12 Hours

"Morning case, what's up and out?" We are in Newton-Wellesley Hospital, located in a wealthy suburb 12 miles outside of Boston at this hospital on February 2nd, 2021 at 9.25 a.m. Michelle Farwell gave birth to a son who was the third child for her daughter husband Matthew Farwell. They made 35-year-old detective for the Stoten Police Department. Stoten, south of Boston, borders Canton. And right at that town border, we find Canton Woods apartments. Built in 2007, the complex is 160 units in three buildings. Exactly 12 hours before his son is born, Matthew Farwell is inside the apartment 3307 in Canton Woods. He's visiting Sandra Birchmore, a 23-year-old teaching assistant. Farwell had known Birchmore since she was 13 years old and he was her instructor at the police explorer's program in Stoten. Farwell would later say he was at that apartment with one purpose in mind to end his relationship with Birchmore. Video footage showed Farwell entering the apartment building at 9.14 p.m. and exiting at 9.43 p.m. on that night at February 1st, 2021. 12 hours later, he's with his newborn son. And at the same time in the apartment 3307 in Canton Woods, Sandra Birchmore, three months pregnant, is now dead. This is the case, Season 2, Episode 1. In the side before we really begin telling this story, in Season 1 of the Case, we investigated the disappearance of Jennifer Fay in November of 1989. We learned she was likely with a young man named Kevin Mayler, the night she went missing and Brockton, Massachusetts. We traced Mayler down to Wall Hall of South Carolina and also learned three other people in Mayler's social circle had either died or gone missing. The law enforcement ruled the deaths as accidental, but we didn't believe that. And on September 7th, 2022, Mayler was charged with a murder of Kevin Craig, the sheriff of Hokone County credited the podcast for its help in the arrest. "Some of the information that you guys are very investigating on your end and so you all uncovered a lot of information." This might sound like a victory lap, I understand, but here's my larger point, there is no way and I mean no way we break that story without enormous cooperation from all the families. Jennifer Fay's sister was available to talk at any time. I can remember meeting for the first time, the mother and aunt of Faith Roach, a young woman close to Mayler who had gone missing in South Carolina. The three of us were a parking lot of the police station in Wall Hall of. Once they knew we were serious about the story, they called everyone who could help us. In 20 minutes there were dozens of friends and family in that parking lot. April Jones, another male confidant, was found dead in her garage. Her husband walked us through that garage and her mother and daughter showed us her autopsy photos, put them up right on the hood of a car on the small dirt driveway in Wall Hall of. We would have been lost without these people. So this, we were really close to telling another story for the season of the podcast. About 90% done when Sandra Birchmore crossed our radar. It was too compelling a story to ignore, but unlike season one, Sandra's family, for the most part, will not talk. Friends are afraid to speak on the record, but prefer to be anonymous. Unlike Jennifer Fay or the victims in South Carolina, this is currently an active investigation. So the police will not discuss this case with us, and many people have told us they're afraid to speak that they fear the ramifications of criticizing the Stoten Police Department. We have uncovered new leads in this case and we'll continue to do so, but this much is true. Jennifer Fay and the victims in South Carolina had many advocates. And Sandra Birchmore has almost none. And maybe that's the best reason to tell her story. Law Enforcement Exploring is a work site-based program that enables young adults to gain hands-on experience for a potential career in law enforcement. Even though law enforcement exploring was originally created to recruit young adults for law enforcement careers, it's evolved into something much more. I believe the greatest value of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Law Enforcement Explorer program is that it gives explorers an opportunity to learn and grow in an environment that is supportive, caring, and secure. All of the time I had never heard of the police explorers program before the Sandra Birchmore story. I grew up in the town about 30 miles from Stoten, and those such program existed there when I was a kid. But there are thousands of towns in cities that have the explorers program, though that number has dwindled over the last few decades, and we'll tell you why in our next episode. Let me give you, if you don't know, a definition of what the explorers program is. This is from a willing to Massachusetts Police Press release in 2019. Explorers program is a nationwide career-oriented program for young men and women ages 14 through 20. The program provides young people with an opportunity to learn about a career in law enforcement, a chance to network with sworn police officers in the community. I was determined at the time that I was going to go into law enforcement. So I kind of wanted to get a feel for what modern policing was like, and at the time. I really enjoyed it. That's the voice of Chris Swedersky, one of the founding members of the Stoten Police Explorers program. The Explorers program had existed in Stoten before Robert Devine took over in 2001, but the numbers had been weighed down. He told the Brockton Enterprise in a 2001 profile. The Apollo members asking them if they'd like to participate in a mock police academy. They did, and the numbers jumped. A former drill instructor in the military, divine by the end of 2011, had more than 300 kids go through the program. Devine said it was, quote, "more than actually training for a career in law enforcement, some kids find a home with the explorers." According to people we've talked to, Devine considered himself a father figure, not only with the explorers, but also in his role as a school resource officer in Stoten. And in 2010 when Sandra Birchmore, 13 years old, became a member of the explorers, she was looking for a father figure. She was raised by a single mother Denise in Stoten, though her grandmother and aunt also lived with them. Denise and Sandra are both quoted in a 2006 Stoten Journal story about a program called "Stranketing Families," a 14-week program designed to reduce negative factors for children in high-risk families. Denise's quote that she says she likes the fact that they show you what your tools are. Instead of yelling your child, for example, sit down and talk it out. If you are both angry, instead of trying to work out the situation right there and then, take a time out and come back to deal with it. Sandra was just nine at the time. And so it was great because the youth got to play games and put on puppet shows while learning different skills. She said it was really fun, and on the very last day, she got a certificate. She was always smiling. I honestly never saw her angry or any choose she loved talking. She loved telling people what was going on in her life. She got very excited about things. That's Sandra's cousin Kelly. And I actually think this is important and we'll remain the theme throughout this series. No matter what was going on in Sandra's life, and often it was deeply troubling, and obviously ended tragically, she remained optimistic. Her mother was sick throughout her childhood. She had no relationship with her birth father and her stepfather died when she was young. This is a highly vulnerable 13-year-old girl entering the program. Looking at pictures from that year, 2010, she looks really young for 13. Honestly, no more than nine or 10 years old and most. I'm sure she thought she was finding a safe place surrounded by police officers, men she could trust. Instead, she was entering a Dan of Pretheters, not just Robert Devine, whom you'll learn more about as a series goes on. But Devina has special guests in the structure with the explorers. I remember if Devine's first explorers group, Matthew Farrowell. In 2021, Sandra is working as a teaching assistant at East Middle School in Sharon, Massachusetts. Here's the mother of a lifelong friend of Sandra's. She asked remain anonymous for this podcast. Sandra couldn't wait to go into those kids every day. She had an energy to use her own money to do the materials. She was so excited and she could love her because she had an energy like no love. She had not, however, shown up for work on February 2nd or 3rd. And on the morning of February 4th, Endsley Co-Tard, a patrolment for the Canton Police Department, was working with the received a well-being check at 9.45am from Michael Hawking, the school resource officer of Sharon. Sandra was not at work for a third straight day. The attempts to call her went straight to voicemail. And provided Co-Tard with birch mors address the canned wood's apartments. At 11am, Co-Tard and Canton officer Mike Brady knocked and announced their presence at birch mors apartment, but that led to no response. Co-Tard contacted this sergeant. He told Co-Tard to attempt to locate her car in the parking lot. The car was found by Co-Tard. He noticed there was snow still on and around the car that appeared undisturbed. This is February 4th, remember. The last time I did snow was on Monday. Feel very first into it. early Tuesday morning, February 2nd. Kotar was able to obtain keys for the apartment, from building management, and enter the 11am. Immediately he noticed the apartment was to shoveled and largely on-camped, with two housecats running around. The bedroom door was closed. The bathroom door was open. Kotar first checked to see if Bertram was there. She was not. He then opened the bedroom door. The lights were off. And saw Bertramore. See them on the floor with what Kotar referred to as report to some sort of belt, lanyard string, rope, secured tightly around her neck, which was secured tightly to the handle of the door of the bedroom closet. It was obvious that Kotar that Bertramore was dead. He noticed levity about the skin and face, rigor about the body's extremities, and a large pool of dry blood around her mouth. Cantid firefighter Daniel Whitley arrived and pronounced Sandra dead at 11.46am. The chief medical examiner ruled that suicide is fixier by hanging. No life-saving measures were taken. One other note, Sergeant Michael Lank, arrived at the scene after Kotar. In his report, he wrote the countertops in the kitchen were almost entirely covered with junk mail, medication, and some trash. But there was also a photograph, an ultrasound, with Bertramore's name and date of birth on the picture of the unborn child. The day after Sandra's body was discovered, Stotenpolice chief Donna McNamara was contacted by the detective from the Massachusetts State Police. Once family and friends learned about Sandra, some contacted police let them know about her relationship with Matthew Farwell. It's interesting here to note that no one who contacted the police in the fourth. The day her body was found, had any idea Farwell had been in Sandra's apartment the last night she was alive, but they, at least people we've talked to, knew she was pregnant, in a relationship with a married police officer and now suddenly dead. McNamara on February 5, directs Deputy Chief Brian Holmes to conduct an internal investigation into "the matter of the unattended death of Sandra Bertramore," the report heavily redacted to the public, arrives 19 months later. By then, Robert Devine had already resigned from Stotenpolice department. As a Matthew Farwell. And the third member of the department also resigned for his inappropriate actions of Sandra Bertramore. He was also a former explorer and guest instructor for the program. His name, William Farwell, Matthew's twin brother. Hi Sergeant, I need 75 meter proof. Get these guys back! Get them back! You tell him to get on his knees and touch the sky, okay? That is a clip from the hurt locker. The 2009 Oscar-winning film that tells a story of a bomb-defusion unit in Iraq, the US Army explosive ordinance team. Prior to joining the Stotenpolice department, both Matthew and William Farwell served as an explosive ordinance team leader's overseas. Here's a quote from William Farwell, to the Stoten Journal in 2012. Maddick sailed in the small by the elite field in the military and his legend and footsteps were hard to follow when I made the leap for military police community over to the explosive ordinance disposal team. By 2012, Matt Farwell was a police officer in Stoten. He was also still active with the explorers. Divine told the Stoten Journal in that same 2012 story that the Farwell brothers quote, "don't leave their time as physical and drill instructors and also top explosives class." They bring in bomb robots, blast jackets, and shields. They are very good at what they do. The 2012 story ends with this. It appears that Stotenpolice Chief Paul Shastonney's promised to hire the very best of the exhibited in full force here. Stoten got the police officer who was fully trained, had an impressive military background, and more experience than almost anyone in his age who had come to the department with. Welcome to Stoten, officer Matt Farwell. At the time, Farwell was 26 years old. And that same year, he was already in the sexual relationship with Sandra Birchmore, who was 15 years old. So it was very like social and fun. She had a very high-energy personality. She was so freaking smart. She would answer all the past talks. She would also tell stories about class, class, that. She was a very unselfish person. She was so excited about everything she did. She had an excitement. She was concerned for everybody she met. We've talked to dozens of Sandra's friends. And everyone said a lot of what you just heard from three people who knew Sandra very well. Kind, sweet, funny, loving. However, there was another side. Sandra Birchmore was an overshare. She could make people uncomfortable. I can read the reports in the text exchanges she had with friends and recognize with a screamingly obvious from 30,000 feet. This was a girl, and then a young woman. It was emotionally stunted, more than a little immature. In interviews with people who knew her and reading the reports following her death, she struggled to keep friends. She could be emotional, angry. She could ask too many questions and offer too much about herself. This was ample five when she became pregnant in December of 2020. She began telling friends and others almost immediately. On February 5, 2021, Detective Matthew Dunn interviewed a teacher at East School in Sharon. Sandra was in her first year at the school as was his teacher. When she was asked to describe her relationship with Sandra, she said she thought Sandra to be a little off and overshared a lot of personal information. Details of her personal life, even her first day of employment at the school. Without this teacher asking, Sandra told her she was dating a police officer, who was 10 or 11 years older than she was. She told her that a boyfriend was married with two children. Sandra told her she wanted to get pregnant with her boyfriend and he finally agreed. When she did tell her she was pregnant, it was just four or five weeks in the pregnancy, which a teacher found odd. And this was happening over and over. She reached out to French and spoke to him years to tell him about the pregnancy. She ran into a mother and old friend of the supermarket and told her. She told people at her apartment complex where she lived for just a few months. She just wanted people to know. She was also determined to have Matt Farwell's name on the birth certificate. Farwell wanted no part of that. He did not want to sign the birth certificate is what she told me and then that message also showed like it was a problem. That's Sandra's hair stylist. The two began to talk more when she was pregnant. They would usually communicate via Facebook Messenger. And she shows the content of those messages when we met with her at the Salam and Stouten in late September. So it was a pretty, it looks like a pretty frequent correspondence though. Yeah, I would always reply to her. I knew she didn't have anything and she was planning for baby shower. Yeah. As is the case with anyone in their early 20s, Sandra communicated constantly via text, Snapchat, Facebook Messenger. So, a buzzer of messages not surprising given she was living alone the last few months of her life and her pension for over sharing. Co-workers, old friends, new friends, a strange family members. She messaged with Matthew Farwell thousands of times in the last year of her life. She messaged with Robert Devin as recently as two weeks before she died. You want to meet her at a local restaurant and she would just communicate with William Farwell a week before her death. And on the snowy night of February 1st, 2021 at 9pm, she sent a message to a co-worker asking if there would be school the next day. It would be the last message she would ever send. That's my producer and I in October, knocking on what was Sandra Birchmore's third floor apartment at Canton Woods. We were hoping the current tenants would be home and let us in. However, we were unsuccessful. Carlos Varesemo was a maintenance supervisor of the building Sandra lived in the Canton Woods apartments. Two days after her body was discovered, he assisted detectives Jonathan McCourt and Matthew Dunn in reviewing video footage from the building. The video only captures the front lobby. Sandra has seen multiple times on Sunday January 31st. She leaves the building at 9.51am, talking on the phone. Returns of the building at 10.08, carrying a large box. She leaves again at 10.11, comes back three hours later, again on the phone, holding two pizza boxes. She leaves at 4.39pm and returns two minutes later, texting on her phone. She has seen only once on Monday, February 1st at 5.46pm. She's holding a snow brush, presumably going to clean the outside of her car. It's the last time she's seen alive. Varesemo recognizes everyone on video that enters the lobby except for one person. That individual is described as a tall, burly male. He's wearing work boots, jeans, a black jacket, as a black hood over his head. He's wearing a mask and not wearing gloves. He enters the building at 9.14pm and exits at 9.43pm. It is later confirmed, of course, to be Matthew Farwell. I've known her since we were like six or seven years old. I know her patterns of behavior. I know what she's been to in her life. She was thinking to herself, she would have killed herself when her mother died or with her grandmother died. She wasn't going to kill herself over that, over her frightened Matthew. Never once did she try to kill herself. That I know before. So now you're talking, she's with child and was static about having a baby. Now she's going to kill herself and the baby. It doesn't make any sense to me. Okay, here's what I keep going back to. Well, a couple things. Sandra was needy for sure. Have I tell everyone everything? To the point where she lost friendships and needed supervisors at work to tell her to stop sharing details of her life. Always texting friends, etc. Matt Farwell goes into the apartment and things. The relationship is over. Now he's done this before. We have friends telling authorities and us, but the fights they would have with breakups and inevitable reconciliation. I'll tell you about one in just a moment. But first, I'm to believe this breakup is so definitive, so clear that Farwell leaves and Sandra reaches out to no one about it. Text no one. Message is no one. Remember her last text exchange that 9pm that night, 14 minutes before Farwell arrives, nothing after two no one. So she breaks up with Farwell, goes right into her bedroom, puts a belt around her neck and commits suicide, kills herself and her unborn baby. Also this, it's note of foot on February 1st. Matthew Farwell had drove in the snowstorm with his wife 9 months pregnant to go to Sandra's apartment to deliver a message he's delivered before because he'd done easily via text. Last two things. Remember when video footage showed Sandra entering her apartment building with a package on January 31st? That package was a baby car seat. And lastly, there's this. Sandra told a friend she had spoken to Farwell about the pregnancy a few days after Christmas. They argued a bit and she kicked him out of the apartment. But before he left, Sandra said Farwell had told her, "I wish you would kill yourself. I wish you would dead." Sandra Birchmore's friends and family don't believe she killed herself. I don't believe it either. On the next episode of the case. This is Deputy Police Chief Robert DeVie and he's going to read you. Oh, the police station. You'll go. No one's going to believe you. No one's going to know this ever happened. We can make things look like an accident. Turnies have reached a settlement worth more than $3.5 million for seven victims of the LNPD Explorer sex abuse scandal. New tonight, the Louisville Courier Journal reports that the Louisville police and the County Attorney's Office hid at least 738,000 records documenting sexual abuse of explorer scouts by two police officers. Police Explorer program that a Trumble Police Officer presented over is being brought to a stop on the heels of his child sexual assault case. You know, there's police officers that I thought I could trust that have known me since I was in white high school. Miss Birchmore was a vulnerable person who had one constant in her life since childhood. We're unwavering admiration of police officers, of those serving the military, people in uniform. The case is available on Apple podcasts and wherever podcasts can be heard. You can also find this at thecasepodcast.com and on Twitter and Facebook at the Case Podcast is the address there. If you have any information about Sandra Birchmore or anything related to this story, you can reach out to us on any of our social media platforms or email [email protected].