He was cold and staring at nothing. In my mind, he was still alive.
Em uma sala de audiências no Rio de Janeiro, o silêncio de um ex-vereador acusado de envolvimento na morte de um menino de quatro anos ecoou mais alto do que qualquer depoimento. Jairo Souza Santos Júnior, o Dr. Jairinho, adiou seu interrogatório para 16 de março, enquanto a mãe da criança, Monique Medeiros, narrou entre lágrimas os últimos momentos de Henry Borel. O caso suspende, diante da sociedade, uma das perguntas mais antigas e dolorosas da condição humana: quem protege uma criança quando o perigo mora dentro de casa?
- Jairinho permaneceu em silêncio durante toda a audiência, e sua defesa pediu mais tempo para acessar imagens hospitalares e laudos periciais antes de qualquer depoimento sob juramento.
- Monique subiu ao banco das testemunhas e descreveu, com a voz partida, como encontrou o filho frio e imóvel na cama, com os olhos fixos no vazio.
- A noite descrita por Monique é um mosaico de detalhes perturbadores: Henry acordou três vezes chamando pela mãe, Jairinho monitorava o celular dela, e ela adormeceu em outro quarto após tomar dois medicamentos.
- Às 5h52 da manhã, os médicos confirmaram a morte de Henry; Monique insistiu que o filho não tinha um único hematoma visível, e que nem ela nem a equipe hospitalar sabiam a causa da morte.
- Com o interrogatório de Jairinho marcado para março, o caso caminha para a fase final: após seu depoimento, acusação e defesa terão dez dias para apresentar alegações, definindo se ambos irão a júri popular.
Na quarta-feira, o Tribunal de Justiça do Rio de Janeiro foi palco de um silêncio carregado: Jairinho, ex-vereador acusado de envolvimento na morte do enteado Henry Borel, optou por não depor. Sua defesa alegou precisar de acesso a imagens de câmeras hospitalares, laudos do IML e prontuários médicos antes de qualquer interrogatório. A juíza Elizabeth Loureiro acatou o pedido e remarcou a oitiva para 16 de março.
Foi Monique Medeiros, mãe de Henry e também ré no processo, quem prestou depoimento naquele dia de fevereiro. Ela descreveu como o filho chegou em casa às 19h30, após um fim de semana com o pai biológico, Leniel Borel, chorando e vomitando. Para acalmá-lo, ela o levou a uma padaria e comprou seus doces favoritos. Henry disse que queria ir para a casa da avó em Bangu. Ela prometeu que sempre cuidaria dele. Ele respondeu que cuidaria dela para sempre.
Naquela noite, Henry acordou três vezes chamando pela mãe. Monique relatou que Jairinho estava preocupado com as mensagens que ela trocava com Leniel no WhatsApp e pediu que ela fosse ao quarto de hóspedes. Ela adormeceu lá, possivelmente por efeito de dois medicamentos que havia tomado. Foi Jairinho quem a acordou, dizendo que Henry havia caído da cama. Ao chegar ao quarto do filho, Monique o encontrou deitado de costas, as mãos sobre o cobertor, o corpo frio e o olhar perdido.
No hospital, às 5h52, veio a confirmação da morte. Monique afirmou que o filho não tinha nenhum hematoma visível, e que nem ela nem os médicos sabiam explicar o que havia acontecido. Com o interrogatório de Jairinho agendado para março, o caso se aproxima de seu desfecho processual: após a oitiva, as partes terão dez dias para as alegações finais, que definirão se os dois réus serão levados a julgamento pelo Tribunal do Júri.
The courtroom in Rio de Janeiro fell silent on Wednesday when the man accused of involvement in a four-year-old boy's death chose not to speak. Jairo Souza Santos Júnior, a former city councilman known as Dr. Jairinho, sat through the hearing without offering testimony. His lawyers had a reason: they needed more time, they said. They wanted access to hospital surveillance footage, medical examiner reports, and the boy's medical records before their client would answer questions under oath. The judge, Elizabeth Loureiro of Rio's second criminal court, agreed. Jairinho's interrogation would be rescheduled for March 16.
The case centers on Henry Borel, who died at four years old under circumstances that remain contested. Jairinho is the boy's stepfather. The child's mother, Monique Medeiros, is also accused in the death. On this February day, it was Monique who took the stand and recounted the final hours of her son's life, her voice breaking as she described what she said happened that night.
Henry had come home at 7:30 p.m. after spending the weekend with his biological father, Leniel Borel. The boy arrived distressed, crying and vomiting. Monique said she took him to a bakery afterward, buying sweets and treats he loved, trying to calm him. He didn't want to be at her house or his father's house—he wanted to go to his grandmother's place in Bangu. She told him she would always take care of him. He told her he would take care of her forever.
After putting Henry to bed and bathing him, Monique joined Jairinho in the living room to watch television. The boy woke three times that night, each time looking for his mother. Monique testified that Jairinho was preoccupied with her phone, wanting to know what she was discussing with Leniel on WhatsApp. Later, Jairinho asked her to go to the guest bedroom to watch television and spend time together. She fell asleep there, possibly from the effects of two medications she had taken.
Then Jairinho woke her. He said Henry had fallen out of bed. When Monique went to check on her son, she found him lying on his back, hands resting on the blanket, his body cold, his eyes staring at nothing. Jairinho went to the bathroom and returned saying they should take Henry to the hospital. In her mind, Monique said, he was still alive. She held onto that belief.
At 5:52 a.m., doctors told her Henry was dead. She said her son had no bruises, no visible injuries. She had seen him naked and found nothing wrong. "My son didn't have a single bruise," she testified. "No one knew what was happening." The hospital staff told her they didn't know the cause of death either. She questioned why a child arriving at the hospital dead required two hours of resuscitation. It felt like a nightmare, she said, like something horrible.
With Jairinho's testimony now scheduled for mid-March, the case enters a new phase. Once he is questioned, both the defense and prosecution will have ten days to present their closing arguments. That hearing will determine whether Jairinho and Monique will face a jury trial. The machinery of justice moves forward, but the central question—what happened to Henry Borel in those final hours—remains suspended in the space between one person's account and another's silence.
Citas Notables
My son didn't have a single bruise. I saw my son naked, there was nothing. There was no injury on my son.— Monique Medeiros, Henry's mother, during testimony
No one knew what was happening. When they told me at 5:52 a.m. that my son had died, it was like someone had torn a piece out of me.— Monique Medeiros
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did Jairinho's lawyers ask for the delay? What were they actually waiting for?
They said they needed hospital surveillance video, the medical examiner's full report, and Henry's complete medical records. Without seeing what the evidence shows, they argued their client shouldn't speak in court.
That's a standard defense tactic, though. What makes this case different?
The timeline. Henry came home upset, was put to bed, and by morning he was dead. No one disputes those facts. What's disputed is everything in between—what happened, how it happened, whether anyone caused it.
Monique testified that Henry had no injuries. If that's true, how does a four-year-old die overnight?
That's the question the court is trying to answer. The doctors themselves said they didn't know the cause. That uncertainty is what makes this case so difficult—and so urgent.
She mentioned Jairinho being interested in her phone conversations with the boy's father. Does that detail matter?
It suggests tension in the household. A man watching a woman's communications with her ex, the child distressed after visiting his father. These are the textures of the night, the pressures that were present.
What happens after March 16?
If Jairinho testifies, both sides get ten days to make their final arguments. Then the judge decides whether the case goes to a jury. That's when the real trial begins.