Ep. 31 Sandra Birchmore: Met the cop at 12. Died pregnant at 23.

At 12, Sandra Birchmore joined a police youth program, looking up to the officers who were supposed to guide and protect her. At 23, she was found dead in her apartment, pregnant with a baby she desperately wanted. Her death was ruled a suicide. Federal prosecutors say it was murder. This week on Crime Snob, we examine the allegations against former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell, who prosecutors say sexually abused Sandra beginning when she was 15, then killed her years later to keep her from exposing him. Farwell has pleaded not guilty, and his defense maintains that Sandra died by suicide after their final meeting. We break down the years of messages, surveillance footage, conflicting medical findings, questions surrounding the original investigation, and a startling revelation about the father of Sandra’s unborn child. What happened during Farwell’s final visit, and what did investigators overlook in the days that followed?