Father of Jairon, 14, Speaks Out at Belgium Murder Trial

The father of 14-year-old Jairon has told a Belgian court that he has spent the past four years wondering whether he should have taken his son to a doctor sooner.

“I keep asking myself: Should I have gone to a doctor?” Rennlhij M., Jairon’s father, said during the murder trial over his son’s death.

Jairon died in January 2022 at his father’s home in Turnhout after being seriously ill for weeks. His body was found in his bed eight weeks later, after his worried mother reported him missing. A high dose of ketamine was later found in his body.

Jairon’s father and five other people who lived in the house are on trial for murder. All six deny knowing anything about the ketamine or giving it to the teenager.

The defendants said Jairon had been sick for some time and that his condition became much worse in the final days. They said they did not realize how serious his condition had become and therefore did not call emergency services.

Rennlhij M. told the court that Jairon had developed mucus in his throat and was having trouble eating. In the final days, he could barely move or speak.

“At one point, I heard a clicking sound in his throat. It really frightened me,” his father said. “The night before he died, I saw that he was very weak. I wanted to take him to a doctor the next day, but he did not make it.”

The father became emotional during his testimony. “I lost my little boy. I am responsible. For four years I have been asking myself whether I should have gone to a doctor.”

Jairon’s family remains convinced that he was murdered and says it wants to finally learn what happened to him.

The family’s lawyer, Walter Van Steenbrugge, said Jairon had been sick for weeks, while the defendants described his condition as a simple flu before it suddenly became much worse. He also accused the people in the house of preventing Jairon’s mother from contacting her son and keeping his death from his brothers.

The defense strongly rejects the murder accusation. Lawyer Fatima Ahmad, who represents Jairon’s father, said tragic mistakes may have been made, but argued that Jairon was not murdered.

Other defense lawyers also asked the jury to consider each defendant’s individual role rather than treating all six the same.

The prosecutor also said at the start of the trial that she does not believe the case is necessarily one of murder. Prosecutors had originally wanted the six defendants to face charges in a lower criminal court for failing to provide proper help, food and care, resulting in death.

However, a Belgian appeals chamber later ruled that all six should stand trial before an assize jury on murder charges. The jury will now decide whether they are guilty. If convicted of murder, the defendants could face life in prison.