A new legislative proposal seeks to address a core issue in murder investigations— as shown by the Sandra Birchmore case — by establishing protocols for investigating suspicious deaths of people who previously experienced domestic violence.

State Senator Rebecca Rausch, a Democrat from Needham, filed the bill, titled an “Act addressing staged suicides,” and led a news conference Wednesday at the State House to unveil her proposal.

“In some instances, abusers murder their partners and then stage the crime scenes to look like suicides or accidents, thereby avoiding accountability and preventing justice for the victims and their families,” Rausch said.

She said estimates indicate there are 800 to 1,200 staged suicides in the US annually, though it is not known how frequently they occur i

See Full Page