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Lawrence Mayor Defends Police Investigation Into Teen's Murder

LAWRENCE (CBS) -- The mayor of Lawrence defended his police chief's investigation into the gruesome murder of a 16-year-old Thursday afternoon, in the wake of questions about the Lawrence Police Department's investigation and calls for the chief to step down.

A woman found the headless body of Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino last Thursday afternoon by the Merrimack River. His family and others in the community have questioned why police didn't do more to find him.

On Saturday morning, Viloria-Paulino's classmate, Mathew Borges, 15, was arrested for the murder. He was ordered held without bail on Monday.

lee manuel viloria paulino lawrence
Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino. (Family photo)

"In times like these, our resolve and our ability to come together is often challenged by our desire to find answers to questions, often resulting in conflicting opinions that pit people against each other," Mayor Dan Rivera said. "Today I'm asking people to do the opposite of that. I'm asking everyone to band together. We owe it to the memory of Lee, his family and friends, and frankly, we owe it to ourselves."

Mayor Rivera said he has created a review panel to examine the Lawrence Police Department's response to the disappearance and decapitation death of Viloria-Paulino. The panel will begin work in a week and continue for "as long as it takes" Rivera said.

Rivera also said that calls for his resignation in the wake of the investigation were a "political move."

"I want to be clear, I stand behind Chief Fitzpatrick and the Lawrence Police Department," said Rivera.

But Viloria-Paulino's family said they were disappointed with police after the investigation, saying they didn't do enough to find their son, who was missing for two weeks.

"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.

His mother was also critical of the investigation.

"To the mayor, to the chief of police, to every police officer and detective in our police department–if it was their kid, would they have waited two weeks to look for him?" she asked. "We knew he wouldn't run away, and from very early on, who they have in custody now, we knew had left with my son and we knew that his story did not make sense."

In a statement Police Chief James Fitzpatrick said: "The Lawrence Police Department took this case seriously from the onset. We now allege that the suspect deliberately misled investigators by sending them in the wrong direction. We will debrief and examine all actions taken."

Rivera's independent review panel is made up of four members. On the panel is Boston Police Deputy Superintendent Norma Ayala-Leong, Boston's first female homicide detective, former Providence, Rhode Island mayor Angel Taveras, defense attorney Mark Berthiaume, and private investigator W. Dennis Aiken.

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