Images obtained by the Civil Police this week revealed that publicist Yuri Henrique de Castro fell from the roof of a townhouse on Rua General Osório, in Santa Ifigênia, downtown São Paulo. The 23-year-old was reported missing on April 22, after leaving a gay sauna in Largo do Arouche. The cause of death, according to the expert report, was polytrauma – multiple injuries that occur at the same time in more than one organ or body system.
The building is just over 500 meters from the Hotel Chilli sauna. According to UOL’s investigation, the video was taken by the security cameras of a store close to the location. The record, as the report points out, also shows the advertiser injured and lying on the sidewalk.
Last week, police officers from the Department of Homicide and Personal Protection carried out a search and seizure warrant at the sauna and the establishment’s employees were interviewed by the authorities. The case was registered as a suspicious death by the 5th Police District (Aclimação).
The images from the security cameras from the night Yuri was at the Chilli Hotel were obtained by the Civil Police, who are not ruling out any line of investigation. The agents also requested a toxicological analysis of the advertiser and are still awaiting the results.
What happened?
Yuri Castro was last seen at the Hotel Chilli gay sauna, in Largo do Arouche. He was found by an ambulance from the Mobile Emergency Care Service (SAMU), but died after being admitted to the Vergueiro Emergency Care Unit, in the Liberdade neighborhood, without documents. The boy’s body was sent to the Instituto Médio Legal and was later recognized by the family.
According to Yuri’s father, Marco Antonio, his son had left home on Saturday. On Monday, a friend of the publicist contacted the family and informed them that they were in a hotel and were unable to pay the bill because they had a problem with their card. The boy then left the place to look for money and left a cell phone as collateral. However, when he returned, Yuri was no longer there. He said that hotel security guards were collecting his things, stating that the young man had “ran away” and left his belongings behind.
“He gave this version, that Yuri ran away, the security guards went after him, brought him back and soon after he ran away again. It’s just very illogical. How do you, security, let a person escape twice, from the same place? There are a lot of loose ends, no one runs naked in the middle of the street, disappears and turns up dead.”analyzed Larissa Cristine Santos de Castro, Yuri’s sister, to g1.
When Marco looked for the hotel, he was informed that Castro had had an outbreak. “The version given by the hotel is that my son had freaked out. Firstly, he went out to smoke, but my son didn’t smoke. They said that when he came out into the smoking area, he escaped and ran towards the Amaral Gurgel Terminal. The security guards went after him and brought him back.”reported.
Security reports Yuri’s possible escape and debt
An audio from a sauna security guard, sent to the establishment’s management, tells what happened. In his version, Yuri told an employee that he was being chased there and that he had called the police. Minutes later, the young man allegedly ran to the Amaral Gurgel Terminal. A security guard at the sauna went after him and approached him along with a guard at the terminal, which is about 400 meters from the Hotel Chilli.
The professional also stated that the client had a debt of approximately R$700 at the establishment. In the audio, first released by BandNews FM, the security guard said that he held Castro by the neck and arm to lead him back to the hotel. The man added that, already close to the location, the customer became “aggressive and upset”.
He allegedly caused a physical confrontation between them, in which he was knocked down. The employee also claimed to have managed to hold the boy’s robe, who took it off and ran again, leaving his cell phone and room key behind. In the recording, the security guard also said that the hotel would have a “procedure” if the customer did not pay.
Establishment denies involvement
To UOL, Douglas Drumond, owner of the establishment, pointed out that the sauna puts “pressure” on employees to stay alert at their posts and prevent debtors from leaving the place. However, he denied that employees are charged for customer debts. Last week, the person responsible also denied any involvement in the death of Yuri Castro.
According to Drumond, the young man was a regular at the sauna and was not treated violently, as indicated by some posts on social media. He also said that he is being called a “murderer” and that he will give a statement to the police. The owner will also forward images from the establishment’s security cameras and a list of who was with Yuri at the location.
In the end, Douglas mourned the young man’s death. “We are very sad about Yuri’s passing. We wish our most sincere condolences to friends and family.”he declared.
SP Terminais Noroeste, the concessionaire responsible for the Amaral Gurgel Terminal, in the center of SP, informed that it is investigating the case internally and that, “in light of the investigation already underway, it is only authorized to provide information to official bodies. Such a measure is necessary so that it does not harm the official collection of information.”.
