Massachusetts native Sandra Birchmore’s life hadn’t been easy. Her teen years were difficult at times, and in an effort to make sure Sandra had some strong role models, her mother enrolled her in a program with the Stoughton Police Department. At 13 years old, Sandra was doing bootcamp drills and going on ride-alongs with law enforcement officers. She loved it, and even wanted to go into law enforcement at one point, but thought that with her asthma and being less than five feet tall she wouldn’t be able to.
Instead, the 23-year-old was pursuing a teaching career. On a blustery afternoon in February 2021, the teacher’s assistant helped her students get out early so they could get home before an expected nor’easter blew into town.
Three days later, when school resumed, Sandra didn’t show up to class. The school called police and asked for a welfare check. And their worst fears were confirmed when Sandra’s body was found in her apartment. There was no sign of a struggle. There was no sign of a break-in. To the responding officer, it seemed Sandra had taken her own life.
To her co-workers and her family, it was a shock. Sandra had just shared happy news -- she was pregnant. The father, she told her family, was a Stoughton police officer. In fact, they would later learn, he had been one of the officers in that program she’d been in as a teen.
So with such joy on the horizon, why would Sandra end her life?
Her family didn’t think she had. And as the investigation pressed on, it became clear the FBI didn’t think so either...
To find out what happened, watch the full episode “The Betrayal of Sandra Birchmore” on Peacock now.
You can also watch on the NBC app or listen to it on our podcast.
Watch Sandra’s friends and family remember her as a happy and bright young woman who always had a smile on her face.
Plus, hear from Sandra Birchmore’s cousin Barbara Wright and a victim’s advocate named Mizzy Berry as they talk about the social media campaign and “stand outs” they’ve collaborated on to raise awareness about Sandra’s case.
You can also listen to this week’s episode of Talking Dateline with Andrea Canning and Lester Holt, in which they take you behind the scenes of the episode.
