The Attorney General’s investigation into the Sandra Birchmore case continues despite the lawsuit

The state Attorney General’s Office confirmed that its criminal investigation into the death of Sandra Birchmore, who police say was abused and then assaulted by three former police officers, is ongoing. Because of that, it is exempt from the duty to turn over documents requested by Birchmore’s estate and the defendants in a civil lawsuit brought by her estate.

During a hearing Friday morning on a motion to compel the attorney general’s office to release those documents, attorneys also confirmed that a separate federal investigation by the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office was underway, but did not say what exactly that investigation was about. The attorney general’s office took over an investigation led by Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey’s office.

Morrissey’s office is the subject of a separate federal investigation into its handling of the Karen Read investigation.

The estate representing Birchmore, 23, who died in February 2021, filed a wrongful death lawsuit naming a trio of Stoughton police officers accused of sexually assaulting and abusing her, as well as the city of Stoughton and the Stoughton Police Department. Another police officer named in the lawsuit has since been fired from the case, records show.

The documents in question concern “everything related to (her) death or the investigation” and could be in the office’s possession.

Birchmore first met former police officer Matthew Farwell through the Youth Explorer program in 2010, when she was 13.

Farwell reportedly began an inappropriate physical relationship with Birchmore at the age of 15, which is considered rape of a minor under Massachusetts law.

Farwell, 36, was a police detective, former president of the patrol officers’ union and a married father, according to The Boston Globe. He was 26 when the abuse began, according to prosecutors.

Matthew Farwell’s twin brother William Farwell and Officer Robert C. Devine were the other two Stoughton officers named in an internal investigation report commissioned by the Stoughton Police Department.

Evidence uncovered during the Stoughton Police investigation revealed that William Farwell had “multiple inappropriate physical altercations” with Birchmore and sent explicit messages and photographs to the girl while on duty.

Birchmore was pregnant when she was found dead and had told friends the baby was Matthew Farwell’s, the wrongful death lawsuit says.

All three men have since resigned, and Matthew Farwell was later disbarred by the state Police Department’s Board of Supervisors. The board is seeking to disbar William Farwell and suspend or disbar Devine, the Boston Globe reported.

After an autopsy, the Office of the State Medical Examiner concluded Birchmore’s death was suicide. However, an expert hired by her estate concluded her death may have been a homicide by Matthew Farwell, confirmed attorney David Bae, who represents William Farwell, during a hearing Friday.

Bae filed the motion to release records from the attorney general’s office, and Steven Marullo, the attorney representing Birchmore’s estate, joined in the motion during Friday’s hearing before Judge Claudine Cloutier.

“We desperately need those records at this time so we can assess and analyze” what liability William Farwell may have had, Bae said during the hearing, which was conducted virtually. The records requested by William Farwell include reports and testimony from the welfare check conducted on Feb. 4, 2021, at Birchmore’s Canton apartment when she was found dead.

Lisa Maki, the attorney general’s office’s chief legal counsel, argued that disclosing the records could jeopardize the ongoing investigation and that it was not in the public interest to allow the defendants to testify. But Cloutier disagreed with characterizing the investigation as ongoing, pointing out that Birchmore’s death occurred more than three years ago.

“I struggle to understand how investigations into incidents that occurred more than three and a half years ago can continue at this point and continue to be investigated,” she said.

Marullo, the attorney for Birchmore’s estate, said her estate is looking for answers.

“All we want is the truth. We don’t care what the truth shows, we want the truth,” he said.

Cloutier ultimately decided to give the Attorney General’s Office 30 days to submit the documents for a closed hearing, during which it will review them and decide whether or not to make them available to the other parties in the litigation.