A well-known former coroner says a young woman whose death had been ruled a suicide, was really the victim of homicide, according to a new report. Sandra Birchmore was pregnant when she died in 2021.
She was a former Explorer Scout with theStoughton Police Department in Massachusetts , joining when she was 13, authorities said. The teen had been “sexually groomed” by some officers in the department, her family alleges in a wrongful death suit, which is ongoing.
An internal affairs investigation released in 2022 by the Stoughton Police Department said three officers had inappropriate relationships with Birchmore, beginning when she was 15 and lasting into adulthood.
No criminal charges have been filed in the case. The investigation remains open, and is led by agencies including state police and the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office, authorities said.
Birchmore’s family hired former coroner Michael Baden, who was previously a New York City medical examiner, to review autopsy findings from the state medical examiner’s office.