East Boston teen to spend 15 years in prison for killing man who sexually abused him

Marco Tulio Flores, now 19, today pleaded guilty to strangling Jaime Galdamez with a dog chain and then setting his body on fire after years of sexual abuse, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Flores accepted the voluntary-manslaughter sentence rather than face a murder charge for the 2011 death of Jaime Galdemez, the DA's office says.

"This was a just resolution to an utterly tragic case," DA Dan Conley said. "It provides accountability for a life that was taken cruelly, but it also recognizes the strong mitigating factors and the potential outcomes at trial."

According to the DA's office:

Had the case proceeded to trial, Assistant District Attorney Ian Polumbaum of the DA's Homicide Unit would have introduced evidence and testimony to show that Flores brought a knife and metal chain to the older family friend's home on the night of May 22, 2011, confronted him about sexually abusing Flores as a pre-teen, and interrogated him about his alleged plans to abuse another young member of the family. Afterward, the evidence would have shown, Flores wrapped Galdamez' face in duct tape and strangled him with the chain. Flores then took several items including computer equipment from Galdamez' residence and doused the bed and remains in lighter fluid. At about 8:00 the next morning, the evidence would have shown, Flores returned and set the fire by reaching in through a window he left open. That fire led to the discovery of Galdamez' remains.