Mathew Borges, 15, attends his arraignment in Lawrence District Court in Lawrence, Mass, Monday, Dec. 5, 2016. Borges was held without bail after pleading not guilty at the brief arraignment Monday on a first-degree murder charge. (Paul Bilodeau/The Eagle-Tribune via AP, Pool)
By Michelle Williams, MassLive
The defense team representing Mathew Borges, a teenager accused of beheading his classmate, seeks to suppress his statements made to police after the body was found.
In addition to the 16-year-old's statements to police, the defense seeks statements made to police by classmates of the teen.
Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino
The body of 16-year-old Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino was found in December by a woman walking her dog along the Merrrimack River in Lawrence. His body was decapitated with the head discovered a short distance away.
The teen had been reported missing two weeks before his body was found.
Not a random act
Soon after his death, Lawrence police said they believed the killing was not a random act. Investigators began interviewing classmates of the high school student, family and friends.
Such interviews led to Borges being taken into custody.
In a motion filed by the court this week, the teen's defense claims the then-15-year-old's parents were not present when he spoke with police nor was he informed of his Miranda rights, reports the Eagle Tribune.
Speaking to police
"I did not think I could tell him to leave," Borges said in an affidavit filed with the motion. "He did not speak to my mother or father before asking me questions. He did not give me any warning about my right not to speak to him."
Borges says Lawrence police spent several hours at his home before he agreed to accompany them to the station.
"I told the police that I would go with them because I was afraid of what would happen if I said no," he said.
Mathew Borges, 15, attends his arraignment in Lawrence District Court in Lawrence, Mass, Monday, Dec. 5, 2016. Borges was held without bail after pleading not guilty at the brief arraignment Monday on a first-degree murder charge. (Paul Bilodeau/The Eagle-Tribune via AP, Pool)
Following Borges' arrest in connection with the death of his friend, students at Lawrence High School described the teen as quiet but with a temper.
"People would talk about Lee and he would show no emotion to it. You would expect him to because they were friends," one teen said. Additionally, the classmate reported Borges having a short temper.
Several classmates said the pair hung out often.
'He did something bad'
An unidentified witness told Lawrence police that Borges confided in him after Viloria-Paulino was reported missing. "Mathew told him he did something bad," court documents state. "Mathew then told him that he stabbed a kid and cut off his head killing him. When Mathew said this he was motioning with his hands as if he was stabbing someone and cutting someone's head off."
While police told one witness they'd interviewed "at least 50 people," the Eagle Tribune reports, prosecutors turned over only the names of 20 witnesses as discovery.
Borges' defense seeks the names of the additional witnesses.
Mathew Borges, 15, attends his arraignment in Lawrence District Court in Lawrence, Mass, Monday, Dec. 5, 2016. Borges was held without bail after pleading not guilty at the brief arraignment Monday on a first-degree murder charge. (Paul Bilodeau/The Eagle-Tribune via AP, Pool)
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