Former Stoughton officer William Farwell has police certification revoked

BOSTON – William Farwell, the brother of the former Stoughton police officer charged with killing Sandra Birchmore , had his police certification permanently revoked by the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission.

The POST Commission officially voted to accept a voluntary agreement entered by William Farwell on Tuesday.

POST Commission decertifies William Farwell

During a previous internal investigation, William Farwell, his twin brother Matthew Farwell, and former Stoughton Deputy Police Chief Robert Devine were found to have violated department polices involving the death of Sandra Birchmore .

As part of William Farwell's voluntary decertification agreement, he "waived all rights to contest, in this or any other administrative or judicial proceeding to which the Commission is or may be a party, the factual allegations, conclusions of law, terms and conditions, and other provisions contained in the Agreement."

Matthew Farwell arrest

Matthew Farwell was taken into custody in August on federal charges that allege he strangled Birchmore to death inside her Canton apartment in 2021, then staged the scene in an attempt to make it appear she had died by suicide.

Birchmore was pregnant at the time of her death and had told Matthew Farwell that he was the father.

The officers met Birchmore through the Stoughton Police Department's youth explorers program in 2010 when she was 13. The internal investigation found Matthew Farwell, who was 27 years old at the time, had an inappropriate relationship with her two years later.

Sandra Birchmore investigation

According to the internal investigation, William Farwell had an inappropriate physical relationship with Birchmore and exchanged explicit messages and photos with her while on duty.

William Farwell does not currently face any criminal charges in the case.

Following Birchmore's death, William Farwell told Massachusetts State Police that he had a sexual relationship with her for about two years while she was an adult.

Matthew Farwell remains in federal custody after a judge granted his request to cancel his scheduled detention hearing . He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison, and the death penalty is a possibility.