I tried to wake you, to shake you, but you wouldn't answer
No quarto dia do julgamento de Jairinho e Monique Medeiros pela morte do pequeno Henry Borel, a justiça revelou não apenas suas engrenagens procedimentais, mas também a profundidade das alegações contra o réu. Uma interrupção causada pela suspeita de que uma advogada observava as anotações dos jurados expôs a fragilidade dos rituais que cercam a busca pela verdade, enquanto o depoimento de uma ex-companheira trouxe à tona um padrão de violência que, segundo ela, vitimou também seu próprio filho por anos antes de ganhar voz.
- A juíza Elizabeth Machado Louro interrompeu abruptamente a sessão ao suspeitar que uma mulher na plateia lia as anotações sigilosas dos jurados, ameaçando expulsão imediata.
- A advogada removida do tribunal negou qualquer irregularidade, descrevendo a reação da magistrada como desproporcional e humilhante diante do que seria apenas um olhar casual.
- A tensão procedimental cedeu espaço ao depoimento mais perturbador do dia: a ex-namorada de Jairinho descreveu agressões brutais contra o próprio filho, incluindo sufocamento, pisoteamento e uma fratura no fêmur.
- A mãe relatou ter sido drogada e abusada sexualmente pelo réu na mesma noite em que seu filho teria sido agredido no quarto ao lado, incapaz de responder aos chamados da criança.
- O silêncio do menino Enzo durou anos — só foi quebrado quando a morte de Henry Borel se tornou caso nacional, revelando que o sofrimento pode permanecer oculto até que outro sofrimento o ilumine.
O quarto dia do julgamento de Jairo Souza Santos Júnior, o Jairinho, e Monique Medeiros pela morte de Henry Borel começou com uma ruptura inesperada. A juíza Elizabeth Machado Louro interrompeu os trabalhos ao notar uma mulher aparentemente lendo as anotações dos jurados durante um depoimento. A advertência foi direta: nova ocorrência significaria expulsão imediata. A mulher foi retirada da sala.
Do lado de fora, ela se apresentou como advogada recém-formada, negou qualquer intenção irregular e disse ter ido ao tribunal apenas para observar o funcionamento do júri, a convite de um promotor amigo. Sentiu-se humilhada pela reação que considerou exagerada.
Mas o episódio procedimental ficou em segundo plano diante do depoimento de Déborah Mello Saraiva, ex-companheira de Jairinho e mãe de um menino chamado Enzo. Ela descreveu uma relação que durou cerca de seis anos e terminou quando soube que ele se envolvia com Monique Medeiros. Disse ainda temer o réu e carregar raiva pelo que ele teria feito ao filho.
Enzo ficou em silêncio por anos. Só depois que o caso Henry ganhou repercussão nacional ele encontrou palavras para contar o que viveu. Descreveu a Jairinho enfiando pano e papel em sua boca para abafar os gritos, pisoteando seu estômago enquanto ria, e colocando uma sacola sobre sua cabeça na garagem do prédio. Na noite de uma dessas agressões, Déborah estava inconsciente em outro cômodo — drogada pelo réu, segundo ela, no mesmo dia em que foi estuprada. Enzo tentou acordá-la, mas ela não respondia.
Houve também uma fratura no fêmur do menino, diagnosticada após Jairinho devolvê-lo dizendo que ele havia torcido o pé. A lesão era grave demais para uma entorse simples. Depois disso, Enzo passou a evitar o padrasto e recusava sair com ele. O silêncio da criança só se desfez quando outra tragédia tornou o silêncio impossível de manter.
The fourth day of the trial for Jairo Souza Santos Júnior—known as Jairinho—and Monique Medeiros in the death of eight-year-old Henry Borel turned tense when Judge Elizabeth Machado Louro abruptly halted proceedings. She had spotted a woman seated with a clear sightline to the jury box apparently reading the notes jurors were taking during testimony. The judge interrupted the session and issued a sharp warning: if she caught the woman looking at the jury's written observations again, she would be removed from the courtroom immediately.
The woman was asked to leave. Outside the courtroom, she identified herself as a lawyer and denied any attempt to read the jurors' notes. She claimed the judge had misunderstood—she had simply looked down, she said, and would never compromise her professional ethics or those of her peers. She insisted she had come at the invitation of a prosecutor friend, had no connection to either side of the case, and was there only to observe how a jury trial functioned. She had recently obtained her law license and wanted to gain courtroom experience. The encounter left her feeling humiliated by what she described as the judge's excessive response to what she maintained was a misreading of her actions.
But the procedural disruption was not the day's most significant moment. Déborah Mello Saraiva, Jairinho's ex-girlfriend and mother of a boy named Enzo, took the stand to describe a pattern of violence that allegedly extended far beyond Henry's case. Déborah had met Jairinho in 2014 while working as a parliamentary aide at Rio's city council. Their relationship lasted roughly six years before she discovered he was involved with Monique Medeiros. She told the court she still fears him and carries anger over what he did to her son.
Enzo had remained silent about his experiences for years, only coming forward after Henry's death became national news. When he finally spoke to his grandmother, then to his mother, he described a series of brutal incidents. Jairinho had stuffed paper and cloth into his mouth to muffle his screams, then stomped on his stomach while laughing. On another occasion, Jairinho placed a bag over the boy's head and spun him around in the building's parking garage. Déborah testified that on the night of the mouth-stuffing and stomach assault, she had been unconscious in another room—drugged by Jairinho, she said, on the same day he raped her. Enzo had tried to wake her afterward, shaking her and calling out, but she would not respond.
There was also the matter of Enzo's leg. Jairinho had asked to take the boy to a gathering and called back shortly after to say Enzo had twisted his foot. When Déborah brought her son to the hospital for X-rays, the diagnosis was a femur fracture—a break far more serious than a simple sprain. After these incidents, Enzo began avoiding his stepfather and refused to go anywhere with him. The boy's silence, Déborah explained, had lasted years. Only when the Henry Borel case exploded into public consciousness did he find the words to tell what had happened to him.
Notable Quotes
If I catch you looking at the jury's notes again, I will remove you from this courtroom— Judge Elizabeth Machado Louro
He put paper and cloth in his mouth so he wouldn't scream, and then he started stepping on his little belly. And he was laughing— Déborah Mello Saraiva, describing her son's account of alleged abuse
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did the judge stop the trial over something as small as a lawyer glancing at notes?
Because jury deliberation has to be pure. If jurors know someone outside the box is watching what they write, it taints the whole process. The judge was protecting the integrity of the verdict.
And the lawyer—do you believe her explanation?
She may be telling the truth about her intent. But from the judge's angle, intent doesn't matter. The appearance of impropriety is enough. A newly licensed attorney should know better than to position herself where she can see anything.
What struck you most about Déborah's testimony?
That Enzo waited years to speak. Children often do. The shame, the fear, the confusion—it all locks up inside. It took Henry's death, a national scandal, for this boy to finally tell his mother what had been done to him.
The drugging allegation—how does that fit into the larger picture?
It suggests a pattern of control. If Jairinho drugged Déborah, he could do what he wanted to her son without interference. It's not just violence. It's calculated.
Do you think the jury will connect these two cases—Henry and Enzo?
The law will let them. Both point to the same person, the same methods. Whether they see it as proof or just context depends on how the evidence lands.