CANTON, MA – Stratford News Network today releases an in-depth investigative report detailing striking parallels between the federally–confirmed homicide of Sandra Birchmore and the ongoing Karen Read prosecution, or better described as persecution, both of which center on misconduct by Norfolk County law enforcement and reveal disturbing failures in state-level-investigation integrity. Both cases are linked by overlapping witnesses, state actors under scrutiny, and patterns of investigative misconduct.
Sandra Birchmore, 23, was found deceased in her Canton apartment on February 4, 2021. Though originally ruled a suicide by local authorities, federal investigations later concluded Birchmore was murdered– strangled by Stoughton Police Officer Matthew Farwell, who had allegedly groomed her since she was 15 years old through a police-sponsored Explorers program. Farwell, then 35, was federally indicted in August of 2024 for “killing a witness or victim” in connection with the staged death.
In February of this year, attorneys for Karen Read, currently in the middle of her second trial for the alleged vehicular death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, filed motions requesting unredacted records from the Birchmore case. Read’s defense asserts that numerous material witnesses in her trial– including Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey, Canton Police Sgt. Michael Lank, and Massachusetts State Police Det. Lt. Brian Tully– also played central roles in the Birchmore investigation.
“Given the similar allegations of misconduct by state actors in the Birchmore and Read cases,” Reads legal team argued, “the statements made by overlapping witnesses in both matters are directly relevant to credibility and impeachment.”
Defense filings further cite internal investigations and disciplinary proceedings against lead investigator Trooper Michael Proctor, whose conduct in the Read case was previously under State Police review, and he was later terminated. Other shared actors include Det. Kevin Albert and Lt. John Fanning, each involved in key stages of both death investigations.
The convergence of these two high-profile cases in Canton, Massachusetts, a small town now synonymous with investigatory irregularities, has prompted renewed calls for external oversight. Stratford’s investigation reveals a persistent pattern: deaths involving proximity to police are prematurely closed as accidental or self-inflicted, only to later be contradicted by federal findings.
Stratford’s report reveals that Birchmore’s death shares investigatory and institutional hallmarks with the Karen Read case–also arising in Canton–where multiple allegations of digital tampering, forensic manipulation, planting of evidence and police–prosecutorial collusion have been publicly raised and partially validated by federal probes.
“This isn’t coincidence. These cases reveal a pattern–where state authorities defer to local officers, fail to secure crime scenes, and reject contrary evidence until federal pressure intervenes,” said Stratford News Executive Editor Kristin Kay.
The Birchmore family’s civil lawsuit names not only Matthew Farwell, but also his twin brother William Farwell and their supervisor Robert Devine, accusing them of long-term sexual exploitation and the Town of Stoughton of negligent supervision. Records confirm that Farwell was captured on video entering Sandra’s home the night of her death and that she was found in the same clothes days later.
Federal jurisdiction was invoked only after Massachusetts law enforcement refused to prosecute. Experts note this is the second time in two years the Department of Justice has intervened in Norfolk County death investigations– a rare and troubling trend suggesting local corruption, if not active obstruction.
What we need is an independent federal audit of all high-profile deaths and prosecutorial decisions in Norfolk County from 2015-present, immediate federal oversight of all cases involving Matthew and William Farwell, and a Massachusetts legislative inquiry into potential civil rights violations committed by prosecutors and law enforcement in the Birchmore and Read matters.
Sandra Birchmore’s voice was silenced. But the facts speak: grooming, homicide, and cover-up by trusted officers–buried by those charged to investigate them.
The federal indictment in the Birchmore case and the misconduct allegations in the Read prosecution have exposed a broader breakdown of integrity among Norfolk County institutions. Transparency and justice cannot be served under a shroud of partiality.
Sandra Birchmore deserved safety. Karen Read deserves to be acquitted, and Massachusetts deserves accountability.
Kristin Kay: Legal Research Consultant/Paralegal at Stratford Lapeer Consulting and Sr. Executive Editor Stratford News Network
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