Overlooking a sea of more than 22,000 purple flags planted on Boston Common signifying the toll of the opioid crisis in Massachusetts, Dana DiSenso reflected Thursday on her own journey to recovery as she urged state lawmakers to pass legislation…
Massachusetts
TIMELINE: Sandra Birchmore’s contacts with Stoughton officer now accused of killing her
More than three years after a pregnant Sandra Birchmore was found dead in her Canton, Massachusetts, apartment, the former Stoughton, Massachusetts, police detective with whom she’d allegedly been in a yearslong sexual relationship with was indicted, accused of strangling her and then staging the scene to look like she committed suicide.
Former Stoughton Police Det. Matthew Farwell, 38, is accused of killing Birchmore to prevent her from revealing that they were in a relationship that started when Birchmore was 15 years old.
Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673, and Massachusetts provides this list of statewide and resources for sexual assault survivors.
Here is a timeline of key events in the case as alleged in federal court documents.
March 2010: Sandra Birchmore joins Stoughton Police Explorers
Sandra Birchmore joined the Stoughton Police Explorers program in 2010, when she was 12, and attended until sometime in 2016.
March 2012: Matthew Farwell starts at the Stoughton Police Department
Farwell began working as a Police Explorers volunteer around the time he joined the Stoughton Police Department in 2012. It’s believed he met Birchmore through his work in that program.
2012: Farwell begins communicating with Birchmore online
Court documents state that Farwell began using the internet to communicate with Birchmore as early as 2012. At the time, she was 15 and he was 26.
April 10, 2013: Farwell begins sexually assaulting Birchmore
Farwell is accused of sexually assaulting Birchmore starting when she was around 15 years old. Court documents refer to a text message where she specifies the date she lost her virginity: April 10, 2013. They allegedly continued having sex until her death in 2021, when she was 23.
2019-2020: Farwell and Birchmore communicate via text message
It’s believed Farwell engaged in a sexual, sometimes violent, relationship with Birchmore for years. Court documents reference text messages between Farwell and Birchmore from 2019 to 2020 where they frequently discuss their sexual encounters and describe apparent sexual violence. Farwell also tells Birchmore to delete these types of messages from her phone and Facebook.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
October 2020: Birchmore tells Farwell she wants a child
Court documents allege that Birchmore told Farwell she wanted a child and they reached an agreement: Birchmore would keep silent about Farwell’s criminal acts and extramarital affair if he impregnated her.
December 2020: Birchmore learns she is pregnant
According to the federal indictment, Birchmore learned she was pregnant sometime around December 2020. She told Farwell he was the father of her child via text message.
Jan. 20, 2021: Birchmore’s friend calls Stoughton Police Department to report the relationship with Farwell
A friend of Birchmore’s allegedly called the Stoughton Police Department to report that Farwell had been having sex with her, apparently leaving Farwell “enraged.”
Jan. 24-26, 2021: Farwell asks Birchmore for a key to her Canton apartment and begins casing it
Farwell allegedly asked Birchmore for a key to her apartment, but told her to keep it a secret. Federal investigators allege that once he had access, Farwell started casing Birchmore’s apartment, inspecting her bedroom and closet. Birchmore found the behavior concerning and mentioned it to friends.
Feb. 1, 2021: Farwell kills Birchmore
Federal investigators allege that Farwell strangled Birchmore in her apartment and then staged it to make it appear that Birchmore committed suicide.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
Feb. 4, 2021: Birchmore’s body is found
Canton police officers conducted a well-being check and found Birchmore dead in her apartment. At least one first responder noted that Birchmore had been dead for “days.”
Feb. 6, 2021: Farwell lies to Mass. State Police investigators
Farwell allegedly provided false statements to Massachusetts State Police investigators when questioned about Birchmore’s death.
Feb. 9, 2021: Farwell makes and deletes Google searches
Court documents state that Farwell made two Google searches he then deleted – for “can delete [sic] imessage be recovered hy [sic] cellebrite” and “can you revoke consent in massachusetts.” Cellebrite is a tool used to analyze data on cellphones.
May 2021: Birchmore’s death is ruled a suicide
A state pathologist rules Birchmore’s cause of death asphyxia by hanging and manner of death a suicide.
April 1, 2022: Farwell resigns from Stoughton Police Department
Farwell resigns amid an ongoing probe into Birchmore’s death
Sept. 23, 2022: Stoughton police chief releases details of internal investigation
The results of a lengthy internal investigation by the Stoughton Police Department reveal that three officers — Matthew Farwell, William Farwell and Robert Devine — and a fourth person are suspected of having inappropriate relationships with Birchmore. The officers have denied the accusations.
Dec. 29, 2022: Birchmore’s family files wrongful death lawsuit
Birchmore’s estate files a civil lawsuit alleging “wrongful death, negligence, negligent supervision, negligent retention, pain and suffering, and emotional distress” over what it described as a yearslong grooming scheme.
June 2024: Prominent pathologist reportedly rules Birchmore’s death a homicide
The Boston Globe reports a former New York City chief medical examiner found that Birchmore’s death was a homicide, not a suicide. Stoughton’s police chief acknowledged the finding in a statement to the town.
Aug. 28, 2024: Matthew Farwell indicted in Birchmore’s death
Federal investigators reveal their case against Matthew Farwell, who is accused by grand jury indictment of strangling Birchmore and staging her apartment to make her death appear to be a suicide.
Steward signs deals for 4 of 6 hospital sales
Steward Health Care has signed “definitive agreements” to sell four of the six Massachusetts hospitals it has been working to offload since filing for bankruptcy in May.
The company announced Thursday that it has finalized asset purchase agreements for Lifespan to buy Morton Hospital in Taunton and Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, and for Lawrence General Hospital to buy the Holy Family Hospital facilities in Methuen and Haverhill.
Steward is still working to finalize agreement related to the sale of Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton and the operations of St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton to Boston Medical Center.
Terms of the deals, which still require U.S. Bankruptcy Court clearance and various regulatory approvals, were not immediately available.
“We are thrilled to have identified such qualified acquirers for hospitals in the Commonwealth that are critical to the health of underserved populations,” John Castellano, Steward’s chief restructuring officer, said. “In Lifespan, Lawrence General Hospital and Boston Medical Center, we have found partners with established track records of treating communities in the northeast United States. Through these transactions, the people of the Commonwealth will continue to receive critically needed care while Steward continues to focus on its ongoing Chapter 11 process.”
The finalization of some of the deals comes nearly two weeks after Gov. Maura Healey announced that there were agreements in principle among the array of parties involved. Steward had not confirmed or commented on the governor’s announcement until Thursday.
“This agreement accomplishes our goal of maintaining and protecting access to care and jobs in Southeastern Massachusetts and the Merrimack Valley, while removing Steward Health Care from Massachusetts once and for all,” Healey said in a statement.
She also noted her administration was continuing “to work as quickly as possible to complete the agreement for another qualified operator to take over Good Samaritan, move forward on our plans to take control of St. Elizabeth’s through eminent domain, and support the communities impacted by the upcoming closures of Nashoba Valley and Carney Hospitals.”
Peter Markell, chief financial officer for Lifespan, said the health system has a deal to buy both the operations and the land and buildings of Morton Hospital in Taunton and Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River. He said it is one purchase price for everything, but he said he was “not allowed” to disclose the price at this point.
“The basic agreement and what we’re going to pay is in the asset purchase agreement,” he said Thursday morning. “There is a separate agreement with the owners of the property, a [purchase and sale] on the acquisition of the property.”
More on Steward Health Care
Markell said the agreement for Lifespan to buy the land does not need Bankruptcy Court approval, “but because it’s all tied together, the parties involved have had to work things out … and that has been part of the bankruptcy proceeding.”
He said Lifespan is hopeful to have the state and federal regulatory approvals necessary by the end of September. He said the real estate purchase requires a filing under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, which generally includes a 30-day federal government review period.
“We are assuming that the authorities in both Massachusetts and the federal government want this to happen and these hospitals to stay open and get going. So we are assuming they will approve, but that is up to them,” Markell said. “And we are hopeful that we will have those approvals by September 30, so we can close then.”
The Lifespan CFO also said that the system has “committed X amount of money” to making capital investments and improvements in the facilities and digital infrastructure at the two hospitals.
“We don’t have any plans for any significant changes now,” Markell said. “The goal is to get these places stabilized and serving their communities, and we will do that and evaluate everything as we’re going through that. Both these places have, [from] what we can see, good management teams, so we’re looking forward to working with them and moving it forward.”
Rhode Island’s largest hospital system, Lifespan has ties between its executive suite and Massachusetts.
The company is under the relatively new leadership of President and CEO John Fernandez, who left his job as president of Mass Eye and Ear and president of Mass General Brigham Integrated Care to take over at Lifespan in early 2023. And Markell joined Lifespan around the same time after a career as executive vice president of administration and finance, and chief financial officer and treasurer of Mass General Brigham.
Police searching for missing Lowell teen
Police are searching for a 16-year-old who was reported missing from Lowell, Massachusetts.
Harley Campanello is described as being 5’7″ tall and weighing 110 pounds, with brown eyes and short brown hair. He was last seen wearing b…
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Man sought in deadly double stabbing in Worcester still on the run
It’s been five days, and the man sought in connection with a deadly double stabbing in Worcester, Massachusetts, remains on the run.
A mother and daughter were found stabbed to death inside of William Rodriguez’s apartment on Aug. 24, according to Worcester police, who said he “should be considered armed and dangerous.”
Rodriguez, 59, previously served prison time for fatally stabbing his wife in 2004, the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office said.
The two women were identified by family members as 58-year-old Ana Maria Martinez and 76-year-old Sergia Acosta.
The women had multiple puncture wounds when they were found inside Acosta’s home.
Members of the victims’ family said the 59-year-old Rodriguez wanted to be in a relationship with Martinez and became angry when she refused. They said Acosta died helping her fight off her attacker.
Police didn’t confirm those details, saying only that it’s being investigated as a domestic incident.
Genesis Barrios, the granddaughter of Acosta and niece of Martinez, said her aunt had a budding friendship with Rodriguez. The family had no idea he was convicted of killing his wife in 2004 and was paroled in 2019.
Prosecutors confirmed Monday that Rodriguez was “the same person who pled guilty to manslaughter” in October of 2007. They said he had been released on parole on June 7, 2019.
Investigators haven’t said if they have any leads on where Rodriguez could be. He’s considered a person of interest — not a suspect — in the stabbing deaths at this point.
He was described as being 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing 180 pounds, with gray hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information about Rodriguez’s whereabouts should call the Worcester Police Department at 508-799-8651.
