MA - Sandra Birchmore, Stoughton, 4 Feb 2021 *former police officer arrested*

[nodamselindistress]

Yep, corruption all the way. You will never convince me there are that many incompetent LEO's in a specific area.

 

[Seattle1]

So I went down the rabbit hole today on the Wrongful Death Claim (Norfolk Superior Court) filed by the rep for SB's Estate. Oh, man --seems SB can't even catch a break in death.

I first saw hints in the Globe alluding to the attorney representing the Estate of SB not bringing his A game after amending the Complaint a couple of times after initially naming the City and PD as separate entities. Next, I heard it from the Podcast Host that he was concerned with her representation.

You can't make this stuff up. I'll add the actual Order for Sanctions-- and the dressing down of the Attorney (Steven Marullo-Danvers, MA) by the Court later but here's the link to the jest.

Danvers Attorney Fined For Using AI To Write Legal Briefs | WBZ NewsRadio 1030

The four briefs, submitted by attorney Steven Marullo, contained references to cases that do not exist.

wbznewsradio.iheart.com

 

[HarmonyE.]

I'm going with "corruption".
If they were incompetent they wouldn't have known what they were doing.

Yeah, it's corruption. You can't find evidence if you refuse to look for it or at it, even if it's staring you in the face. In the Birchmore case the State police knew full well Farwell had been having extramarital sex with her. They knew her friends had been told he was the father. They had VIDEO of him arriving at her home shortly before she died and leaving shortly after her phone stopped moving and after she stopped texting forever. A visit that happened while his wife was in the hospital about to give birth.

A 10 year old would have known what to look for next. But these awful cops were only too happy to help out a child raping, murdering brother by accepting his obvious staging without asking any questions at all. It's unbelievably scary.

The FBI doesn't usually do murder and the count against Farwell is creative to say the least. But they had no choice here, considering the State police and the Norfolk County DA were satisfied to leave it all alone. And Farwell looked cool as cucumber sauntering in and out of her building. Like he had no worries he'd be found responsible. Sandra was a troubled young woman with almost no family left. She was nothing to him but a warm body. He probably figured no one would care.

I hope - and actually expect - that the FBI is investigating the State Police and the DA's office. I really doubt this will be the last shoe to drop. This is all too egregious.

 

[Derph]

SB death predates JOK. Given SB's investigation by local LE opened on Feb 2021 and the ME ruled the death a suicide by May 2021 -- case closed, I think they share a few things in common including the "last person to see SB was a Cop"-- so nothing to see here.

And never mind that the first responding officer from Canton was Kevin Albert (leaf blower & solo cup fame) and the CW witness who looked at Farwell's phone failed to discover more than 32K messages between the defendant and his victim was the same CW witness for the PD's phones/Cellbrite is unreliable expert, something in that water is tainted. JMO

Huh? Time doesn't matter. If JO found out something or a link to some other crime committed before or after by anyone in SB orbit, it absolutely matters. It could have re-opened the case or even opened another one. The FBI investigation went back and found things. There is SO MUCH to see here. There are too many of the same players in both cases. And we don't even know about what else might be out there. There is talk going around of other suspicious things going on in other cases.

 

[Seattle1]

Birchmore's family feels vindicated after Farwell's arrest: ‘Truth has finally come to light'

Relatives of Sandra Birchmore say there has been a sense of relief since charges were brought against a former police detective in Stoughton, Massachusetts. Birchmore died in February 2021, and while her death was initially ruled a suicide, her family and others have said she was killed. Matthew...

www.nbcboston.com

Family alleges SB had a miscarriage in 2019 and was elated to be pregnant when she was murdered.

 

[Izzylizzy]

My daughter was on a sports team with Sandra for a couple of years. Says she was hands down the chattiest person she's ever met in her life, a non-stop talker with a tendency to over-share.

Whether she was "venting" or just being her usual self, knowing what we know about him, I think it's a safe guess that Heal enjoyed that chatter.

BBM
Heal enjoyed a lot more than SB's chatter.

"A former Stoughton animal control officer, Joshua Heal, has also admitted to having sex with Birchmore at the town’s animal shelter. "

Sandra Birchmore Case: Ex Stoughton Cop Charged with Murder

Federal investigators arrested former detective Matthew Farwell today in connection with the 23-year-old's death.

www.bostonmagazine.com

 

[HarmonyE.]

BBM
Heal enjoyed a lot more than SB's chatter.

"A former Stoughton animal control officer, Joshua Heal, has also admitted to having sex with Birchmore at the town’s animal shelter. "

Yes. He was cleared of any statutory rape allegations because she didn't meet him until she was of age. But he admitted he traded sex with her for a kitten once and had other relations with her in the shelter.

So many nice guys in poor Sandra's life.

 

[Izzylizzy]

Yes. He was cleared of any statutory rape allegations because she didn't meet him until she was of age. But he admitted he traded sex with her for a kitten once and had other relations with her in the shelter.

So many nice guys in poor Sandra's life.

And so many nice people who looked the other way for years as SB's tragically abused life passed in front of them.
Was SB's "long term" therapist one of them too?

 

[HarmonyE.]

And so many nice people who looked the other way for years as SB's tragically abused life passed in front of them.
Was SB's "long term" therapist one of them too?

I think therapists in MA have to keep what their patients tell them confidential. There are certain exceptions like child or elder abuse. I'm not sure what age Sandra was when she starting confiding in one.

 

[difficultgrownup]

I think therapists in MA have to keep what their patients tell them confidential. There are certain exceptions like child or elder abuse. I'm not sure what age Sandra was when she starting confiding in one.

My therapist told me the only time she can tell anyone something I say is if it's A) me threatening to hurt myself or B) related to a crime.

 

[Izzylizzy]

My therapist told me the only time she can tell anyone something I say is if it's A) me threatening to hurt myself or B) related to a crime.

The crime would be MF raping her at 15.
From there you go back to when he met SB at 12 and forward to whatever timeline SB and her therapist were on.
I can't let the therapist go and highly doubt anything will come of it as far as an in-depth investigation by the FBI or an outside investigation.

 

[HarmonyE.]

The crime would be MF raping her at 15.
From there you go back to when he met SB at 12 and forward to whatever timeline SB and her therapist were on.
I can't let the therapist go and highly doubt anything will come of it as far as an in-depth investigation by the FBI or an outside investigation.

This assumes Sandra shared the date she first had sex with any of these men. Based on texts quoted in the charging docs it appears she had sex with Matthew Farwell for the first time when she was weeks or a few months from turning 16, the age of consent. Totally illegal, but we don't know what sort of details she shared in her sessions or what age the sessions began. She loved Farwell for most of the time they were involved and may have protected him.

 

[Soulmagent]

My therapist told me the only time she can tell anyone something I say is if it's A) me threatening to hurt myself or B) related to a crime.

Yeah , think If I feel I need a therapists advice ,I will ask a lawyer first. Maybe I got a case and not a mental health issue. Best to seek the right help first.

 

[Charlot123]

I'm going with "corruption".
If they were incompetent they wouldn't have known what they were doing.

What's the one-word term for "complicit complacency?" JMO, not corruption, just tacitly following the path of the least resistance. The body found in three days muddied waters for ME. The victim with known emotional issues, so suicide is one's best guess. (Between 2000 and 2021 the rate was 33% up, and 2022 was the record high in suicides in all US history.) Maybe local police was not adept at extracting data from cellphones. That everyone involved was acting in synch is understandable. When feds take over the case and collect everyone's phones, it rebounds (see Proctor's case).

At the district level, JMO, lots of things could be viewed through the prism of "optics for 2022 reelections".

 

[Charlot123]

Yep, corruption all the way. You will never convince me there are that many incompetent LEO's in a specific area.

One could ask, if the entrance criteria for police academy are so stringent, how come the district ends up with cops like F brothers? I read that both participated in Explorer program themselves when at school. Did anyone come across this information, too?

 

[Charlot123]

BBM
Heal enjoyed a lot more than SB's chatter.

"A former Stoughton animal control officer, Joshua Heal, has also admitted to having sex with Birchmore at the town’s animal shelter. "

Sandra Birchmore Case: Ex Stoughton Cop Charged with Murder

Federal investigators arrested former detective Matthew Farwell today in connection with the 23-year-old's death.

www.bostonmagazine.com

This is nauseating. Was it like an initiation rite for the local police, to have sex with a vulnerable woman? One wonders what finally made someone bring in the feds. Was it some political squabbles higher up, or did anyone finally get disgusted, or where there simply too many talks around the town?

 

[ch_13]

This is nauseating. Was it like an initiation rite for the local police, to have sex with a vulnerable woman? One wonders what finally made someone bring in the feds. Was it some political squabbles higher up, or did anyone finally get disgusted, or where there simply too many talks around the town?

I doubt it was someone on the inside. The Feds don't need local permission to investigate.

A lot of Sandra's friends and family were asking questions, the video of Matthew Farwell entering the apartment had been made public and "The Case" podcast had begun covering the murder. It became obvious that despite all the mounting evidence the commonwealth had no interest in pursuing justice.

The Feds have been interested in local police corruption in Massachusetts for some time (witness other arrests they've made over the last five years) so looking into what happened to Sandra could have been an outgrowth of those investigations.

My question is, aside from SB and KR, what other local cases have piqued the Feds interest?

 

[scapa]

This assumes Sandra shared the date she first had sex with any of these men. Based on texts quoted in the charging docs it appears she had sex with Matthew Farwell for the first time when she was weeks or a few months from turning 16, the age of consent. Totally illegal, but we don't know what sort of details she shared in her sessions or what age the sessions began. She loved Farwell for most of the time they were involved and may have protected him.

Sad but true, IMO.

Had the statutory rape been reported at the time or after I wonder how SB might have responded. One of the cruellest elements of an already deeply cruel case is how deep and far her trust in LE ran, and how constantly and cynically that trust was exploited.

None of this excuses those with a duty to report -- including however many LE around the case. Given what we know about how the allegations against Devine in 2014 and later were handled, I have some doubts that appropriate action would have taken in the wake of a statutory rape charge, but it might have paused or ended some of the exploitation sooner and perhaps even have averted the murder.

This is one of the saddest cases I've ever encountered. Those involved -- however many or high up -- deserve to be named, shamed and punished.

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

Sad but true, IMO.

Had the statutory rape been reported at the time or after I wonder how SB might have responded. One of the cruellest elements of an already deeply cruel case is how deep and far her trust in LE ran, and how constantly and cynically that trust was exploited.

None of this excuses those with a duty to report -- including however many LE around the case. Given what we know about how the allegations against Devine in 2014 and later were handled, I have some doubts that appropriate action would have taken in the wake of a statutory rape charge, but it might have paused or ended some of the exploitation sooner and perhaps even have averted the murder.

This is one of the saddest cases I've ever encountered. Those involved -- however many or high up -- deserve to be named, shamed and punished.

Yes scapa^^^…. well stated! And so true.

And I’ve asked this before, and repeat again so it doesn’t get forgotten too soon - what is the situation with IIRC ‘Person 5’ an apparent Stoughton, MA police officer referred to in the affidavit? The individual IIUC that relayed SB’s friend’s accusation about MF to him directly?

Who is that individual? Are they being investigated? What will become of their role in those offices? Are they still employed there?

IMO that action to alert MF directly, or indirectly, resulted in the sad situation in this case. And that IMO led to the death of SB. MOO

 

[HarmonyE.]

What's the one-word term for "complicit complacency?" JMO, not corruption, just tacitly following the path of the least resistance. The body found in three days muddied waters for ME. The victim with known emotional issues, so suicide is one's best guess. (Between 2000 and 2021 the rate was 33% up, and 2022 was the record high in suicides in all US history.) Maybe local police was not adept at extracting data from cellphones. That everyone involved was acting in synch is understandable. When feds take over the case and collect everyone's phones, it rebounds (see Proctor's case).

Canton Police weren't responsible for phone data extraction. That was the Mass State Police, more specifically Trooper Nicholas Guarino, who testified in the Read trial as a phone forensics expert. And yet he "missed" almost 33,000 texts from Farwell that the FBI found using Cellebrite. Guarino is supposed to be an expert in Cellebrite extractions.

Sandra's death didn't appear as a typical hanging. She was in a seated position. I wouldn't have any idea how to pull that off myself, and it seems unlikely she did any pre-research as she seemed very happy in the weeks before her death. Video also shows her preparing for the next day by going out regularly to clean snow off her car that afternoon and evening. There was a load of laundry in the washing machine. She was texting co-workers about school the next day. Not the sorts of things suicidal people do. And this was all known to investigators.

Not to mention, Farwell, his twin brother, and Robert Devine who started the Explorers program in town, all lost their jobs in 2022 for having sex with Sandra. Massive red flag. 'Lies, deceit, and treachery,' Investigation finds 3 former Stoughton police officers had inappropriate relationship with young woman

Investigators cannot be given a pass because suicide rates went up during the pandemic. There were red flags literally everywhere, not the least of which included Farwell's visit caught on video. Birchmore's friends say her phone was attached to her and she texted constantly. And yet minutes before he departs, she's silenced forever.

The State Police in Massachusetts are tasked with investigating non-natural deaths, including homicides and suicides. They absolutely should know what they are doing here.