Jury Finds Lawrence Teen Guilty In Beheading Trial

SALEM, MA — A Salem Superior Court jury delivered a guilty verdict Tuesday afternoon in a gruesome beheading trial out of Lawrence. Mathew Borges, 18, was found guilty of first-degree murder. He was accused of killing Manuel Viloria-Paulino, 16, in November 2016.

Over eight days, prosecutors built a case that Borges had killed Viloria-Paulino because the victim had spent time with his girlfriend. They said Borges cut off Viloria-Paulino's head and hands so the body could not be identified. A medical examiner testified that he was unable to determine whether the victim's head was removed before or after he was murdered.

While prosecutors presented several witnesses who testified Borges admitted to them he had killed his classmate, defense attorneys argued there is no physical evidence linking Borges to the crime. Defense attorneys rested their case without presenting any witnesses and after the judge denied their request to dismiss the case for lack of evidence last week.

During closing arguments Monday, 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.