Arrest Made In Murder Of Lawrence Teen

LAWRENCE (CBS) – An arrest has been made in the murder of a Lawrence teenager whose body was found decapitated along the Merrimack River earlier this week.

Police arrested Mathew Borges, 16, at 12:45 a.m. Saturday at his Oxford Street home and charged him with first degree murder. Borges will appear in court Monday, where he will be tried as an adult.

Sixteen-year-old Lee Viloria-Paulino's headless body was discovered Thursday near McCabe Court in Lawrence.

"This is a close-knit family, this is a kid that was never in the street," one of Viloria-Paulino's relatives said. "If he wasn't safe, nobody is safe."

Both Borges and the victim were sophomores at Lawrence High School, according to the Essex County District Attorney's office. The suspect's home on Oxford Street is a less than two minute drive from Viloria-Paulino's home.

Viloria-Paulino's family said they are disappointed with police after the investigation.

"If they considered this case in a different way and with respect, like if we were white and not Hispanic I think things would have been different," the victim's grandmother, Ivelisse Corniel, said.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karyn Regal reports