Young man accused of cutting out his grandfather's eye goes to jury on the coast of SP

Hariel Borges da Silva, the young man arrested and accused of gouging out an eye and disfiguring his grandfather's face in Santos, on the coast of São Paulo, goes to the popular jury. According to the decision document, obtained by g1, the trial was scheduled for December 2, at 9:30 am.

The young man was 18 years old when he was arrested after the attack on his grandfather Oswaldi da Silva, 77, on July 24, 2024, inside the apartment where they lived, in the Aparecida neighborhood. The elderly man was medically discharged after spending more than ten days hospitalized at Santa Casa de Santos.

In September 2024, the Public Ministry of São Paulo (MP-SP) filed a complaint against Hariel, asking that he remain detained and be tried by the Jury Court. The requests were accepted by the Jury and Criminal Executions Court of Santos in October of that year.

Judge Thais Caroline Brecht Esteves determined the trial date. In the decision, she highlighted that Hariel is being prosecuted for attempted murder for futile reasons, using cruel means and committed against a person over 60 years of age.

Lawyers David Mandelbaum and Renan Lourenço, responsible for the young man's defense, stated that they respect the Jury Court and trust that all the circumstances of the case will be analyzed impartially, guaranteeing the accused the full exercise of contradictory and full defense.

"Our commitment is to Justice, Santos society and respect for due legal process and the search for the truth of the facts", concluded the defense, through a note sent to g1.

The case

According to witnesses' reports to the Military Police (PM), the young man appeared bloodied and said he had killed his grandfather. As soon as the agents arrived at the scene, they found bloodstains on the door of the property. The elderly man was in the room, missing one of his eyes and with a disfigured face.

Two cell phones, lighters, silk sheets, scissors and two pieces of tobacco were seized, but no marijuana was found in the property. The young man was taken to the East Zone Emergency Care Unit (UPA), where he underwent a psychiatric evaluation before being arrested.

Investigations

At the time of the events, delegate Liliane Lopes Doretto stated that the elderly man had discovered that his grandson was smoking marijuana and disapproved of the habit. The young man didn't like that his grandfather had continued his life after his grandmother's death, which occurred a year and a half before the attempted murder.

On the afternoon of the crime, the young man expressed his desire to borrow the elderly man's car, but his request was denied. He told police that he was under the influence of marijuana and that he heard voices before the attack.

According to the investigation, the young man attacked the elderly man with several punches. He reached for a knife, but did not strike with the object and threw it out the window. According to the police investigation, he used a notebook to hit the elderly man with blows.

At the time, the delegate raised the hypothesis that THC, a substance present in marijuana, could have acted as a trigger for a possible outbreak in the young man. She also stated that Hariel was predisposed to schizophrenia, but highlighted that there was no medical report confirming this condition.