(Lawrence Police)
SALEM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — As the murder trial of a Lawrence teen accused of brutally murdering his classmate moved into its third day, jurors listened to a recording of the accused being questioned by police.
In that recording from November 2016, State and Lawrence Police questioned Matthew Borges, then 15 years old, about the disappearance of Lee Paulino, imploring Borges to give them ideas about where Paulino might be.
Paulino was found the next month, his body mutilated and decapitated, by a man walking his dog along the banks of the Merrimack River.
In the recording, when Paulino was still considered a missing person, Borges theorized to police that Paulino's family was too strict, and that he may have wanted to get away. He said only that he had smoked pot with Paulino on the day he disappeared, and that he didn't know where the missing teen was.
But prosecutors say Paulino was already dead, dismembered, and dumped in the Merrimack at the time of the interview.
Earlier Wednesday, two teens involved in a break-in at Paulino's home testified that they had conspired with Borges to rob Paulino's home, later learning that Borges had killed Paulino.
Jonathan Miranda, one of those two, told the court Borges confessed to him about killing Paulino.
"He told me that he killed Lee and cut off his head," Miranda said.
"Did he tell you how he killed him?" the prosecutor asked.
"He said he stabbed him," Miranda answered.
The other teen who said he was involved in the break-in, Angel Betancourt, said he didn't know what Borges was allegedly doing until Borges called him after.
"He started off with, 'My hands were bloody, he came at me, I did what I had to do'," Betancourt said.
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App
WBZ NewsRadio's Karyn Regal (@Karynregal) reports