25 Investigates: The Birchmore murder investigation recording you were never supposed to hear

An audio recording obtained by 25 Investigates reveals what former Abington Police Chief David Del Papa knew about one of his officers, months before that officer’s name was leaked in an explosive report about the manipulation and sexual grooming of Sandra Birchmore by members of Stoughton Police.

The recording, which was never supposed to be released publicly, is from a review Abington conducted about Del Papa’s handling of information provided to him about Joshua Heal, who was serving as the Abington School Resource Officer at the time. Heal met Birchmore when she was a young adult in his prior role as a Stoughton Animal Control Officer.

Stoughton Deputy Police Chief Robert Holmes first contacted Del Papa in December 2021 to tell him about an internal affairs investigation Stoughton had launched into text messages Massachusetts State Police detectives pulled from Birchmore’s mobile phone after she was found dead in her Canton Apartment in February 2021. State Police assigned to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office initially ruled Birchmore’s death a suicide.

In August, federal authorities charged former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell with murdering Birchmore and staging her death to look like she hung herself. Farwell first met Birchmore when she was a 13-year-old participant in Stoughton’s Police Explorer Program, which teaches young people about jobs in law enforcement.

“The deputy (Holmes) told me that Heal, and the deceased woman were friends and that they had texted quite frequently, I believe it was daily,” Del Papa is heard on the recording, “There was a lot of digital information. He said he was hoping that Josh (Heal) would help them connect the dots.”

Del Papa is adamant in his accounting that Holmes initially told him that Heal was only a witness in the Stoughton investigation and he said Holmes provided him a letter stating that.

In an early conversation, Holmes told Del Papa he would share additional information about Heal’s involvement with Birchmore if Del Papa agreed to sign a non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement. Del Papa says he balked at the NDA and described the request as highly unusual. Del Papa said at that point he had no concerns about Heal.

Holmes interviewed Heal two weeks later but according to Del Papa, Heal ended the conversation because Heal felt like Holmes was treating him like a suspect. Del Papa ordered Heal to speak to Holmes, and a second interview took place in February 2021. Del Papa said he still understood Heal to be a “witness” in Stoughton’s investigation, despite Heal’s request for legal counsel.

The following month Holmes told Del Papa that Birchmore was known to have mental health issues and that Heal had received oral sex from Birchmore off-duty, when she was a young adult. Del Papa said he was also told by Holmes that Birchmore, “had disclosed details about her relationships with other members of the (Stoughton Police) department to Josh in explicit detail.”

Heal’s attorney Peter S. Farrell told 25 Investigates Heal is a material witness in an ongoing federal investigation and, “has not now, has not been ever and is not going to be the target of any criminal charges in the future because he has not broken any laws.”

Del Papa said he wasn’t concerned about Heal’s role in schools or as a police comfort dog handler at that time. Del Papa told a town attorney Heal was married when Heal received oral sex from Birchmore and, “extramarital affairs aren’t any of my business. I really can’t get involved in that,” according to the audio.

Kirk Minihane was the first to report extensively on Heal’s involvement with Birchmore in season 2 of his highly-rated podcast called “The Case”.

In an interview with investigative reporter Ted Daniel at his Watertown studio, Minihane said alarm bells should have gone off when Del Papa learned that Heal was being sought for information in Stoughton’s then-secret probe.

“It seems to me minute one you find out, you put this guy on leave until you figure stuff out and if he’s exonerated, fine, back to work but of course, he wasn’t exonerated,” Minihane said, “Heal has sort of gone under the radar and he shouldn’t. I think we gave Heal an episode, but we probably didn’t give enough representation to what he did.”

In a statement, Del Papa said Abington’s review of his actions found him to be professional and diligent in his handling of Heal and Abington’s report states that Del Papa, “was challenged throughout the entire SPD (Stoughton Police Department) investigation, receiving limited information from Holmes and SPD, specific to Heal.”

Heal continued to work in Abington Schools for six more months until September 22, 2022, the day Del Papa learned from a law firm that Heal’s name had been mistakenly left unredacted in a report Stoughton Police were about to release to the media about Birchmore’s relationships with then Stoughton Officers Matthew Farwell, his twin brother William, Robert Devine, and Heal.

“They wanted to give us a heads up because it’s going to be a disaster so, I got off the phone, I called Josh (Heal) in and told him, I think you are on admin leave. At that point, I still didn’t know the full breadth of Stoughton’s investigation… as far as, one of the officers having, relations with this woman when she was underage and the grooming and all that” Del Papa stated in the recording.

Two days prior, Holmes told Del Papa in a Walgreens parking lot that Heal was not credible and warned him, “I don’t think you want him around children.” Del Papa said he was still weighing that information when he learned that Heal’s name was in Stoughton’s report.

At the Walgreens meeting, Del Papa said Holmes also revealed, “Josh and Miss Birchmore had texted filthy things back and forth to each other. He said Josh tried to have sex with her friend while he was married. He said Josh was interested in the friend because she was a virgin.”

Abington Town Manager Scott Lambiase told 25 Investigates Del Papa followed department policy and protocol and never learned the scope of Stoughton’s findings before they became public.

“As a police officer and a member of a union civil service, there’s steps that you have to go through before you can actually put somebody on administrative leave or begin an investigation. I believe that once we actually knew the full depth and confirmation on what actually happened, we acted pretty quickly,” Lambiase said.

Heal remained on paid administrative leave until February 2023, when he submitted his resignation. Del Papa left Abington in May in what Lambaise described as a mutual separation from the town. Del Papa was provided a letter of recommendation and according to his separation agreement, he will be paid through May 2025.

Del Papa told 25 Investigates, “what happened to Sandra Birchmore was an absolute tragedy. I pray that justice is served soon and that it will provide her family with some semblance of comfort in the aftermath of this truly horrific event.”

Based on his research, Minihane said Del Papa should have acted sooner.

“I don’t know how Del Papa went to work every day knowing that one of his guys who has this kind of history is walking around schools dealing with kids,” he said.

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