Ever once in a while a crime occurs that rocks the nation and the news coming out of Massachusetts is shaping up to do so. In the United States homicide rates have fallen down drastically but every now and again we find out about a life that was tragically taken. This time around a young life has ended for no apparent reason.
According to People, Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino, a Lawrence High School student in Massachusetts was stabbed and mutilated by a feloow student. The 16-year-old's body was found on a street by a woman walking her dog on Thursday.
“This was a horrific, horrific murder,” Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said at a news conference on Saturday. “While it shook the community, we were completely and totally resolved to bring this matter to justice.”
Viloria-Paulino left his house on the night of November 18 and was never seen alive again. Weeks after his disappearnace, the publication reports that one of his classmates, 15-year-old Mathew Borges was arrested and charged with allegedly murdering and decapitating the young man. Unfortunately, the motive in the horrific murder and the naturwe of their relationship still remians unclear.
On the night of November 18th, the two teens left Lee’s home at about 5:40 p.m. and headed to the nearby Merrimack River, according to authorities.
Lee’s family later reported him missing when he failed to return home. They told reporters they’re upset because they feel police considered this a runaway case and failed to do everything they could to find him, The Boston Herald reports.
“I do want to ask a question, with all due respect, to the mayor, to the chief of police, to every police officer, detective, in our police department,’’ one relative told reporters, according to the Globe. “If it was their kid, would they have … waited two weeks to look for him?”
Authorities have yet to reveal why Mathew allegedly killed and then decapitated the teen, though police claim Mathew confessed afterward. “A witness told investigators that Mathew told them he did something bad,’’ according to a police report obtained by the Boston Globe. “Mathew then told him that he stabbed a kid and cut his head off.’’
Borges pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Lawrence District Court, Carrie Kimball Monahan, a spokeswoman for the district attorney, tells PEOPLE. His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.
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