire agency could look the other way when so much evidence was at their fingertips suggesting a boy in blue might have killed a young woman to protect his reputation. And then this fire to kick ass and take names and get behind the other people, people like Donna McNamara, the chief of the Stoughton Police Department,

• 4:11Ashley Flowers?

  who you just heard at the top. She didn't just sit back and let it be. She found her own way to expose the truth, and she lit a spark that other good people out there doing the right thing fanned into a flame to get justice for Sandra Birchmore. So let me tell you how that happened.

• 5:01Ashley Flowers?

  February 4th, 2021, 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore was found dead in her Canton, Massachusetts apartment. Police discovered her body while responding to a welfare check requested by someone at the school where she worked because she hadn't shown up in days. Now Sandra was found in a seated position on the floor by her bedroom closet with this duffel bag strap wrapped tightly around her neck and fixed to the handle of the closet door. The Massachusetts State Police didn't note any signs of forced entry to her apartment. The door was actually locked and they had to get a key from the property manager just to get in. And once they were inside, they didn't see any signs of a struggle at all in the bedroom

• 5:46Ashley Flowers?

  or anywhere else in the apartment. The walls didn't have any indentations or scuff marks, and there were no drag marks on the floor or anything like that, even though the apartment was cluttered with baby items still in boxes for the child that Sandra was eight to 10 weeks pregnant with. Nothing seemed to be knocked over or moved. And surveillance footage from her apartment complex's lobby shows Sandra coming and going alone on Monday, February 1st, which is the last day she appears on camera and the day that officials believe she died. So the suicide determination came quickly. Even before the medical examiner's official ruling, all the Canton PD reports discussed this case as a suicide.

• 6:29Ashley Flowers?

  And the Massachusetts State Police seemed to agree. Because I'm sure the more they learned about Sandra, like, it just began to confirm their theory. Because she grew up struggling. Dad wasn't in the picture. Mom had chronic health challenges, oftentimes not being able to work. So they struggled to make ends meet. And from a young age, Sandra sort of took on the role of caretaker. And then in 2016, when Sandra was just 19 years old, her mom died of a stroke. And then just weeks later, her grandmother passed away too. According to an unnamed source in a Boston Globe article, after these back-to-back tragedies, Sandra began expressing suicidal thoughts in her journal entries. And she tried living with other family members after this, but she never really had that stable home base.

• 7:14Ashley Flowers?

  And there was an instance, like eight or nine months before her death, where Sandra got in a fight with the family member that she was living with and stormed out. That person called 911 concerned that Sandra might be at risk of hurting herself. Now, at the time of her death, she was about two and a half months pregnant with what investigators would quickly find out was a married man's baby. So it must have all just been too much. How sad. And when a pathologist from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner agrees and rules this case as suicide, that's that. And there is a world where it would have ended right there. But not this one. Not this time.

• 7:57Ashley Flowers?

  Let's face it. If student loans are slowing down your financial goals, it might be time for a smarter strategy. That's where today's sponsor, SoFi, comes in. SoFi is helping you tackle student debt by refinancing your loans with flexible monthly payments that fit your budget. We're talking about the potential to lower your interest rate, reduce your monthly payment, or even pay off your loan sooner, depending on the term you choose. You can also consolidate your student loans into one simple monthly payment, so you could save more each month and work towards achieving your long-term financial ambitions. SoFi offers competitive fixed and variable rates and no origination fees, prepayment fees, or late fees required. It takes just two minutes to check your rate with SoFi, and they have already helped over 500,000 members refinance more than $50 billion in student loans.

• 8:40Ashley Flowers?

  Visit sofi.com/crimejunkie to see how much you can save. That's sofi.com/crimejunkie and start making smarter money moves with SoFi. SoFi's student loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N A member FDIC. Additional terms and conditions apply. NMLS 696891.

• 9:00Speaker 02

  Everyone has those go-to wardrobe staples that get reached for constantly. The sweater that works with everything, the perfect-fitting jeans, or the bag carried everywhere. Quince specializes in those exact, permanent fixtures. Quince creates elevated essentials using luxury materials like organic cotton, washable silk, and 100% Mongolian cashmere, with cashmere sweaters starting at just $50. Beyond knitwear, the collection includes premium stretch denim, leather bags, footwear, and 14-karat gold jewelry designed to pull any look together. By partnering directly with ethical factories and removing middleman markups, Quince offers high-end quality at 50% to 80% less than comparable brands. That same approach extends beyond clothing into home goods, including hotel-quality bedding, bath, kitchen essentials, and thoughtfully-designed furniture.

• 9:43Speaker 02

  Quince has been my go-to for wardrobe staples for years now, but I recently started upgrading my bedding, towels, and even some kitchen essentials from Quince. And as usual, the quality of the items are impeccable, the aesthetic is unmatched, and the price is unbelievable. Find the fall pieces you'll reach for most at Quince. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers, or go to quince.com/crimejunkie. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash crime junkie.

• 10:15Ashley Flowers?

  You see, even though Canton PD was the agency originally called, and Massachusetts State Police eventually took over, the Stoughton Police Department opened an Internal Affairs investigation the day after Sandra was found.

• 10:27Speaker 02

  And where, in relation to all of this, is Stoughton?

• 10:30Ashley Flowers?

  This is just a town over from Canton. But the reason they're in the mix is because of who Sandra's baby daddy allegedly was. You see, Chief Donna McNamara heard from the Massachusetts State Police that one of her officers, a man named Matthew Farwell, may have been having an affair with Sandra. And that would have violated department policies. Because, I mean, put him married with kids aside, Matthew Farwell was an officer who worked with their Police Explorers program. And Sandra, in her youth, was an explorer. And, Bryn, I know you know all about the program, because it came up on our live show, but for the newbies out there... Do you want to give them the lowdown?

• 11:10Speaker 02

  Yeah, this will be very surface level. But the Explorers program is basically like this extracurricular program run by local law enforcement agencies. That's open to anyone from what they read, and those were like sixth grade to 20 year olds.

• 11:23Ashley Flowers?

  Yeah.

• 11:24Speaker 02

  And it's kids who are interested in joining law enforcement one day.

• 11:27Ashley Flowers?

  Yeah.

• 11:27Speaker 02

  It's like a junior police academy. They wear little uniforms, learn about investigations, do write alongs. Apparently sometimes search for evidence. The whole thing, yeah. Usually the program is led by like actual officers from the local department. So the kids who sign up get really close to them, which can be a really great thing in some cases. Potentially really dangerous.

• 11:51Ashley Flowers?

  You are correct.

• 11:52Speaker 02

  Okay, so I was about to ask if the state police knew about this, but if they're the ones who told the chief in Stoughton, then they had to have.

• 11:58Ashley Flowers?

  Yeah, they did. And they were looking into it too. Despite many files that refer to Sandra's death as a suicide, it does seem like they were still doing some legwork, like checking boxes. Making sure they didn't miss anything big like the affair with a married officer.

• 12:14Speaker 02

  Right.

• 12:15Ashley Flowers?

  They even talked to him, collected his and Sandra's phone data. And in their interview with him, which takes place on February 6th in a school parking lot for some reason. Matthew admits that he was at Sandra's apartment that night.

• 12:29Speaker 02

  I'm sorry, what?

• 12:31Ashley Flowers?

  Yeah, so remember the surveillance video that showed her apartment lobby, right?

• 12:34Speaker 02

  Yeah, and she's coming and going by herself.

• 12:36Ashley Flowers?

  Mm hmm. Well, it didn't just show her coming and going. And just a quick FYI, the footage was found to be 13 minutes off, so the times I'm going to be telling you have been adjusted for accuracy. But basically Sandra gets home early from school because they had closed for a snow day on the first. A few hours later, after 5:00 PM, she's caught on camera again picking up a food delivery. And then at 5:31 PM, she's seen one last time stepping outside briefly to brush the snow off her car and then heading back upstairs. And that's it for Sandra. But they did look at the rest of the footage to see if there was anyone else suspicious on it. And the maintenance supervisor at the apartment building tells officers that he recognizes everybody who enters the lobby that night. Except for one person.

• 13:21Ashley Flowers?

  A tall, burly man wearing boots, jeans, a black jacket with a hood up. And what looks like a COVID mask, which almost entirely covers his face. Now, he entered the building at 9:14 PM and then left at 9:43. And the police report notes that the man wasn't wearing gloves and appeared to be white.

• 13:41Speaker 02

  And that's Matthew?

• 13:43Ashley Flowers?

  I mean, we know now that it was Matthew because he is admitting it to police on the sixth. But at the time, it's a little hard to tell what they knew because this part of the police report is pretty heavily redacted. All I know is that one of the building workers says that they had seen this guy with Sandra before, but they didn't know who he was. And the leasing manager starts giving them at that point some information about a police officer that Sandra had been in a relationship with and how there was something that he was unhappy about, that Sandra was nervous about. But honestly, it truly is almost impossible to make sense of this person's account with all of the redactions to the file.

• 14:20Speaker 02

  Right, you're kind of just like barely able to kind of almost connect dots.

• 14:23Ashley Flowers?

  Right. So they were probably suspicious, but now they like, no, no, it was him, right? And his story seems to again confirm their original hypothesis because he says that he met Sandra in the Explorer program. She was 13 when she joined, he was 24, but he says that like, nothing untoward happened. Matthew says that he knew Sandra had a troubled life and he felt bad for her, so he would like keep tabs on her over the years. But according to him, the relationship didn't become sexual until early 2020, when Sandra would have been 21. And that only happened because, he says he got drunk one night and quote, "ended up meeting up with her and having sex." And then he says that they had sex two or three more times after that, with the last time being in October of 2020.

• 15:08Speaker 02

  So, does he say that they were like dating? Like, how did he classify the relationship? Were they together? Like, had they been?

• 15:16Ashley Flowers?

  Well, so like I said, so he's married with two kids at that time. So at least on his end, this was very much not a public like relationship situation. But he goes on to say that in December of 2020, Sandra told him that she was pregnant and that he was the father. Now, in his interview, Matthew says that that wasn't possible and that the timeline didn't make any sense and just basically adamantly denies that- He was the father of Sandra's unborn child.

• 15:42Speaker 02

  Okay, so then, cut to the chase, Matthew, why are you at her apartment the day she died?

• 15:46Ashley Flowers?

  Yeah, so he says that that night, he asked Sandra if he could come over because he wanted to end things with her once and for all. He says that he hadn't seen her in about a week because he'd been trying to distance himself, but that was before he learned that Sandra was now telling people that he was the father of her child. So he went over that night and said that he told Sandra, quote, "she was crazy" and that there was no way he could be the father of her baby based on her timeline and that he was just done with her. He said that the two of them kind of got into this pretty nasty argument, not anything like yelling or physical, but just like really tense. And before he left, he told her it was really over and he was blocking her on everything, which he did. And Matthew says Sandra was definitely upset, but that she didn't say anything about wanting to

• 16:30Ashley Flowers?

  hurt herself. And he told police that she was very much alive and standing in the kitchen when he walked out. Now, they asked him to take a polygraph and submit to a DNA test, presumably to verify his claim about the baby not being his. But none of those things end up happening because Matthew gets an attorney who steps in. And this attorney, Patrick Hanley, actually writes a letter to an MSP sergeant saying that these requests don't make any sense for the investigation of a witness, which is what MSP had said Matthew was. I actually have a quote from Patrick. It says, "I advise my client to decline these requests and the requests for further interview that accompanied them. I did so because they are far outside the norm for mere witnesses in

• 17:14Ashley Flowers?

  an investigation. I was a prosecutor for 14 years and participated in hundreds of interviews with state police detectives like yourself. I cannot recall one seeking a polygraph interview. And I can only recall seeking DNA of persons that the investigators and I considered targets. Mr. Farwell has already provided highly personal information. In my opinion, providing DNA is a step too far." End quote. The lawyer also underscores that Matthew had nothing to do with Sandra's death, that he never encouraged her to harm herself or believed that she might. And according to him, Sandra's death by suicide was a complete shock to Matthew. The thing Matthew does comply with is turning over his phone, but he warns that he deleted all the communications with Sandra.

• 18:00Speaker 02

  Okay, that's fishy, right? Like, they see that that's at least sus, right?

• 18:04Ashley Flowers?

  They don't say. We just have a report that is very black and white, and I even brought this one.

• 18:12Ashley Flowers?

  So it just says, "On February 9th, 2021, Matthew Farwell consented to a data extraction of his personal iPhone 11, which was then extracted by Trooper Nick Guarino. On April 26, 2021, I received Matthew's work cellphone from Stoughton Police Department. Through Matthew's attorney, consent was given for a data extraction, which was performed by Trooper Nick Guarino. I analyzed both of these phones and did not find any communication with Sandra Birchmore. Matt has said in a previous interview that he had deleted all communications with Sandra." So there's no like, oh, we think this was weird or not.

• 18:47Speaker 02

  Well, didn't see anything.

• 18:48Ashley Flowers?

  Right. So Trooper Nick Guarino went through this, we know this, but another state police sergeant had started combing through Sandra's laptop that was collected from her apartment.

• 18:59Speaker 02

  The other end of the communication.

• 19:01Ashley Flowers?

  Right, and so he finds in that thousands of text messages between Sandra and Matthew in the 12 months or so before her death. Now, the state police write that the text messages make it clear that Matthew and Sandra were in a sexual relationship, but they concluded that there was nothing threatening at all. So they must just be assuming that he deleted the messages to hide the affair. Nothing murdery here, so case closed, right? Wrong. Because Stoughton PD was running their internal affairs investigation alongside this one. And in reviewing over 32,000 messages between Sandra and Matthew in the 14 months leading up to her death,

• 19:43Ashley Flowers?

  they see a far more disturbing picture of Sandra's case.

• 19:50Ashley Flowers?

  Let's face it, if student loans are slowing down your financial goals, it might be time for a smarter strategy. That's where today's sponsor SoFi comes in. SoFi is helping you tackle student debt by refinancing your loans with flexible monthly payments that fit your budget. We're talking about the potential to lower your interest rate, reduce your monthly payment, or even pay off your loan sooner, depending on the term you choose. You can also consolidate your student loans into one simple monthly payment, so you could save more each month and work towards achieving your long-term financial ambitions. SoFi offers competitive fixed and variable rates, and no origination fees, prepayment fees, or late fees required. It takes just two minutes to check your rate with SoFi, and they have already helped over 500,000 members refinance more than $50 billion in student loans.

• 20:33Ashley Flowers?

  Visit sofi.com/crimejunkie to see how much you can save. That's sofi.com/crimejunkie, and start making smarter money moves with SoFi. SoFi's student loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A., member FDIC. Additional terms and conditions apply. NMLS 696891.

• 20:54Ashley Flowers?

  So the chief of Stoughton PD, Donna McNamara, opened that Internal Affairs investigation into Matthew Farwell the day after Sandra was found, because she had heard from MSP about Matthew potentially having an illicit affair with Sandra, violating department policies. So she put Matthew on paid leave starting February 24th. And again, just to be 100% clear, her internal investigation was only meant to look into Matthew's misconduct, not Sandra's death.

• 21:23Speaker 02

  Right.

• 21:24Ashley Flowers?

  Chief McNamara and MSP had an understanding that MSP basically still maintained the jurisdiction over any criminal activity, even like anything that comes up in the internal investigation. And if the chief found any criminal culpability, she would basically pass all of that off to MSP. So like, sure, fine, whatever, that's the deal.

• 21:41Speaker 02

  She's not looking for it, but if she sees it, she'll hand it over.

• 21:44Ashley Flowers?

  Yeah, I'm not gonna take it. So her team starts looking at the phone data and the laptop that was previously analyzed by state police trooper Nick Corino. And these messages, which appear in federal and court documents, don't only suggest that Sandra and Matthew's sexual relationship began way before, he originally said, but also that Matthew had disturbing sexual fantasies involving violence against women, choking, incest, pedophilia, necrophilia, and rape. And I want everyone to hear some of these messages so you guys can get an idea of the tone of the communication between Sandra and Matthew. I'm gonna have a voice actor reading them because they are really disturbing.

• 22:27Ashley Flowers?

  So fair warning to people who are listening and like, forgive me if I don't want to look you in the eye and say, feel him inside me. But I think this shows the full extent of Matthew's behavior. So in a couple of exchanges, Matthew and Sandra talk about the beginning of their sexual relationship.

• 22:45Speaker 03

  What was the first day you said, OMG, I want this guy to be my first. I want to feel him inside me.

• 22:51Speaker 04

  Yeah, so 2012, I finally decided that I was gonna try and find a way to [BLEEP] you and just wasn't sure how. I had butterflies so bad the day you took my virginity.

• 23:02Speaker 03

  Me too. It was such a big day.

• 23:04Speaker 04

  It was April 10th, 2013, best day of my life.

• 23:08Speaker 03

  Me too.

• 23:10Speaker 02

  So the sexual relationship actually began seven years before Matthew told police that it began.

• 23:17Ashley Flowers?

  Yes, and he actually even says that he wishes they'd done it sooner.

• 23:23Speaker 03

  I wish it had been a year sooner after helping you study at the library.

• 23:27Speaker 04

  It didn't even make you wait a year after that.

• 23:30Speaker 03

  I absolutely would have [BLEEP] you in 12.

• 23:33Speaker 04

  In 12?

• 23:34Speaker 03

  2012.

• 23:36Speaker 02

  And in 2012, Sandra would have been like, what?

• 23:39Ashley Flowers?

  She was like 14 or 15. And he knows that this would have been bad for anyone else to find out, so he asks her to get rid of their messages.

• 23:49Speaker 03

  Clear that part out, baby.

• 23:50Speaker 04

  I did.

• 23:51Speaker 03

  Good girl.

• 23:53Ashley Flowers?

  Again, I know how disturbing these are, but I really think it's important for our listeners to understand the power that Matthew knew he had over Sandra, mentally and physically, by the way, because Sandra was 4'10", Matthew was 6'4". So in one exchange, he says,

• 24:12Speaker 03

  "LOL, if I pushed, I absolutely could have [bleep] you without condoms from day one."

• 24:17Speaker 04

  "I was kind of scared to say no in the beginning, not knowing how you'd take it. So yeah, you would have gotten no condoms."

• 24:24Ashley Flowers?

  Other messages from Matthew revealed even more disturbing desires.

• 24:30Speaker 03

  "Maybe I'll choke you a little. I'll grab your throat and say, 'You won't say a word to anyone.' Will you say, 'Matt, stop. I'm 13. I'm not ready for this. O M F G, please stop.'"

• 24:42Ashley Flowers?

  According to sources cited in the Boston Globe, in the year leading up to her death, there are at least 20 times that Matthew texted Sandra about grabbing her throat, squeezing her throat, or choking her during sex. In another exchange, Sandra asked,

• 24:58Speaker 04

  "Do you want me to just take what you do or try and say no? I know being told no is your favorite."

• 25:05Speaker 03

  "Say no."

• 25:07Ashley Flowers?

  Now, of course, all of these messages are from 2019 onward. So we have no way of knowing what Sandra and Matthew's communication was like before that. But in December of 2020, things took a notable turn. That's when Sandra texted Matthew about her pregnancy. She sent him a photo of a colorful poster that she had made with the words, "Congrats, we're going to be parents." And this is how he responded.

• 25:33Speaker 03

  "I literally have nothing to say right now. How could you express that in text when I said I don't appreciate it?"

• 25:39Speaker 04

  "I'm mad you're acting how you are over a choice we both made."

• 25:44Speaker 03

  "I'm mad you act like you gave anyone a choice. You are truly the worst person on the face of the earth."

• 25:50Ashley Flowers?

  Matthew also asked how far along Sandra was.

• 25:55Speaker 04

  "Regardless of how far, we're keeping it. But three and a half weeks, which means I conceived this month."

• 26:02Speaker 03

  "Okay, well, we need to talk then."

• 26:05Speaker 04

  "No [bleep], that's obvious."

• 26:07Ashley Flowers?

  And on December 29, 2020, they did talk. This conversation was in person, so we have no way of knowing exactly how it went. But afterward, Sandra texted Matthew this.

• 26:19Speaker 04

  It made me really uncomfortable and stressed out and scared when you were next to me because I thought you were gonna hit me after you said what you said and took things out of my hand. That's why I was crying. I know you wouldn't, but it still scared me.

• 26:34Ashley Flowers?

  So clearly, he's not happy about the pregnancy.

• 26:37Speaker 02

  I mean, yeah, it's a lot harder to hide from your wife than just an affair.

• 26:42Ashley Flowers?

  Well, and at an especially bad time, because I didn't mention this yet. But when Matthew left Sandra's apartment that night of February 1st, guess where he went? The delivery room because his wife was in labor with their third baby. So, yeah, he's about to have a new baby with his wife and Sandra is telling him she's pregnant too. Now, maybe he would have found some way to keep this under wraps, but on January 20th, Matthew found out that Sandra had been telling people about their affair. Apparently, he had been under the impression that it was like their little secret, but it was far from it in Sandra's circles. And apparently, leading up to her death, this friend, who we're gonna call Jill,

• 27:25Ashley Flowers?

  tried to use that to her advantage. Jill said that her and Sandra got into an argument about some money that Sandra owed her. And Jill told Sandra that if she didn't start to pay up, she was gonna go file a police report, which she did on January 20th, just weeks before Sandra's death. When Stotin PD told Jill that this was a civil matter, Jill got upset and in her anger, she over the phone basically said, well, like, "You can tell whatever police officer detective that Sandra's in a sexual relationship with, that he can tell her to pay back the money."

• 27:58Speaker 02

  And how did the officer on the phone respond to that?

• 28:01Ashley Flowers?

  They went straight to Matthew and they're like, um, "What's this about?" And according to investigative files, Matthew got really rattled and told that person, quote, "Not to speak about this to anyone and to never talk about it again," end quote. And whoever he told that to must have kept their code of silence since we know the Internal Affairs investigation did not start then.

• 28:24Speaker 02

  Right.

• 28:25Ashley Flowers?

  But that day, after Matthew was approached about the affair, he texted Sandra.

• 28:31Speaker 03

  Dude, your fucking friend called my job, Sandra, WTF. You also told me that no one knew about us, yet she claimed we are fucking.

• 28:41Speaker 04

  It's literally nothing.

• 28:42Speaker 03

  It's not nothing, she called my job, that's insane. Like you have no idea how bad what she did is. I literally can't believe this is even real life. Like what else do I have to worry about now? Which other friend will do something tomorrow?

• 28:57Ashley Flowers?

  And what's so weird is after this interaction, Matthew just, out of nowhere, completely changes his tune and starts to speak really positively to Sandra about their whole situation. And Sandra actually texted her friend about it.

• 29:14Speaker 04

  So the father came by last night, it was like a complete 360 change.

• 29:19Speaker 05

  180?

• 29:20Speaker 04

  Yeah, lol.

• 29:21Speaker 05

  Good or bad?

• 29:23Speaker 04

  Good, but unexpected. So it kinda threw me off and made me a little uncomfortable, but that's because of how things were going. But it was like a complete 180 from where we were at.

• 29:36Ashley Flowers?

  On this same night, along with having a heart-to-heart, Matthew also asked Sandra for a key to her apartment and the code to her building's entrance. But even with him seemingly doing everything right, like saying the perfect things, there were moments where Sandra felt uneasy, like something wasn't quite right. The day of that 180-degree change conversation on January 24th, Sandra texted a friend about something weird.

• 30:05Speaker 04

  Last night he opened my closet door for something, and then he went in my bathroom looking at my bathroom. And then I have a dolly in my living room that he asked why I had it. It was just really odd, he started looking around, I don't know, it was really weird.

• 30:21Ashley Flowers?

  Then on January 29th, Sandra reminded Matthew what the code to enter her apartment complex was, and Matthew asked her to confirm that it was a general code for the entire building, not just like a personal code for Sandra. And that basically brings us to February 1st.

• 30:38Speaker 02

  The day that Sandra died?

• 30:39Ashley Flowers?

  Yes. Matthew texted Sandra at around 9:00 PM asking if he could come by for a second. She responded that she would leave her door open for him. And that was the last known message that Sandra would ever send.

• 30:54Speaker 02

  I guess I'm confused right now. Like MSP had these messages from Sandra's laptop, right? Like, are they just ignoring them?

• 31:02Ashley Flowers?

  Ugh. It's really bizarre. So, listen, I'm just gonna read you exactly what they say about the laptop messages in the report. Keep in mind, again, lot of redactions here. But it says this. "Over the next several weeks, I analyzed data from Sandra's laptop. In particular, I was investigating any criminal conduct related to Sandra's death." And, something redacted here. "Sandra's laptop gave me access to approximately 12 months of iMessages, social media contact, and other documents/databases. Matt and Sandra had texted thousands of times over the year, as well as communication with many other friends and family of Sandra. It was clear based on texts with Matt that he and Sandra had a sexual relationship, as he told us in his previous interview."

• 31:47Ashley Flowers?

  Then there's this big redacted chunk followed by this. "All of these conversations were flagged in the forensics report of her laptop. Sandra communicated often with friends and family. It appeared Sandra had sexual relationships with other men in the months leading up to her death. There were no threats of harm by any of these individuals, including Matt." End quote.

• 32:07Speaker 02

  That's, that's it?

• 32:09Ashley Flowers?

  That's literally the last sentence on the last page of the MSP report that we received. No threats of harm. So no criminal culpability.

• 32:19Speaker 02

  But clearly, there is a crime here, right?

• 32:23Ashley Flowers?

  Well, put possible murder aside.

• 32:25Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 32:25Ashley Flowers?

  Chief McNamara can't look into that, right? Because that's not her jurisdiction. But yeah, the sexual abuse of an explorer within the department she now is chief of, move out the way, like she is charging full steam ahead. Because here's the thing. Along with now being sure that Matthew abused a minor in the program, other witnesses come forward and say that Sandra told them he wasn't the only one.

• 32:54Ashley Flowers?

  According to people who knew Sandra, and I want to preface this by saying much of this information is unconfirmed. But they say that Matthew Farwell wasn't the only Stoughton Police Department employee who Sandra had a sexual relationship with. She also had one with William Farwell, Matthew's twin brother.

• 33:15Speaker 02

  What? When? How? And did the brothers know about each other's relationships?

• 33:20Ashley Flowers?

  So William is also an officer with the Stoughton Police Department. They also met through the Explorers Program because he was a guest instructor. So when they talked to him, he admits it. But like, bad case of deja vu. He says that he had, quote, "been with Sandra sexually maybe two to three times." And the last of which was sometime in December of 2020.

• 33:44Speaker 02

  But that was when she was also seeing Matthew.

• 33:47Ashley Flowers?

  Apparently. So clearly, there is something bigger happening here. So Chief McNamara's agency hires multiple PIs and outside consultants. And over the course of nearly 19 months, they go down every rabbit hole you can think of. And guess what? It didn't even end there. Implicated in the Internal Affairs investigation was another man named Robert Devine, who was a former deputy chief of the Stoughton Police Department and the officer in charge of the Explorers Program. Robert is actually the man that brought Matthew and his twin brother into the program as guest instructors. In interviews, Robert first claims to have no knowledge of the Farwell brothers' relationships with Sandra.

• 34:31Ashley Flowers?

  But then he later clarifies that Sandra did bring it up to him as a consenting adult, and Robert didn't believe her. According to Robert, while he and Sandra were never formally in touch, she would often seek him out while he was on duty, offering coffee, hanging around to talk, and showing what he described as "an obsession with police officers." He said this happened about once a week.

• 34:54Speaker 02

  So, you know, she's just obsessed with them. What could they have done? What could they possibly do, Ashley?

• 35:00Ashley Flowers?

  It's a gross implication to me that, like, she was the brother. All because she wanted to be a police officer because she really did love that program. I mean, Sandra joined the Explorers program in 2010 when she was 13 years old. And apparently she was drawn to police officers from a very young age. They represented everything she wanted, safety, stability, the things that she didn't have growing up. Family members have said that Sandra deeply respected police, even idolized them. According to reporting from Boston Magazine, she joined the Explorers program not only to fulfill her dreams of becoming an officer herself, but also to find the mentorship and direction that she craved. But instead, she was preyed upon.

• 35:44Ashley Flowers?

  Chief McNamara's investigation found that Sandra and Robert had been formally in touch and communicating by Facebook Messenger from 2020 up until her death. According to the report, Robert explains this by, quote, "outrageously making claims about accounts being hacked."

• 36:01Speaker 02

  Of course.

• 36:02Ashley Flowers?

  In McNamara's investigation, multiple witness interviews also described a pattern of inappropriate conduct within the Explorer program, including hugging, kissing, even encounters in a closet involving Robert and the Farwell brothers, as well as comments like, "Come back and see me after you turn 18." One witness recalls Sandra talking about the stress officers were under and the way that they looked for outlets. In the end, McNamara recommends that Robert, William, and Matthew all have their police certifications revoked and be entered into the National Decertification Index. And there is at least one other officer from another department found to be complicit as well.

• 36:45Speaker 02

  I mean, so what now? The men just get like a slap on the wrist?

• 36:49Ashley Flowers?

  Well, they actually all resign before any sort of action can even be taken.

• 36:55Speaker 02

  Of course.

• 36:55Ashley Flowers?

  And in September 2022, Chief McNamara holds a press conference about her investigation, where she publicly addresses the entire situation for the first time.

• 37:08Speaker 01

  What I'm about to brief you on is something deeply troubling to me as a human being and as a police chief. On February 4th, 2021, 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore was found deceased in her apartment in Canton. What I am here to talk about today is her life and how she was failed by, manipulated by, and used by people of authority that she admired and trusted right up until her final days. Ms. Birchmore was a vulnerable person who had one constant in her life since childhood: her

• 37:50Speaker 01

  unwavering admiration of police officers, of those serving the military, people in uniform, people with oaths and duties to protect and serve. The admiration led her to form relationships with men who were willing to take advantage of her. The Fowler brothers and Devine violated their oaths of office and should never have the privilege of serving any community as a police officer. Through a sustained and deliberate combination of lies, deceit, and treachery, they violated

• 38:32Speaker 01

  the policies and the core values of the Stoughton Police Department, not to mention human decency. I stand before you today as a civil servant who is heartbroken and incensed by what has transpired and who pledges that this chapter in the Stoughton Police Department and the town of Stoughton is over. It must never repeat. The revolving door is closed.

• 39:06Ashley Flowers?

  Chief McNamara turns all her findings over to the Norfolk DA's office. I assume for prosecution based on her agency's findings of what would be statutory rape. But they declined to press any charges.

• 39:21Speaker 02

  I'm sorry, what in the good old boys' club is happening here?

• 39:25Ashley Flowers?

  Well, in a 2022 statement, a spokesperson for the DA says that statutory rape would be difficult to prove, given that Sandra, the main witness, was dead.

• 39:37Speaker 02

  Okay, but she's dead because he might have killed her. Like, this, this can't be the loophole.

• 39:44Ashley Flowers?

  Yeah, Sandra's family is furious over this. I haven't even spoken much about them yet, but they were fighting for her every step of the way. I mean, from the second that her aunt was notified on day one about Sandra's quote-unquote "suicide," she knew something was up. I mean, not only did she know that Sandra was actually in a really happy place before her death, but also when her and other relatives went to Sandra's apartment after her death, the place gave all the signs of someone who did not take their life. When they started going through her things, everything that they saw made it seem like Sandra's passing was extremely abrupt. There was still wet clothes in the washing machine and unopened

• 40:24Ashley Flowers?

  packages, plus more deliveries on the way. She even had cats that she had left unattended when police finally found her, which made zero sense because she had actually already started making plans to have somebody look after those same cats while she gave birth, which would have been like seven months later. But one of the most telling things, I think, is what her family finds in the bedroom. They found Sandra's necklace, this keepsake from her grandmother. It was this thin gold chain with like a pink flamingo charm, and it was laying on the floor. The chain had snapped in the middle, and then there was this clump of hair tangled in it.

• 41:02Speaker 02

  I mean, to me, that feels like a sign of a struggle. Did police not see it?

• 41:07Ashley Flowers?

  Well, apparently, the necklace was broken and like hanging off of her neck when they found her, which is documented with photographs, but it wasn't collected. So I guess officers didn't think it was relevant. So when it fell to the floor as they're, I assume, like moving her body, they either didn't notice it or like didn't care and collect it.

• 41:24Speaker 02

  And did the family show them?

• 41:26Ashley Flowers?

  Oh yeah, they handed over the necklace to police right away, but that apparently didn't change anything for them. So the family members took it upon themselves to galvanize the community on social media, getting people who knew Sandra to come forward and to share stories. So many stories that pointed to the Explorer Program and stories that helped build out McNamara's internal investigation. So now to hear that nothing was gonna come of it, like that was infuriating. So in December of 2022, Sandra's family tries a different approach. They file a wrongful death suit in Norfolk County Superior Court, accusing Matthew, William, and Robert

• 42:06Ashley Flowers?

  of grooming and sexually abusing Sandra from a young age and implicating them in her death. The family alleges wrongful death, negligent supervision, negligent retention, pain and suffering, and emotional distress, among other things. And they specifically mention an ongoing scheme of grooming and misconduct, which they say led to Sandra's death. So that litigation is still ongoing and a judgment date is set for May of 2026.

• 42:34Speaker 02

  So Sandra's family members are really the only ones actually looking into her death as like anything other than a suicide?

• 42:43Ashley Flowers?

  So, but this is what I was saying, where you get this like moment where you're like, the system is not working. Everything's broken, but there are good eggs within it. So we've got Chief McNamara, who has this investigation exposing her officers for their abhorrent behavior. And then, maybe because of her, maybe because of something else, like another big case involving Canton PD and MSP that happens in 2022.

• 43:14Speaker 02

  John O'Keefe.

• 43:15Ashley Flowers?

  Yeah, maybe because of all the pressure and the spotlight combined. At some point, other good people step in and say, nah, not on our watch. And that's the FBI. Now, it's not really clear how the FBI investigation timeline unfolded. They haven't been very public about that.

• 43:35Speaker 02

  They aren't known to be very public about that.

• 43:37Ashley Flowers?

  About anything. But on August 28th, 2024, Special Agent Shanae Castreta releases a 45-page affidavit with all of her findings. And it details exactly what they think happened and why.

• 43:55Ashley Flowers?

  Let's face it, if student loans are slowing down your financial goals, it might be time for a smarter strategy. That's where today's sponsor SoFi comes in. SoFi is helping you tackle student debt by refinancing your loans with flexible monthly payments that fit your budget. We're talking about the potential to lower your interest rate, reduce your monthly payment, or even pay off your loan sooner, depending on the term you choose. You can also consolidate your student loans into one simple monthly payment, so you could save more each month and work towards achieving your long-term financial ambitions. SoFi offers competitive fixed and variable rates and no origination fees, prepayment fees, or late fees required. It takes just two minutes to check your rate with SoFi, and they have already helped over 500,000 members refinance more than $50 billion in student loans.

• 44:39Ashley Flowers?

  Visit sofi.com/crimejunkie to see how much you can save. That's sofi.com/crimejunkie and start making smarter money moves with SoFi. SoFi's student loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A., member FDIC. Additional terms and conditions apply. NMLS 696891.

• 44:59Speaker 02

  College is a lot like Halloween. You can become whatever you want to be. The difference? A costume lasts one night, but a college degree lasts a whole lifetime. Try on something new with Southern New Hampshire University. They've got over 200 online degree programs for all kinds of career goals: business, healthcare, technology, you name it. Plus, with no scheduled class times or live lectures to attend, you don't have to quit your day job to work toward your dream career. And get this: SNHU has some of the lowest online tuition rates in the US, which means you can still be that house that gives out full-size candy bars. So instead of pretending to have your dream job, why not earn a degree that helps you get there for real? Start your free application today at SNHU.edu/crimejunkie. That's SNHU.edu/crimejunkie.

• 45:48Ashley Flowers?

  Agent Castrita confirms what we already know about Matthew grooming Sandra when she was a child, and lays out Matthew's motive for murder in clear terms. She writes that in October of 2020, when Sandra heard about Matthew's wife's pregnancy, she went to him with an ultimatum. She wouldn't expose their years-long sexual relationship, including the fact that it began when she was underage and that they'd been meeting while Matthew was on duty, if he agreed to try and get her pregnant. Their texts even show Sandra sending Matthew her ovulation schedule, and the two of them planning sexual encounters around it. But when Sandra got pregnant, she started telling people about it, and that wasn't part of the deal.

• 46:31Ashley Flowers?

  The affidavit actually puts forward that on January 20th, when that friend Jill called Stoughton PD and spilled the beans about Matthew and Sandra, causing that officer to question Matthew, that is the very moment that Matthew hatched a plan to kill her. And all those heart-to-hearts after that, Agent Castrita says were "his attempt to appease Birchmore until he could kill her." End quote. And they have physical proof, they say. The FBI analyzed the data from the Health App on Sandra's iPhone. Her last movements were recorded at 9:40 PM. That is, three minutes before Matthew was seen leaving her building.

• 47:14Ashley Flowers?

  So it's likely this data shows exactly when Sandra died, and Matthew was still inside the apartment.

• 47:22Speaker 02

  And when he left, he could have used the key that he had to lock up behind him.

• 47:26Ashley Flowers?

  Right. And Agent Castrita backs this up by tapping expert forensic physician Dr. William Smock. He specializes in asphyxiation cases and testified in the Derek Chauvin trial about George Floyd's murder. According to the affidavit, Smock's findings directly contradict what state police concluded. He pointed out that the fracture in Sandra's hyoid bone, which is at the top of the neck, didn't line up with the position that she was found in. Smock explained that when someone is found seated, it is considered an incomplete hanging, meaning that only part of the body's weight is actually pulling on the neck. And in his deep dive through forensic research,

• 48:07Ashley Flowers?

  he could not find a single documented case of a woman fracturing her hyoid bone in that kind of scenario. Instead, those fractures overwhelmingly show up in cases of manual strangulation, or when the full weight of the body is suspended. So he concludes with, quote, "a reasonable degree of medical and scientific certainty that the cause of Ms. Birchmore's death is asphyxia and that the manner of her death is homicide," end quote. And something else really interesting that Agent Castrita writes is that after Matthew consented to handing his personal cellphone over to state police, he used his work phone to search and then immediately delete searches for

• 48:51Speaker 02

  Right, right.

• 48:51Ashley Flowers?

  whether deleted iMessages can be recovered and whether someone can revoke consent in Massachusetts. And it's on the last page of this document that Agent Castrita writes this, quote, "The information set forth above supports the government's motion to detain Matthew Farwell pending trial in this case." And that is how, on the very date Agent Castrita files her report, Matthew Farwell is arrested.

• 49:21Speaker 02

  So how did the FBI get jurisdiction of the case in order to make the arrest? Like, do they just, like, trump state agencies by default?

• 49:29Ashley Flowers?

  No, the FBI makes an ingenious move to charge Matthew with one count of killing a witness or victim, which is a federal crime charge that often appears in connection with other federal charges, like sometimes in mob cases or crime rings that span, like, multiple states.

• 49:46Speaker 02

  But in this case, it allowed the FBI to step in without involving MSP.

• 49:52Ashley Flowers?

  Exactly. And this charge also happens to be punishable by death. So that same day, Matthew pleads not guilty at an arraignment. And as of this recording, Matthew has been indicted by a federal grand jury, and his trial is currently scheduled to begin on October 5, 2026. Until then, he's being held without bail at a detention facility. In Rhode Island and our reporter Nicole Kagan actually reached out to his attorney for comment, but as of this recording, we have not heard anything back. There is news still breaking in this case, though. The strangest thing to me was broken by the Boston Globe earlier this year. They wrote that people familiar with the investigation who spoke

• 50:35Ashley Flowers?

  on the condition of anonymity said that DNA testing showed Matthew was not the biological father of Sandra's unborn baby.

• 50:44Speaker 02

  Okay, first of all, who are these sources? I like need to know.

• 50:48Ashley Flowers?

  Same, but I have no idea.

• 50:49Speaker 02

  And secondly, the motive still makes sense for me, though, because if Matthew thought he was the father, which it really seems like he did from the text messages, like, that's your motive. And also, he refused to give his DNA at first, right?

• 51:03Ashley Flowers?

  Well, also, he had a twin brother who admitted to sleeping with Sandra at the same time. And like, my own PSA, I no longer trust adult twins who work at the same place if that place gives them access to children. I know that sounds specific, but I just listened to the newest season of Dig and like, oh, hell no, there is a pattern here. But there is also another pattern that I found. One with the Explorers program. Sandra's story is one that did get a decent amount of attention and had been kind of like living in the back of my brain since 2022, like ish when I first heard about it. And in digging into that,

• 51:43Ashley Flowers?

  this local article from here in Indianapolis popped up and grabbed my attention. It was from April 14, 2022. It said, IMPD officer tied to teen suicide ordered to write weekly journal in rare sentence. And that's kind of like Crime Junkie clickbait. And when I began reading, I had this weird deja vu. Deleted text messages, the police explorers program. So I began to wonder, maybe William and Matthew and Robert weren't a couple of bad apples in the system. What if the program is designed in a way that actually attracts predators and puts children at risk?

• 52:25Ashley Flowers?

  Like, parents are sending their kids off to work with the police because, like, you couldn't be safer, right? Wrong. The more I looked, the more I found. And our reporter Nina and I have spent months, the better part of a year, uncovering systematic issues with the Explorers program. And next week, we are going to be releasing an entire episode with every twisted detail we found. So for those who don't want to wait till next week to hear that, you can listen to that episode right now in the Crime Junkie Fan Club. Otherwise, it'll be out next week. And this is an episode I think everyone needs to know about.

• 53:07Ashley Flowers?

  It is required listening for anyone considering the program or for any parent who has a kid in the program. Like, I can't just look away and hope this stuff stops happening. We have to shine a light directly on it. So tell everyone you know, next week's episode of Crime Junkie is required listening for everyone, so you know what's there and you know how to keep your kids and your friends safe.

• 53:42Ashley Flowers?

  You can find all the source material for this episode on our website, crimejunkie.com. And if you want to listen to more episodes like this one, all of our episodes completely ad-free. And remember, next week's episode early. Join the Fan Club. You'll also get early access to new episodes every week and bonus content every month.

• 54:00Speaker 02

  And you can follow us on Instagram at Crime Junkie Podcast.

• 54:03Ashley Flowers?

  We'll be back next week with a brand new episode.

• 54:29Ashley Flowers?

  Crime Junkie is an AudioChuck production. I think Chuck would approve.

• 54:38Speaker 06

  When the nights grow longer, the shadows start to stir, and that can only mean one thing: Full Body Chills is back. This season, step inside original tales where every doorway leads somewhere darker, every stranger carries a secret, and nothing is ever quite what it seems. Each story takes you somewhere new, but be careful: you never know what might follow you home. So gather round, listen close, and stream Full Body Chills wherever you get your podcasts.