BOSTON (Court TV) — A former police officer’s certification has been permanently revoked over his involvement in a case that has his twin brother charged with killing a woman both brothers had been seeing.
This photo provided by the Stoughton, Mass., Police Department shows Matthew Farwell, a former police officer who pleaded not guilty Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, to charges of killing a woman he is accused of sexually exploiting when she was underage and then trying to stage the death as a suicide after she told him she was pregnant. (Stoughton Police Department)
William Farwell, who worked as a police officer at the Stoughton Police Department for five years, entered a voluntary decertification agreement with the state, meaning he can no longer work as a law enforcement officer. His decertification will also be added to the National Decertification Index.
While William is not facing any criminal charges, his twin brother, Matthew Farwell, was indicted on federal charges that he strangled his pregnant mistress, Sandra Birchmore, to hide an affair that began when the victim was underage. Matthew is additionally accused of staging Birchmore’s death to appear as a suicide.
WATCH: Vinnie Politan Investigates | The Death of Sandra Birchmore
Both brothers were officers in the Stoughton Police Department and investigators say both men had sexual relationships with Birchmore. William allegedly admitted to detectives that he had a relationship with Birchmore spanning approximately two years. Throughout that relationship, which occurred when Birchmore was an adult, William was accused of sending Birchmore inappropriate messages while he was on duty.
Court TV reviewed the decertification order, which said that some of the texts exchanged were graphic and included “photographs and videos of nude individuals having sexual intercourse.” The order also accused William of lying to state police who were investigating Birchmore’s death.
While speaking with detectives with the Massachusetts State Police, William said that he had two or three sexual encounters with Birchmore and said the last time they were together was in Dec. 2020, when Birchmore told William that she was pregnant with his twin brother’s child. But phone records told a different story, revealing William and Birchmore met for a sexual encounter on Jan. 10, 2021. Birchmore was killed on Feb. 4, 2021.
Birchmore’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit naming both brothers and the Stoughton Police Department among the defendants.
