Prosecution In Grisly Murder Trial Built Largely On Text Messages

SALEM, MA — In the first day of testimony in a gory murder trial in Salem District Court, defense attorneys for Matthew Borges conceded that the teen broke into the home of Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino to steal video games and clothes. But prosecutors, the defense argued, have been unable to produce a murder weapon, a motive, or blood, DNA and fingerprint evidence linking Borges to the murder and decapitation of Viloria-Paulino. Instead, the prosecution is trying to convict the teen with text and voice messages he sent to classmates at Lawrence High School in the days following the 2016 murder.

While Borges was 15 at the time, he is being tried as an adult because prosecutors believe the crime was premeditated and committed with extreme cruelty. In opening statements this week, they painted a portrait of a defendant fueled by jealously after his girlfriend at the time ate lunch with Viloria-Paulino. The girl, Leilany DeJesus, testified Monday that Borges yelled at her but apologized the following day.

Another girlfriend, Stephanie Soriano, read text messages she had exchanged with Borges when she took the stand. In one November 2016 exchange, Borges wrote "I think of killing someone...I like the sound of it, the idea of causing pain. It’s all I think about every day but I control myself. I see people I don’t like [and] that comes to mind. I’m going insane."

Similar messages followed, and on Nov. 20 Borges sent a message to Soriano asking her to delete their previous exchanges and to "keep everything I tell you to yourself." On Dec. 3, 2016, police found Viloria-Paulino's headless body along the banks of the Merrimack River in Lawrence.

In an opening statement, prosecutors said Borges told the other robbers he had killed Viloria-Paulino. They also said they would present a notebook found in his room after he was arrested where he plotted the details, writing a note to himself to bring a duffel bag, gloves, and bags to cover his shoes.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).