Teen beheaded his classmate, 16, after stabbing him 76 times
Mathew Borges was found guilty Tuesday of beheading Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino, 16, after stabbing him 76 times and cutting his hands off.
A teenager was found guilty of stabbing his 16-year-old classmate 76 times before cutting his head off.
Mathew Borges, 18, was convicted of murdering Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino, whose body was found on the Merrimack River in Lawrence, Massachusetts in December 2016.
Authorities said Borges beheaded Viloria-Paulino and cut off his hands so he would not be identified. His head was found in a plastic bag near his body, although his hands were never located.
Prosecutor Jay Gubitose said Borges, who was 15 when killed Viloria-Paulino, committed the heinous act of violence because he was jealous Viloria-Paulino had spent time with his girlfriend.
According to Gubitose, there was a ‘mountain of evidence’ against Borges that includes text and messages with friends, as well as a notebook that planned the murder, CBS reported.
The prosecutor cited a text message that Borges sent, saying ‘This (text message) is to Stephanie, 24 hours before he kills Lee: “Take a good look at my eyes the next time we talk because that may be the last time you see them like that ever again.’
Gubitose continued: ‘She says “don’t say that, I don’t want to see your eyes dead.” (Borges replies) “No, don’t, it’s true. I know what I’m going to do and I can’t do anything about it. People will notice a big difference in me once my eyes turn dead.’”
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Four teenagers testified that Borges lured Viloria-Paulino away from his home, down to the river to smoke weed, on November 18, 2016 so they could steal clothes and a Playstation from his home.
After the burglary, the teen claimed Borges called them and said, on speaker phone, that he had killed Viloria-Paulino, according to MassLive.
Borges’ attorney, Ed Hayden, dismissed both the theory that his client killed out of jealousy, as well as the teens’ testimony about the robbery.
He said: ‘Mathew is their “stay our of jail” card and they play it masterfully…none of these kids went to the river to see if a body was there? That’s not believable.’
Hayden questioned the prosecutors case, citing a lack of evidence against Borges, saying ‘There is no crime scene. There is no scene where the body was dismembered. There is no murder weapon, no tool used to dismember the body, no DNA, no blood, no fingerprints and there is no motive.’
Teen beheaded his classmate, 16, after stabbing him 76 times
Gubitose called Hayden’s questions ‘distractions’ and said: ‘Every piece of evidence points to him. Maybe it’s hard to believe a 15-year-old kid can kill someone, but that’s the world we lived…He’s the only one. He killed Lee.’
On Tuesday, a jury delivered their guilty verdict after deliberating for approximately nine hours in Salem Superior Court.
Borges faces 25 to 30 years in prison with a possibility for parole in 25, years according to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office.
He is set to be sentenced on July 9, according to the Eagle Tribune.