Episode 320: Twin Police officers accused of “inappropriate relationship” with 15-yr-old girl, later found dead while pregnant

---

It’s normal to cringe when you think back to your middle school crush. Jane hated thinking about Robert. She had an obsession with him when she was 12 years old. She remembered everyone in the class would fight over him, try to get alone time with him, and he seemed to love all the attention he was getting.

When Jane found out he was dating another girl - she was so devastated she didn’t know what to do with herself. He got her alone in an office, lifted her onto the table, kissed her on the forehead, and told her -

“You’re a total knockout and I’ll take you on a date when you turn 18.”

Jane was 12. Robert was a full grown police officer leading the Police Explorer’s Program she was in. Later, Jane would discover he was being interviewed about his connection to Sandra Birchmore. A pregnant 23-year-old woman that had been mysteriously found dead.

Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com

Sandra as a child with her close family members

9:28PM - Mystery man enters Sandra’s apartment complex

9:56PM – Mystery man is seen leaving her building

Blueprint of Sandra’s apartment complex

Sandra (on the far right) attending the Stoughton’s Explorers program

Matthew and William Farwell

Officer Heal

William Farwell, Robert & Sandra, Matthew Farwell

Reported statement of Sandra’s pregnancy

Consent form signed by Matthew Farwell to search his electronics - retrieved from MSP investigation report

The police report seems to imply that at least some messages were found

Photo of Sandra when she had already initiated a sexual relationship with Matthew retrieved from Sandra’s Facebook

Screenshots of William Farwell and Robert Devine’s allegations and certification status from the POST Commission Sustained Allegations and Disciplinary Action report

Surveillance footage of Sandra’s apartment via The Case Podcast

Chief Donna McNamara’s press conference

Sources: 

https://abingtonnews.org/2023/09/04/heal-no-longer-with-abington-police/

https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-case/joshua-heal-Yt2W5yUkgmL/

https://abingtonnews.org/2022/09/23/abington-officer-on-leave-following-stoughton-pd-investigation/

https://youtu.be/grG3qRcGsVs

https://youtu.be/NIboANF6Arg 

https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/news/coronavirus/2020/08/31/stoughton-police-mired-in-conflict/1084847007/

https://youtu.be/JxHEGOyt6nk

https://youtu.be/md4szYuHqxg:

https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2009/02/23/cost-civil-suits-in-stoughton/40137307007/ 

https://www.facebook.com/sandra.birchmore.1

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-review-of-social-history/article/boy-scouts-class-and-militarism-in-relation-to-british-youth-movements-19081930/64113C4AF631954C13A547AADDB0F447

https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-boy-scouts#:~:text=Lieutenant%2DGeneral%20Sir%20Robert%20Baden,attention%20in%20the%20United%20States.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-8VHfDYY44 (1953 ad) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VX6-az25HA (1977 ad)

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/16/us/boy-scouts-sex-abuse-deadline-bankruptcy/index.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20160305003006/http://rivertrails.cac.tripod.com/id28.html

https://www.exploring.org/about-us/

https://www.vice.com/en/article/evyv74/this-teen-wanted-to-be-a-cop-until-he-was-sexually-abused-by-police

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-82/pdf/STATUTE-82-Pg53.pdf

https://www.whitepages.com/name/William-Farwell/MA

 https://www.masscourts.org/eservices/searchresults.page?x=7Bu0WFVpYz2OH2JlubO*megIU-BPeiKFAHJb01s374RgA7w4dvX1Q1ZNGdjbYz7eofVFM0*Aq1Pf3QlRRzCh1w

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/denise-birchmore-obituary?pid=180081723&page=2 

https://twitter.com/east_elem_sps?lang=eu 

https://twitter.com/thecasepodcast/status/1603495118279176193

https://podtext.ai/the-case/two-fridays 

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/06/20/metro/worst-small-town-governments-stoughton-latest-police-scandal-adds-long-history-trouble/

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/09/22/metro/three-stoughton-police-officers-had-inappropriate-relationships-with-young-woman-who-came-them-mentoring-town-report-finds/

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/09/23/metro/theyre-unfit-serve-stoughton-police-chief-will-ask-state-decertify-officers-identified-explosive-internal-affairs-report/

https://tbdailynews.com/canton-coverup-part-112-same-canton-officers-who-covered-for-albert-and-mccabes-failed-to-properly-investigate-sandra-birchmore-alleged-suicide/

https://www.enterprisenews.com/story/news/2023/08/27/brockton-area-top-5-stories/70667708007/

https://www.scribd.com/document/596319656/Findings-from-internal-affairs-investigation-into-three-former-Stoughton-Police-Department-officers 

• https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/3-stoughton-officers-had-inappropriate-relationships-with-girl-who-later-died-by-suicide-chief-says/7NBNJPQU35FY5NUPWIAQ76IDK4/

• https://www.boston.com/news/the-boston-globe/2022/12/30/sandra-birchmore-wrongful-death-lawsuit-stoughton-police/

• https://www.wcvb.com/article/wrongful-death-lawsuit-sandra-birchmore-stoughton-police-department-officers-dec-29-2022/42363271 

• https://people.com/crime/stoughton-police-officers-allegedly-inappropriate-relations-young-woman-died-suicide/ 

• https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/09/22/metro/three-stoughton-police-officers-had-inappropriate-relationships-with-young-woman-who-came-them-mentoring-town-report-finds

• https://jezebel.com/multiple-officers-accused-of-inappropriate-relations-re-1849580142 

• https://dailyvoice.com/massachusetts/norfolk/news/ex-stoughton-police-officers-had-disturbing-relationships-with-woman-until-her-death/844469/

• https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/massachusetts-police-inappropriate-relationship-teen-b2175520.html

• https://www.aol.com/justice-sandra-protesters-want-cops-091819294.html

• https://www.enterprisenews.com/story/news/courts/2022/12/30/stoughton-police-sandra-birchmore-lawsuite-cops-sex-pregnant-william-matthew-farwell-robert-devine/69766872007/  

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghi9N8La248

• https://truecrimediva.com/sandra-birchmore/

• https://abingtonnews.org/2022/09/23/abington-officer-on-leave-following-stoughton-pd-investigation/

• https://www.exploring.org/law-enforcement/ 

• https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/exploring-police-explorer-programs 

• https://www.vice.com/en/article/evyv74/this-teen-wanted-to-be-a-cop-until-he-was-sexually-abused-by-police

• https://edwards-law.com/news/dozens-of-teenage-explorers-have-been-sexually-abused-by-police-officers-critics-say-the-boy-scouts-who-oversee-the-program-should-share-the-blame/ 

• https://kmtg.com/news/legal-alerts/teenagers-involved-in-police-explorer-program-allowed-to-proceed-against-city-and-police-department-on-complaint-of-sexual-abuse/ 

• https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/investigations/2017/05/18/sexual-abuse-explorer-scouts-has-gone-decades-across-nation/311510001/

• https://www.enterprisenews.com/story/news/courts/2022/12/30/stoughton-police-sandra-birchmore-lawsuite-cops-sex-pregnant-william-matthew-farwell-robert-devine/69766872007/ 

• https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-case/id1540837326 

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxHEGOyt6nk 

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKvuKZF66_o

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ahtDbEbPy0

• https://wbsm.com/stoughton-police-internal-investigation-found-officers-exploited-teen-sandra-birchmore/

• https://tbdailynews.com/canton-coverup-part-112-same-canton-officers-who-covered-for-albert-and-mccabes-failed-to-properly-investigate-sandra-birchmore-alleged-suicide/ 

• https://fallriverreporter.com/three-massachusetts-police-officers-featured-in-lawsuit-concerning-death-of-23-year-old-pregnant-woman/ 

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIs0naQHbKY 

• https://www.thedailybeast.com/campaign-flack-offers-even-more-deranged-take-on-trumps-vermin-comment 

• https://www.fox23.com/news/trending/chief-3-massachusetts-officers-had-inappropriate-relationships-with-girl-who-later-died-by-suicide/article_1838ba8a-C.F.6e-584a-ba59-2ec343039df9.html 

• https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/04/13/metro/scandal-widens-stoughton-police-department-amid-investigation-into-pregnant-womans-suicide/  
  
  

Production Note:

Rotten Mango has not done original reporting on this case. The stories are based on existing material (listed in show notes).

The RM team works hard to make sure everything you’re listening to is as accurate as possible and we try to use multiple sources to verify the facts. Creative liberties may be taken in certain cases during the presentation of the case. Please email us at rottenmangop@gmail.com if you have any questions!