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Lawrence Teen Accused Of Beheading Classmate Has Trial Postponed For Third Time

LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP) — The trial for a Massachusetts teenager charged with killing and beheading a high school classmate has been postponed for the third time.

The Eagle-Tribune reports Mathew Borges's trial has been pushed back until April 22.

Borges is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 16-year-old Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino of Lawrence.

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

Viloria-Paulino was reported missing in November 2016. His body was found days later near the Merrimack River by a woman walking her dog. Police found his head nearby.

A police report says Borges, 15 at the time, told a witness he stabbed someone and cut his head off. The motive remains unclear.

lawrence murder headless body decapitation matthew borges
Mathew Borges in court in December 2016. (WBZ-TV)

Borges and Viloria-Paulino were sophomores at Lawrence High School.

Borges, being tried as an adult, is being held in a juvenile detention facility without bail.

(© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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