Lawrence is a city of around 75,000, situated near the New Hampshire border. In November of 2016, a teenage boy vanished from his grandmother’s home. CCTV footage would capture him in the company of another teenage boy. His disappearance, and the outcome, would lead to many within the community questioning whether Lawrence police really did their job and whether they had shrugged the teenager off as a runaway simply because he was Hispanic.
Sponsors:
Vodacast: Thank you to Vodacast for sponsoring this episode! Vodacast is a brand new podcast app. What sets it apart is that they provide deeper, digital stories. You can listen to your favorite podcast while immersing yourself in some bonus content from that episode: https://vodacast.com/
Scary Time Podcast: Thank you to Scary Time Podcast for sponsoring this episode! This podcast covers cases such as paranormal hauntings, aliens, creepy places, strange phenomena and everything in between. Subscribe today: http://www.dummies.fan/ScaryTime-Morbidology
Foreo: Thank you to Foreo for sponsoring this episode! Foreo re-invents beauty & wellness by offering innovative devices that install confidence & improve your skin. Get 35% off their Amazon bundle with code “MORBID50” at: https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/D45C96B5-7B6C-43FB-A5ED-FE544D4856E0
L.A. Times: Thank you to L.A. Times for sponsoring this episode! The Trials of Frank Carson is a brand new true crime podcast from L.A. Times. Frank Carson was a defence attorney who became embroiled in a murder case. Listen on all podcast platforms or: https://www.latimes.com/podcast/trials-of-frank-carson-podcast
Audio Sources:
“‘We feel that this criminal deserves to spend his life incarcerated'”
“‘I think of killing someone and I smirk:’ teen beheading trial gets underway”
“Mathew Borges Trial: Jury Hears Gruesome Details In Beheading Case”
“Lawrence Teen Admitted He Beheaded His Classmate, Associate Testifies”
“Jurors hear interview tapes of teen accused of decapitating friend”
“Jurors in teen’s beheading trial listen to interview with police after alleged murder”
“Medical examiner: Unclear if teen beheaded before or after death”
“Lawrence Teen Arraigned For Brutal Murder”
“Friend testifies beheading victim stabbed in stomach, back, throat”
“‘This is not a random act’ mayor says about decapitated body”
Sources:
Bluefield Daily Telegraph, 1 December, 2016 – “Decapitated Body Found Near Massachusetts River”
Associated Press, 2 December, 2016 – “Decapitated Body Identified as Missing 16-Year-Old Boy”
The Eagle-Tribune, 2 December, 2016 – “Rivera Says Investigators Will Solve Boy’s Murder”
Associated Press, 3 December, 2016 – “Teenager Arrested, Charged in Classmate’s Decapitation”
Boston Herald, 3 December, 2016 – “Family, Pals Rattled by Young Victim’s Slaying”
Boston Herald, 3 December, 2016 – “Teen’s Gruesome Murder Shakes Lawrence to Core”
Clerburne Times-Review, 3 December, 2016 – “16-Year-Old Arrested in Decapitation Death of Classmate”
The Eagle-Tribune, 3 December, 2016 – “Candlelight Vigil Held for Victim”
WBUR – 90.9 FM, 3 December, 2016 – “Juvenile to be Charged with 1st Degree Murder”
Boston Herald, 4 December, 2016 – “Why Did It Take So Long For Them To Believe Us”
Boston Herald, 4 December, 2016 – “Teen Nabbed in Decapitation Death”
The Ada Evening News, 5 December, 2016 – “Teenager Charged, Held Without Bail”
Associated Press, 5 December, 2016 – “No Bail for 15-Year-Old Charged”
Associated Press, 6 December, 2016 – “Chief Defends Police Investigation in Decapitated Teen Case”
Boston Herald, 6 December, 2016 – “Classmates Paint Troubled Portrait”
The Eagle-Tribune, 6 December, 2016 – “Borges Said, I Did Something Bad’”
The Eagle-Tribune, 7 December, 2016 – “Vigil Unites City After Teen’s Murder”
The Eagle-Tribune, 7 December, 2016 – “Donations Sough for Lawrence Murder Victim’s Family”
The Eagle-Tribune, 7 December, 2016 – “Councillors Call for Police Chief to Resign”
Associated Press, 8 December, 2016 – “Mayor’s Team Will Analyse Police Handling of Beheading Case”
Boston Herald, 8 December, 2016 – “Lawrence Mayor Backs Police Chief”
The Eagle-Tribune, 8 December, 2016 – “Sister Wants Lawrence Murder Victim Remembered Forever”
Boston Herald, 9 December, 2016 – “Delay in Slaying Probe Unacceptable”
The Eagle-Tribune, 9 December, 2016 – “A Community Say Goodbye to Murdered Teen”
Boston Herald, 10 December, 2016 – “Friends, Family Bid Slain Teen a Tearful Goodbye”
The Eagle-Tribune, 11 December, 2016 – “Police Credibility and Trust at Stake”
The Republican, 13 December, 2016 – “Lawrence Police Officer Who Criticized Department Fired”
The Eagle-Tribune, 31 January, 2017 – “Evidence Impounded in Lawrence Beheading Murder”
Boston Herald, 1 February, 2017 – “Teen Suspect in Lawrence Slaying is Polite”
The Eagle-Tribune, 13 March, 2017 – “Borges Indicted in Teen Beheading Murder Case”
The Eagle-Tribune, 28 March, 2017 – “Blodgett Blocks Investigation into Police Search for Teen”
The Eagle-Tribune, 14 April, 2017 – “Second Suspect Charged in Connection with Paulino Murder”
The Eagle-Tribune, 28 June, 2017 – “Judge Sets Deadline for Autopsy Report”
The Daily News of Newburyport, 7 September, 2017 – “Defence Wants Statements, Evidence Tossed”
The Eagle-Tribune, 14 September, 2017 – “Victim’s Family Demands Answers in Teen’s Murder”
The Eagle-Tribune, 23 January, 2018 – “Defence Attacks Phone Search in Beheading Case”
The Eagle-Tribune, 14 August, 2018 – “Family Says Father of Lawrence Beheading Victim Killed in Puerto Rico”
The Eagle-Tribune, 29 April, 2019 – “Beheading Trial Begins”
Boston Herald, 30 April, 2019 – “Teen Killed Out of Jealousy”
The Eagle-Tribune, 30 April, 2019 – “Grandmother Gives Emotional Testimony”
The Republican, 30 April, 2019 – “I Love You More”
The Eagle-Tribune, 1 May, 2019 – “Teens Testify Borges Told Them He Stabbed Classmate”
The Eagle-Tribune, 2 May, 2019 – “Prosecution Details Borges’ Threats, Murder Claim”
Boston Herald, 3 May, 2019 – “Beheading Suspect Had Kill Him Note”
The Eagle-Tribune, 6 May, 2019 – “Lawrence Murder Victim Was Stabbed Dozens of Times”
Legal Monitor Worldwide, 7 May, 2019 – “Lawrence Homicide Victim Was Knife Attacked Several Times”
The Eagle-Tribune, 9 May, 2019 – “Borges Texted About Jealousy”
The Eagle-Tribune, 13 May, 2019 – “Jury Deliberations Continue in Beheading Murder”
The Eagle-Tribune, 14 May, 2019 – “Borges Found Guilty”
Associated Press, 9 July, 2019 – “Teen Convicted in Decapitation Killing Gets Life in Prison”
New Hampshire Union Leader, 9 July, 2019 – “Mass. Teen gets Life with Chance of Parole”
The Republican, 9 July, 2019 – “Lee Manuel Viloria Paulino Was Our Oxyen”
