Jury Deliberating Verdict In Lawrence Beheading Trial

SALEM, MA — A Salem Superior Court judge is deliberating the fate of Mathew Borges, 17, of Lawrence. Borges is accused of killing Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino, 16, in November 2016 then cutting off Viloria-Paulino's head and hands so the body could not be identified. While prosecutors presented several witnesses who testified Borges admitted to them he had killed his classmate, defense attorneys have argued there is no physical evidence linking Borges to the crime.

According to the Eagle-Tribune, defense attorney Edward Hayden said four teenagers who testified that Borges admitted to killing Viloria-Paulino were lying. "Mathew is their 'stay out of jail' card," Hayden said during his closing argument Monday morning. The defense rested Thursday without calling any witnesses of its own.

For more on this story, see the Eagle Tribune.