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The September 19, 2025, episode of Dateline - The Betrayal of Sandra Birchmore - explores the horrifying story of the brutal murder of Sandra Birchmore. What was considered an unfortunate case of suicide turned out to be a gruesome murder, and it even went on to expose an ugly side of the Massachusetts Police Department.
While the case had garnered national media attention when it took place, the Dateline episode rocked the internet as it revealed never-before-seen interviews with Birchmore's family and relatives, revealing many new details about the case.
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The recent Dateline episode explored how Sandra Birchmore underwent years of assault by ex-detective Matthew Farwell
In its latest episode, Dateline explored the horrific tragedy faced by Sandra Birchmore.
Birchmore was a 23-year-old teacher's aide, who was also a one-time police "explorer." The young girl came into national media attention after she was found dead in her apartment in February 2021. The case was initially labeled as one of suicide, but something seemed not to be right as it was revealed that she had revealed to her family that she was pregnant shortly before the incident happened. However, what was initially shut off as a suicide case eventually turned into something much uglier, when the truth finally came out in 2024, exposing ex-detective Matthew Farwell as the murderer.
Investigation revealed that the police "explorer" was regularly being assaulted by Detective Farwell and two other officers within the Massachusetts Police Department - Farwell's twin brother, William Farwell, and Robert Devine. Birchmore was being groomed by Matthew Farwell for nearly ten years, as she had been involved with him since the age of 12. However, he ended up strangling and killing her in February 2021, and even went on to alter the crime scene to make it look like a suicide.
At the time of the arrest, the then-acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy commented,
"When it became clear to Mr. Farwell that he could no longer control [her], he allegedly silenced her permanently."
Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara also opened up about the incident in the Dateline episode, offering an apology and saying that she hoped Farwell got his deserved punishment if he gets convicted.
"I am sorry that she was treated so horrifically by three men from my department. She didn’t deserve that.”
She went on to add -
"They dehumanized her. It’s vile."
While Farwell's attorneys have declined to comment so far, they urge the people to keep an open mind as Farwell has pleaded not guilty.
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The episode, The Betrayal of Sandra Birchmore, is available to watch on NBC.
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