Teen Who Decapitated Classmate Learns His Fate

Mathew Borges gets life, with the possibility of parole
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 9, 2019 5:49 PM CDT
Teen Who Decapitated Classmate Learns His Fate
Mathew Borges, 15, attends his arraignment in Lawrence District Court in Lawrence, Mass, Monday, Dec. 5, 2016.   (Paul Bilodeau/The Eagle-Tribune via AP, Pool)

A Massachusetts teenager convicted of fatally stabbing and then decapitating a high school classmate has been sentenced to life in prison, the AP reports. Eighteen-year-old Mathew Borges, of Lawrence, will be eligible for parole in 30 years under the maximum allowable sentence handed down on Tuesday by Superior Court Judge Helene Kanzajian. A jury convicted Borges in May of first-degree murder in the November 2016 killing of 16-year-old Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino. Viloria-Paulino's decapitated body and head were found along the banks of a river by a dog walker.

Prosecutors say Borges was jealous the victim had spent time with a girl he liked. Under Massachusetts law, a first-degree murder conviction carries a life sentence without the possibility of parole for adults. But parole eligibility must be added if the crime was committed as a juvenile. (Borges allegedly sent his ex a chilling text 24 hours after the murder.)

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