Man charged with hiring ex-bodyguard to murder his husband
A New York man was charged Tuesday for allegedly hiring a hit man to kill his husband, a prominent art dealer, amid their acrimonious divorce.
Daniel Sikkema is accused in the murder-for-hire plot that left his estranged husband, Brent Sikkema, dead.
Brent Sikkema, who co-founded the contemporary art gallery Sikkema Malloy Jenkins, was found dead with multiple stab wounds in his Rio de Janeiro home in January 2024.
The 75-year-old -- who represented several popular contemporary artists, including Jeffrey Gibson -- owned the apartment in Brazil and traveled there regularly for work.
According to a federal indictment, 54-year-old Daniel Sikkema paid a man to carry out the killing while the couple was "engaged in contentious divorce proceedings."
He sent multiple payments to the hitman, and to the hitman’s romantic partner in Cuba, and concealed the source of the payments by using either an intermediary or a stolen identity, according to the indictment.
“In the midst of a tense divorce, Daniel Sikkema allegedly financed the premature death of his estranged husband," said the FBI’s James Dennehy. "The defendant allegedly hired a hitman to facilitate the international murder of his husband and attempted to conceal his involvement in this callous plan.”
Police arrested the suspected hitman, Alejandro Triana Trevez, four days after Brent Sikkema's body was discovered.
Terez had previously worked as the victim's bodyguard, according to Brazilian media. He reportedly said that Daniel Sikkema offered him $200,000 for the murder.
The indictment against Daniel Sikkema does not name Trevez, referring to him instead as CC-1.
Daniel Sikkema is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a murder-for-hire, one count of murder-for-hire, one count of conspiracy to murder a person in a foreign county and one count of passport fraud.
He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison or the death sentence if convicted.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Danielle R. Sassoon said in a statement that Daniel Sikkema "carried out a cold-blooded plot to murder" his husband.
"This Office will doggedly pursue justice against those who murder United States citizens, whether at home or abroad," Sassoon said.
In a statement to ABC News, Richard Levitt, an attorney for Daniel Sikkema, proclaimed his client's innocence.
"Mr. Sikkema now as always maintains his innocence and looks forward to his complete vindication at trial," Levitt said.
