Brazilian authorities ordered the arrest of a Cuban-American in connection with the murder of American gallery owner Brent Sikkema, who was found dead in mid-January in Rio de Janeiro. This would be the second man from the Island to be arrested in the case.
According to an official statement shared by the Brazilian Justice, this is Daniel Sikkema, 53 years old, who was married to the deceased and is now accused of having organized the murder.
Brent Sikkema, 75, was a partner in a New York art gallery, and was found with several stab wounds in his apartment in mid-January of this year.
The couple was married for 15 years, has a 14-year-old son, and was in the middle of a complicated divorce process.
According to Judge Tula Correa de Mello, the head of the Third Criminal Court of Rio de Janeiro, the decision to order preventive detention was made due to the evidence presented during the investigation, which suggested that he organized everything.
It is important to remember that, on January 18, the Brazilian police arrested another Cuban citizen for having carried out the homicide. On that occasion, the name of the detainee was not revealed, but it is now known that it was Alejandro Triana Prevez.
The statement from the Rio de Janeiro Judiciary indicates that the judge also accepted the charges that the prosecutor’s office brought against the two men. These accusations ensure that Sikkema, who lives in New York, would have hired Triana Prevez to murder the gallery owner, offering to pay him $200,000.
The statement states that, after having agreed to the event, Triana arrived at the American’s apartment, receiving instructions and financial assistance from Sikkema.
In this way, the murderer entered the place with the help of some keys that he received from Sikkema, ending the life of the gallery owner during the early hours of January 14.
The judge decreed that the arrest warrant against Daniel Sikkema be sent to the International Police Broadcasting Network (Interpol), since he is abroad.
The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro indicated that the first detainee was found hiding in a gas station in the state of Minas Gerais, in possession of thousands of dollars in cash. On that occasion, it was learned that security cameras captured the moment the man entered the crime scene, which made it easier to identify him.
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