Alleged Assault, Grooming and Death of Sandra Birchmore, Stoughton, MA

Matthew Farwell, a disgraced officer accused of being in a secret relationship with Sandra 

Birchmore was arrested by a SWAT team at the end of August in connection to her death. 

You can watch the entire news conference here.

And you can read the court filings in this case that are linked at the bottom of this news release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/former-massachusetts-police-officer-arrested-connection-murder-young-woman

Birchmore, 23, was discovered deceased in her Canton apartment from what officials ruled a death by suicide on Feb. 4, 2021. However, former Stoughton Police Officer Matthew Farwell was recently arrested and federally charged with Birchmore’s murder. 

The two met through the department’s youth explorers program, which Birchmore joined when she was 10 years old. By the time she was about 15, Farwell became a volunteer with the program.

According to the federal indictment, which is available here, Farwell began an illegal sexual relationship with Birchmore when she was 15-years-old. The sexual relationship continued until her death in 2021. You can hear more about this in Cup of Justice Episode 96 and Episode 97. 

The federal indictment mentions that several of these sexual encounters occurred inside Farwell’s police vehicle while he was on duty and receiving wages. 

According to the indictment, Birchmore discovered she was pregnant with Farwell’s child in December 2020, and that she informed Farwell and close friends and family of the news. 

In January 2021, a close friend of Birchmore’s alerted the Stoughton Police Department about the relationship. According to the indictment, an employee at the police department informed Farwell about the call. 

Birchmore was then killed 15 days later in her apartment in what was initially ruled a suicide. But following an examination by the family-hired forensic pathologist, it was determined that Birchmore’s injuries were more consistent with strangulation than self-inflicted hanging. 

Along with holding Farwell responsible for her death, Birchmore’s family is also suing the Town of Stoughton, the Stoughton Police department, and three officers allegedly involved in her death (including Farwell.) 

Following his federal indictment, the District Court of Massachusetts filed a memorandum requesting that Farwell stay in detention while he awaits trial due to, “a serious risk that, if released, the defendant will obstruct or attempt to obstruct justice.”

 You can read more about the allegations in July’s Corruption Watchlist 

Or listen to COJ Episode 96, Episode 97 and True Sunlight Podcast Episode 64.

The Suspicious Death of Ellen Greenberg,  Manayunk, PA 

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to review the cause of death of Ellen Greenberg, a woman whose 20 stab wounds were ruled self-inflicted by authorities. 

The supreme court review follows the Commonwealth’s 2023 decision that Greenberg’s family and attorneys did not have the right to fight the medical examiner’s cause of death determination. 

Now, the supreme court has agreed to review the case and determine whether Greenberg’s “executors and administrators of an estate have standing to challenge an erroneous finding recorded on the decedent’s death certificate where that finding constitutes a bar or material impediment to recovery of victim’s compensation, restitution or for wrongful death, as well as private criminal complaints,” the federal petition reads. 

According to CBS News, the medical examiner initially determined Greenberg’s cause of death to be homicide before reversing the decision, CBS News reported. Her family believe the reversal was suspicious and a possible cover up.  

Ellen was found dead on her kitchen floor on January 26, 2011, after a blizzard caused her first grade class to be canceled for the day. Ellen was discovered by her fiance, Sam Goldberg, who claims he was in the apartment gym at the time of her death. 

According to CBS News and the family’s GoFundMe, the neuropathologist hired by the city of Philadelphia testified that at least one of the stab wounds occurred after Greenberg was already dead. 

Please sign into your Premium account then refresh this page to view this content.