SAN ANTONIO — The family of Gideon Barideaux celebrated what would have been his third birthday on Friday, following day 15 of no concrete answers into his death, which is now being investigated as a homicide.
Gideon’s uncle, Jerome Barideaux, is still trying to wake up from the nightmare of when he learned the grave news.
“I received a call from my mother at 4 in the morning and I did not believe her,” Jerome said.
On August 9, officials say, Gideon died from a subdural hemorrhage. Three days earlier, first responders airlifted Gideon from Kerrville to a hospital in San Antonio.
Jerome noted Gideon and his mother were visiting her boyfriend in Kerrville. He has his suspicions of what happened, but he’s letting detectives come to conclusions.
“I don’t know who was there exactly, but somebody was there and that kid got hurt under their watch,” Jerome said.
He is filling a big hole in his heart with happy memories from the last time he saw Gideon on Father’s Day.
“Me and him, we’re playing, body-slamming, tickling, all kinds of stuff. It was fun,” Jerome said.
He, alone with fellow family members, gathered in San Antonio to celebrate Gideon’s third birthday on Friday. They sang "Happy Birthday" before releasing balloons into the air.
They were green, Gideon's favorite color.
“We were close a close-knit family. All these kids, they’re our hearts," Jerome said. "We do everything for them, everything’s about them and to be missing one of them—that’s terrible."
Family members also wore shirts reading #JusticeforGideon while reminiscing about the fond moments of the little boy’s life.
Jerome is frustrated with the absence of closure. He said he just wants to know who killed his nephew and have them locked up for life
“We just want answers. It’s been too long and I’m here to let them know he was my nephew and I’m going to fight for him.”