Former councilor Jairo Souza Santos Júnior, known as Jairinho, began his interrogation this Tuesday afternoon (2) at the Jury Court that is judging the death of 4-year-old Henry Borel. Accused of triple-qualified homicide, torture and coercion during the course of the process, he began his testimony by asking the jurors to seek the truth when analyzing the case, appealing to religious belief.
"Jesus will put us on the path of truth," Jairinho stated at the very beginning of his statement to the jury.
The interrogation began around 16:50 PM, after more than six hours of testimony from Monique Medeiros, Henry's mother and co-defendant in the case. Earlier, She stated for the first time that she believed her ex-partner was responsible for her son's death."Today I believe it was Jairo," said Monique during the trial.
According to his defense, Jairinho will only answer questions posed by his lawyers.
Jairinho once again criticized the investigations.
In an emotional tone, the former city councilman began his testimony by talking about his personal and family history. In one of the most moving moments, his voice broke when he mentioned his son, who is part of his defense team in the trial. According to Jairinho, his son had to accelerate his university studies to complete his degree and work on the case. While recounting his son's efforts to support him throughout the process, the defendant wept before the jury.
When addressing the criminal case, Jairinho once again criticized the investigation and stated that the defense had access, in recent years, to elements that were not yet known at the beginning of the process.
“This process is so out of the ordinary that we, the defense, gain access to new evidence every month that passes. There is evidence that we had access to in January of this year, evidence that completely changes the things that are happening. It really is something to put your hearts into, to put the truth above all else, what is right,” he declared.
The defendant attempted to postpone the trial on several occasions and, throughout the process, raised numerous questions about the conduct of the investigations. In March, when the jury trial had begun, Jairinho's defense team abandoned the courtroom, leading to the suspension of the session and the postponement of the trial until May—an episode that was harshly criticized by the judge in charge of the case.
Just before the jury trial resumed at the end of last month, Jairinho again tried to postpone the trial and even dismissed his defense team after one of the lawyers suffered a heart attack. The decision, however, was reversed after the judge warned that he could be transferred from Bangu 8 to Bangu 1.
Ninth day of trial
The questioning takes place on the ninth day of the trial, considered one of the longest in Rio de Janeiro in almost 20 years. Throughout the investigation phase, 22 witnesses were heard, including police officers, experts, doctors, family members, Jairinho's former partners, and people connected to the couple.
Unlike witnesses, the defendants have been presenting their versions of the events that led to the child's death, which occurred in March 2021, directly to the jurors.
Earlier, Monique Medeiros stated that she recounted episodes of aggression involving Jairinho and declared that she began to see her ex-partner differently after learning of other reports of aggression involving children.
She also said she believed she was drugged by Jairinho on the night of her son's death and denied having been previously warned by the nanny about abuse against the child.
The trial is entering its final stretch.
With the conclusion of the interrogations, the trial should move on to the debate phase between the prosecution and the defense, considered one of the most important stages of the Jury Court.
The prosecution and its assistants will have up to three hours to present their conclusions to the jury. Following this, the defense attorneys for Jairinho and Monique will share an equal period to present their arguments.
Following the debates, the seven members of the jury will answer the questions formulated by the court and decide on the conviction or acquittal of the defendants.
Henry Borel died in March 2021 after being admitted to Barra D'Or Hospital with multiple internal injuries and cardiorespiratory arrest. Jairinho and Monique are charged with aggravated homicide, torture, coercion during legal proceedings, procedural fraud, and falsification of documents. Investigations indicate that the stepfather subjected Henry to repeated abuse, while the mother was aware of the incidents and allegedly failed to take measures to protect the child.
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