Prosecutors say the New York defendant arranged a killing in Brazil during a divorce dispute.
NEW YORK — Daniel Sikkema’s federal murder-for-hire trial opened Tuesday in Manhattan, where prosecutors said he arranged the killing of his estranged husband, New York art dealer Brent Sikkema, during a divorce fight over money and custody.
The case has drawn attention in New York’s art world and in Brazil, where Brent Sikkema was found dead in January 2024. Federal prosecutors say Daniel Sikkema paid another person to carry out the killing in Rio de Janeiro. The defense says the government is relying on guesses, hard feelings and circumstantial evidence.
Brent Sikkema, 75, was found stabbed inside his Rio de Janeiro townhouse on Jan. 14, 2024. Prosecutors said he had been stabbed 18 times. Brazilian authorities arrested an alleged killer four days later in Minas Gerais, a state northwest of Rio. U.S. prosecutors later accused Daniel Sikkema, a U.S. and Cuban citizen who lived in New York, of arranging the attack from abroad. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Pavlis told jurors that Daniel Sikkema “orchestrated his husband’s murder from a continent away” and then tried to benefit from the death. Prosecutors said they will show witness testimony, digital records, financial records and location data during the trial.
The indictment says the alleged plot began in 2023 while Daniel and Brent Sikkema were in contentious divorce proceedings. Prosecutors said Brent Sikkema regularly traveled to Brazil and owned property in Rio de Janeiro. They said Daniel Sikkema sent multiple payments to the alleged killer and to the person’s romantic partner in Cuba, using a stolen identity or an intermediary to hide the money trail. After the killing, prosecutors said, Daniel Sikkema and the alleged killer kept communicating, and Daniel Sikkema arranged another payment of about $5,000 while promising more money later. The government has said the murder was tied to Daniel Sikkema’s belief that he would receive more as a widower than in a divorce settlement.
Jurors also heard from Angela Liriano, a retired pharmacist and family friend who was called as the trial’s first witness. Liriano testified that Daniel Sikkema was angry during a December 2023 phone call about Brent Sikkema’s planned travel to Brazil. She told jurors that he said he hoped Brent Sikkema would die. Liriano also testified that Daniel Sikkema had complained about the amount of money he expected in the divorce, saying he wanted $8 million instead of $6 million. Prosecutors said recorded messages would show similar anger. In court Tuesday, jurors were shown crime scene photos from Brazil, while Daniel Sikkema sat at the defense table with his lawyers.
Defense attorney Florian Miedel told jurors that no direct evidence proves Daniel Sikkema hired anyone to kill Brent Sikkema. Miedel said the couple had an ugly divorce but also shared a long history and a 13-year-old son. He said Daniel Sikkema would not take away the child’s other parent. Miedel told jurors not to confuse bitter divorce statements with proof of a murder plot. “Life is messy. The truth is not always obvious,” he said. The defense also said prosecutors cannot prove Daniel Sikkema knew before the killing that he would receive more money through Brent Sikkema’s death than through a divorce.
Brent Sikkema was a well-known figure in the contemporary art market. His Manhattan gallery, now known as Sikkema Malloy Jenkins, has represented artists including Kara Walker, Vik Muniz and Arturo Herrera. The gallery says it has represented international artists for nearly 30 years and works with more than 30 artists across media including painting, photography, sculpture and installation. Brent Sikkema’s death shocked colleagues in New York and brought wide attention to the investigation in Brazil. Early reporting from Brazil focused on theft as a possible motive after authorities said money had been taken from the home, but U.S. prosecutors later described the case as a planned murder-for-hire tied to the couple’s split.
Daniel Sikkema was first charged in the Southern District of New York in a passport fraud case. A superseding indictment unsealed Feb. 11, 2025, added charges tied to the killing. The charges include murder-for-hire conspiracy resulting in death, murder-for-hire resulting in death, conspiracy to murder and maim a person in a foreign country, and passport fraud. The case is before U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos. Prosecutors have said the charges are allegations and that Sikkema is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The most serious counts expose him to life in prison if convicted.
The trial is expected to focus heavily on records rather than a direct confession in the courtroom. Prosecutors said jurors will see payments, messages and travel-linked evidence that they say connect Daniel Sikkema to the killing. The defense said jurors will not hear from the alleged killer and should be careful about inferences built from divorce anger and money disputes. Miedel also told jurors that Daniel Sikkema may choose not to testify, and that they cannot hold that against him. The trial began with more than a dozen prosecutors and members of the art community watching from the courtroom gallery.
As of Wednesday, the trial was continuing in Manhattan federal court. Prosecutors had begun presenting testimony and evidence, while the defense continued to deny that Daniel Sikkema hired anyone to kill Brent Sikkema.
Author note: Last updated Wednesday, May 13, 2026.