Henry Borel trial adjourned to May after defense walkout; experts back judge's decision

The courtroom emptied on a Thursday afternoon when the defense team for Dr. Jairinho—the former city councilman accused of killing his four-year-old stepson, Henry Borel—walked out. They said they didn't have what they needed: complete access to evidence, including a notebook belonging to the boy's father that had only been released four days earlier. Without the defense present, Judge Elizabeth Louro of Rio de Janeiro's criminal court had little choice. She postponed the trial to May 25, ordered the defense given full access to all materials, and released Monique Medeiros, Henry's mother and a co-defendant, from custody to avoid what she termed "legal constraint."

The case itself carries the weight of a child's death in 2021, still unsolved in the eyes of those who loved him. Jairinho faces charges of qualified homicide, torture, and coercion. Monique is charged with qualified homicide by omission, torture, and coercion. Both face potential sentences exceeding fifty years if convicted. The aggravating factors are stark: the alleged crimes occurred within a family home, and the victim was under fourteen years old.

When the defense abandoned the courtroom, it triggered a sharp rebuke from the bench. Judge Louro called the move "illegitimate abandonment" and an "act contrary to the dignity of justice." She noted that the defense had signaled this possibility in a meeting the previous Thursday, when they requested a thirty-day postponement. She interpreted their walkout as a premeditated strategy. The judge also pointed out the disruption: an entire week of court time blocked off, staff reassigned from their regular duties, other cases delayed. She referenced guidance from Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes, who had urged speed in this particular case.

Legal scholars consulted by O Globo largely sided with the judge's decision, though they highlighted a troubling gap in Brazilian law. Jorge Câmara, a criminal law professor at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, explained that the right to counsel is fundamental—a judge cannot simply decide who will or will not defend an accused person. By postponing rather than proceeding without the defense present, Louro avoided that constitutional minefield. But Câmara also noted that Brazil lacks real tools to prevent this kind of behavior. The defense claimed lack of access to evidence, which gave them legal grounds to request delay, even if walking out had no legal basis. "The justice system has no mechanism to compel lawyers—or prosecutors—to conduct themselves ethically," he said.

Breno Melaragno, a criminal law professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, offered a similar assessment. Had the judge not postponed, she risked the entire trial being canceled mid-course, after days of jury selection and testimony. She could have appointed a public defender on the spot, but the defendants have the right to choose their counsel and could refuse. Assigning a new lawyer at the last minute would itself likely trigger another delay, given the case's enormous complexity. Melaragno also suggested the defense's conduct might be viewed as a delaying tactic, though he noted the defense had articulated a reason—lack of complete evidence access—which technically gave them grounds to seek postponement.

The notebook in question belonged to Leniel Borel, Henry's father, who is also a city councilman and engineer. Its contents were released on March 19, just days before trial. The defense argued that police had extracted only contacts and emails, withholding the bulk of the data. Fabiano Lopes, one of Jairinho's attorneys, stated plainly that if the same conditions persist by May 25, the defense will walk out again. "The client has the right to choose his defense, including refusing the public defender," he said. "But for this defense to have coherence, if today we didn't have everything and didn't proceed, how can we proceed on a later date without the same completeness?"

When the session ended, Leniel Borel wept. He called the postponement a maneuver, a form of terrorism against his family, a desecration of his son's memory. "There's a father here with a heart of flesh," he said. "Henry is not here to tell his own story." He also criticized the judge's decision to release Monique from custody, viewing it as punishment directed at Jairinho's defense team rather than a separate judicial determination. The trial resumes May 25 with new jury selection. If the defense abandons again, public defenders will assume the case, though the defendants retain the right to refuse that representation—a legal knot that may tighten further as the case moves forward.