A group of people gathered on a rainy Saturday in Stoughton, Massachusetts, calling for justice for Sandra Birchmore.
Demonstrators were out with signs, wearing light blue and white in support of Birchmore, who was 23 years old when she was found dead in her Stoughton apartment back in early 2021.
"We're out here today just trying to make the public more aware of what happened to Sandra and keep her name in the public eye," said Melissa Berry, who attended Saturday's standout. "Finally Matthew Farwell was arrested for her murder, but we still have a long way to go with her case to get other people under lock and key also."
Former Massachusetts police officer Matthew Farwell was indicted on charges last month that he strangled Birchmore on about Feb. 1, 2021. He's accused of sexually exploiting her when she was underage and then continuing to have sex with her when she was an adult.
Farwell allegedly tried to stage her death as a suicide after she told him she was pregnant and he was the father.
The 38-year-old entered a not guilty plea during an initial appearance in federal court in Boston, where he was handcuffed and led out of the room.
Authorities allege that Farwell killed Birchmore to prevent authorities from finding out details of his sexual offenses. Farwell worked as an officer for the police department in Stoughton, south of Boston, for 10 years, from 2012 until 2022.
FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Stephen Kelleher previously called the allegations against Farwell “depraved.”
“Matthew Farwell’s gun and badge did not grant him authority to violate the constitution, and it certainly didn’t entitle him to sexually exploit, abuse, and rape a child before killing her and her unborn baby in an attempt to cover up his alleged crimes,” he said.
“The alleged murder of Sandra is a horrific injustice,” McNamara said. “The allegations against the suspect, a former Stoughton Police Officer, represent the single worst act of not just professional misconduct but indeed human indecency that I have observed in a nearly three-decade career in law enforcement.”
Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara said last month that the department had worked with other agencies, including the FBI, to investigate.
“The day after Sandra Birchmore was found dead in her Canton apartment, I ordered a lengthy and aggressive internal affairs investigation, the instructions of which made it clear that no stone should be left unturned,” McNamara said in an earlier statement.
Farwell is scheduled to return to court for a status conference on Oct. 17.
