Mother sobs in court as her son's killer is jailed for life for beheading his classmate and stabbing him 76 times in a jealous rage
- Mathew Borges, 18, was sentenced to 30 years for first-degree murder with premeditation and extreme cruelty and atrocity Tuesday
- He'll serve sentences consecutively and could be eligible for parole in 30 years
- In November 2016 he stabbed 16-year-old Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino 76 times, cut his hands off, beheaded him and dumped him in the Merrimack River
- Victim's mother Katiuska Paulino said in Salem Superior Court court: 'With him gone we feel like we can't breathe. He was our oxygen'
- Judge said: 'There is no sentence I can impose that will bring back Lee Paulino'
- Borges' attorney said: 'There is hope for his redemption. He can change his life'
A Massachusetts teenager convicted of fatally stabbing and then decapitating a high school classmate in a jealous rage after seeing him speak to a girl he liked, has been sentenced to life in prison.
A jury convicted Mathew Borges, 18, in May of first-degree murder with premeditation and extreme cruelty and atrocity after in the November 2016 he stabbed 16-year-old Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino 76 times and beheaded him.
Borges, of Lawrence, was sentenced to 30 years respectively for the two guilty verdicts and he will be eligible for parole in 30 years under the maximum allowable sentence handed down on Tuesday by Superior Court Judge Helene Kanzajian.
The sentencing came after the victim's mother Katiuska Paulino delivered a heart-wrenching impact statement in Salem Superior Court in front of her son's killer.
Mathew Borges, 18, was sentenced to 30 years respectively for first-degree murder with premeditation and extreme cruelty and atrocity Tuesday
Katiuska Paulino (left), the mother of Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino (right), spoke at Salem Superior Court on Tuesday at the sentencing of her son's killer. She said: 'With him gone we feel like we can't breathe'
'With him gone we feel like we can't breathe. Lee Manuel... was our oxygen,' she said. 'With the assassination of Lee Manuel we were also assassinated.'
'We are like the living dead after he was ripped from our side. No more dreams for the dreamer, the writer, the poet.'
Paulino wore a black shirt with his image on the front for the sentencing appearance. The victim's family had done the same during the 10-day trial that was followed by two days of deliberation by the jury.
In video footage from CBS Boston she said her son as 'sincere, loving, responsible' and 'charismatic'. She said Borges deserves to be 'incarcerated for the rest of his life' so he can 'never kill again'.
'Every day we struggle with the fact that his life was cut too short. We drove ourselves crazy trying to make sense of what had been done,' Paulino cried. 'Why would someone plan to commit such a horrible crime to such a wonderful person?'
Paulino wore a black shirt with his image on the front for the sentencing appearance. She said: 'With the assassination of Lee Manuel we were also assassinated'
Judge Kanzajian said: 'There is no sentence I can impose that will bring back Lee Paulino'
Borges declined to comment during the sentencing and sat emotionless while staring at the judge.
The judge called the sentence for Borges murdering his Lawrence High School classmate 'appropriate.'
'There is no sentence I can impose that will bring back Lee Paulino, or that will answer the questions that we all have about how this happened, and how a 15-year-old boy could kill a friend in this manner,' Kazanjian said Tuesday.
Under Massachusetts law, a first-degree murder conviction carries a life sentence without the possibility of parole for adults. But parole eligibility must be added if the crime was committed as a juvenile.
Borges' attorney said: 'There is hope for his redemption. He can change his life'
He'll serve his two sentences consecutively and could be eligible for parole in 30 years
Edward Hayden, Borges' attorney, said that his client – who also cut off the victim's hands - should receive the possibility of parole after 25 years.
'He is not irredeemably depraved. There is hope for his redemption. He can change his life,' Hayden said.
Three years ago, Viloria-Paulino's decapitated body and head had been found along the banks of the Merrimack River by a dog walker.
Prosecutors said Borges was jealous the victim had spent time with a girl he liked.
The girl, Leilany Dejesus, testified during the trial that Borges was consumed by rage and jealousy after seeing her talking to the victim.
Borges was chosen out of the group as the person who should lure Viloria-Paulino to the river, the court heard.
Four boys had testified that they had plotted with Borges to rob the victim's home that same night and steal his clothes, belts and PlayStation.
The victim Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino (left and right) was stabbed 76 times. Borges cut his hands off, beheaded him and dumped him in the Merrimack River
Leilany Dejesus, 18, an ex-girlfriend of Borges, cries as she testifies at trial in April. Massachusetts teenager Borges was jealous after he saw her talking to the victim
