New York man gets life for hiring hitman to kill husband in Brazil
A New York man has been sentenced to life in prison for hiring someone to murder his estranged husband, a Manhattan art gallery owner, in Brazil, according to federal prosecutors. The killing took place while the couple was going through a contentious divorce.
Daniel Sikkema, 56, of New York City, was sentenced Wednesday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Beginning in 2023, the defendant agreed to pay Alejandro Prevez to kill his husband, Brent Sikkema, who regularly stayed at a home he owned in Rio de Janeiro, according to evidence presented at trial.
To carry out the plot, the defendant sent 11 payments to the hitman and his romantic interest in Cuba. He concealed the source of the money by using the identities of friends, employees and relatives who were unaware of the scheme.
On January 14, 2024, the hitman entered Brent’s residence in Rio de Janeiro and stabbed him 18 times, killing him.
Minutes after the murder, the hitman repeatedly called a secret phone number the defendant had arranged for communications about the plot. Shortly afterward, the defendant secretly sent him $5,000 for the killing and promised additional payments.
A jury convicted the defendant on May 22 following a two-week trial. The charges were murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country.
In addition to life in prison, Sikkema was sentenced to five years of supervised release.
Brazilian authorities arrested the killer on January 18, 2024, four days after the killing. His criminal case remains pending in Brazil.
“For months, the defendant manipulated friends, family, and employees to execute a killing driven by greed,” U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said. “His actions demonstrated a profound disregard for human life and the rule of law.”
