The story in brief
Rio de Janeiro, 1927. A man of many names, who calls himself the son of light, is accused of two deaths. To the police and the papers, he is faking madness. A psychiatrist says he is not. The court acquits him. Even so, he spends the rest of his life locked in the Judicial Asylum. An account of real crimes, without violent detail.
The chapters
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Chapter 1 · 4 min · Free
The Man of Many Names
Accused of two deaths, Febrônio is acquitted. Even so, he is never set free.
Sources: Heitor Carrilho’s report (1929); The charge and the police record (1927); Calil, “Aí vem o Febrônio!” (2015)
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Chapter 2 · 4 min · Free
The Manhunt
A young man leaves home at night to sign a paper and never comes back. The suspect has had a police record since 1916.
Sources: A Noite and Correio da Manhã, August and September 1927; Fon-Fon, September 1927; The 1927 court file, as cited by Alvares and Ferreira (2022) and Souza (2020)
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Chapter 3 · 4 min
The Report
The lawyer does not want to prove Febrônio innocent. He wants to prove him mad. And he will get more than he asked for.
Sources: Heitor Carrilho’s report (February 1929); The defence’s and the prosecution’s pleas (1927 to 1929); The sentence of 12 April 1929; Peter Fry (1982)
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Chapter 4 · 4 min
Until When
The sentence does not say until when. Febrônio writes to the judge, escapes, is brought back. The answer fits in one sentence.
Sources: The Judicial Asylum’s file; Petitions by Febrônio and his brothers (1933 to 1936); The order of 8 April 1936; Calil (2015); Cendrars, La vie dangereuse (1938)
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Chapter 5 · 4 min
The Sum
In 1956, Febrônio does a sum no one wants to hear. Decades later, a high court puts a similar rule on paper.
Sources: The 1956 report; The Penal Code of 1940, article 91; Peter Fry (1982); Súmula 527 of the Superior Court of Justice (2015); Santos and Farias (2014)
What you’ll be able to tell
This story belongs to the journey “The Modern Hunt”. By the end of it, you can tell how psychiatry, the press, codebreakers and profilers changed the hunt.
Stories in this journey
Sources
- Heitor Carrilho’s report (1929) and Febrônio’s court file (1927 to 1956), as cited by Alvares and Ferreira (2022) and Souza (2020)
- Correio da Manhã and Fon-Fon (1927)
- Peter Fry, “Febrônio Índio do Brasil: onde cruzam a psiquiatria, a profecia, a homossexualidade e a lei” (1982)
- Carlos Augusto Calil, “Aí vem o Febrônio!” (2015)
