Forensic pathologist determines Massachusetts woman Sandra Birchmore who claimed she was groomed and sexually abused by three cops did not die by suicide

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A prominent forensic pathologist has determined that a pregnant Massachusetts woman who claimed she was groomed and sexually abused by three cops was murdered - and did not commit suicide as the state Medical Examiner reported.

Sandra Birchmore, 23, was found dead in her apartment on February 4, 2021, with Massachusetts State Police Trooper Matthew Dunne saying he found no signs of physical abuse or indications of a struggle.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner then ruled in May 2021 that Birchmore - a former participant in the Stoughton Police Department youth program - killed herself by hanging.

But former New York City Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Baden has since determined that Birchmore was actually murdered, according to the Boston Globe.

'Ms. Birchmore did not die of suicidal hanging,' he wrote in a June 18 letter to a lawyer for Birchmore's estate.

'The cause of Ms. Birchmore's death is "strangulation" and the manner of death is "homicide."'

A prestigious former medical examiner determined that Sandra Birchmore, 23, was murdered and did not commit suicide as the Massachusetts Medical Examiner's Office reported

Baden - who previously led a US House Committee investigation into the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and who has conducted autopsies on George Floyd - cited the extent of Birchmore's injuries and the placement of a ligature as factors for his determination.

He noted that Birchmore had fractured her right hyoid bone - a small U-shaped bone in the neck - which fractures 'rarely, if at all, in suicidal hanging' but does occur in 'half of homicidal strangulation of women.'

The doctor also pointed to autopsy photos, which showed a piece of a ligature was found entangled in Birchmore's hair - which, Baden said, 'occurs when there is resistance during homicidal strangulation.'

He concluded that Birchmore would have lost consciousness 'within seconds' after the ligature was fastened around her neck, and died 'within a few minutes.'

Baden also wrote that the ligature was found tied to a doorknob, adding that he believes that was done to 'give the appearance of a suicidal hanging' even though she was happy about her pregnancy and didn't leave a suicide note.

Birchmore's estate has filed a wrongful death suit against former Stoughton Police Officer Matthew Farwell, whom she claimed fathered her child

The wrongful death suit also names former officers William Farwell and Robert Devine as defendants, claiming they groomed and sexually assaulted her

The former medical examiner was asked to review the records of Birchwood's death by attorney Steven J. Marullo, who is representing her estate in a wrongful death suit.

Marullo said he examined the autopsy himself and 'saw certain things in the autopsy report that didn't gel with the conclusion that it was a suicide.

'I decided at that time we needed to hire our own expert pathologist,' he said.

The bombshell report comes as Birchmore's family is suing Matthew G. Farwell, 38, his twin brother William, and Robert C. Devine, 52, accusing them of grooming and sexually assaulting Birchmore from the time she entered the youth Explorer's program at the age of 13.

It claims they 'undertook to engage in inappropriate relationships with [Birchmore], who was a minor when the sexual relationships were initiated, abusing her trust and adoration of law enforcement, which through their inappropriate and undue influence, ultimately led her to allegedly take her own life,' according to the Globe.

Sandra Birchmore joined the Stoughton Police Department's Explorer's Program at the age of 13. She is pictured with former Officer Robert Devine

The wrongful death suit said she admired law enforcement officers, and claimed the former cops took advantage of that 

Prior to her death, Birchmore reportedly told her friends that Matthew Farwell was the father of her unborn child - a claim he has repeatedly denied.

But he was also the last person to see Birchmore alive.

Farwell was caught on surveillance footage entering Birchmore's apartment on February 1, 2021. His wife would give birth to a boy the next day.

During an ensuing investigation with the State Police, Farwell said he told Birchmore that night he wasn't the child's father, 'it was all over' and he was 'blocking her from all forms of communication,' according to the Globe.

'Matt said that Sandra was upset, but she did not make any suicidal statements at all,' State Police Lt. John Fanning wrote in his report at the time.

'Matt said that he left, and Sandra was standing in the kitchen.' 

As the investigation continued, police found hundreds of explicit messages sent between Birchmore and Matthew Farwell over the course of several years, NBC Boston reports.

His twin brother is also accused of sending explicit text messages while on duty.

By 2023, Fanning even wrote in an affidavit that investigators looked into whether Matthew Farwell could be charged with aggravated statutory rape, as evidence showed that he began a relationship with Birchmore when she was 15 and he was 27. 

And in a decision in the wrongful death suit earlier this year, Superior Court Judge Brian A Davis wrote that Devine and William Farwell had sex with Birchmore in their patrol cars when she was an adult, citing an unredacted copy of a Stoughton police internal affairs report.

Birchmore was found dead in her apartment on February 4, 2021

But Baden noted in his letter this month that the state medical examiner 'apparently did not send fetal tissue for DNA analysis to determine who the father was.'

State Police records show that investigators asked Farwell in 2021 to provide DNA samples, but he refused.

Swabs from Birchmore's body, hair and fingernails, and the clothing she was wearing, were taken for a sexual assault kit - but Baden said it 'appears' the evidence was not tested.

He now believes the kit and fetal tissue could still be examined.

But in a statement to the Globe, David Traub, a spokesman for Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrisey said 'DNA testing has been done on items with the potential to produce evidence of the potential crimes being investigated, and other items have been preserved.'

He declined to give any more details 'while multiple agencies continue to investigate.'

Multiple law enforcement agencies are continuing to investigate her death

The officers have never been charged with any wrongdoing, but the Stoughton police department announced that its internal affairs investigation found the officers violated their oaths and rendered them 'unfit to serve.'  

All three officers then resigned from the police department in 2022.

In March, the Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission also approved an agreement with Matthew Farwell that prohibits him from working as a cop in Massachusetts and added him to a national database of sanctioned officer.

As part of the agreement, Farwell did not admit to any wrongdoing.

The commission is also seeking to decertify William Farwell and suspend or decertify Devine.

Those proceedings are still pending. 

Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara vowed to continue to work with investigators

In the meantime, Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara has called for Birchmore's cause of death to be re-examined.

'I was profoundly disturbed and troubled by what I read,' she said of Baden's letter in a statement posted to the police department's website Monday.

'While I am not a trained medical examiner, and I am not qualified to draw any direct conclusions, the findings certainly warrant further examination at the highest level.'

She vowed to continue working with investigators - noting that she previously released information about 'the horrific injustices, including grooming and sexual abuse inflicted upon Sandra Birchmore at the hands of one rogue and corrupt former police officer and additional inappropriate sexual relationships by other former police officers.

'Sandra received not so much as a sliver of justice during her life, and we will not cease in our efforts to ensure our duty to administer justice, and she is not forgotten in the aftermath of her death.' 

McNamara said every 'good and decent police officer' should be aware and angry about the injustices inflicted on Birchmore.

She added: 'Sandra idolized police officers and what policing stood for in America, and she was victimized as a result.

'The only mantra of good cops must be: Never again, and never, ever on my watch.'