In the early morning hours of 14 January 2024, a hitman slipped into the renowned New York City gallerist Brent Sikkema’s Rio de Janeiro townhouse.

The alleged assassin, Alejandro Triana Prevez, grabbed a kitchen knife and traveled to Sikkema’s upstairs bedroom. An altercation unfolded near the bedroom door. As Sikkema, 75, struggled for his life, Prevez stabbed him, a lawsuit filed in New York state civil court alleges.

Sikkema was then forced on to his bed. Prevez drove the knife into Sikkema’s body and face over and over again, stabbing him a total of 18 times. Prevez then covered Sikkema’s body with a pillow and blanket before leaving, civil court papers allege.

Brazilian authorities arrested Prevez about four days later and in less than two weeks, he allegedly made a startling admission. Prevez claimed that Sikkema’s estranged husband, Daniel, had plotted the grisly hit that has rocked the art world.

Sikkema founded the contemporary art gallery Wooster Gardens in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood around 1991 and then relocated to the Chelsea neighborhood. The gallery was eventually renamed Sikkema Jenkins & Co and was celebrated for showcasing contemporary artists such as painter Kara Walker and photographer Vik Muniz, according to Artnet.

The gallery, now named Sikkema Malloy Jenkins, became known for representing artists from a diverse range of backgrounds before many other gallerists prioritized diversity. The gallery also represented Jeffrey Gibson as the first Indigenous artist to represent the US solo at the Venice Biennale art show.

Prevez’s alleged confession set off a chain of events that culminated with Daniel Sikkema’s murder-for-hire trial in Manhattan federal court last week. These criminal proceedings, as well as civil litigation, reveal details surrounding the collapse of a once-happy marriage that allegedly spiraled into murder.

“Brent Sikkema was brutally murdered,” prosecutor Nicholas Pavlis told jurors in his opening statement. “A hitman snuck into his home … and stabbed Brent over and over again.

“When the job was done, the hitman immediately made a phone call. Who did he call? He called the defendant – that man” Pavlis continued, pointing to him. “Daniel Sikkema.”

“They were going through a bad divorce and fighting over money,” Pavlis said, as Daniel Sikkema sat in court, appearing not to show any emotion.

Pavlis said that voice notes and other media such as texts clearly reveal Daniel Sikkema’s motive. In one WhatsApp message dated 18 May 2023, Daniel Sikkema allegedly sent an associate a message he seemingly planned on sending Brent Sikkema, according to court papers.

“I want you to transfer $6m to my account,” Daniel Sikkema allegedly wrote, also insisting that Brent owed him child support for their son. “The alimony I’m entitled to for having been married to you.”

Daniel Sikkema allegedly said in a 14 July 2023 voice note, also cited in court papers: “I’m still fighting with this old bastard who won’t die. But anyway, I’ll tell you, until he dies or until someone kills him or until … or … or until I get divorced, that’s how it’s going to be. Well, anyway, kisses.”

Days later, Daniel Sikkema allegedly recorded still more voice notes discussing divorce and death.

“And here I am struggling with, oh, this old bastard who won’t die soon enough, for God’s sake. Every day it’s something different. Every day. Now he’s cut off the credit card he gave me to pay for [son]’s things and stuff, making up lies that I spend on this and that,” he allegedly said.

The animus persisted and on 11 December 2023 – less than one month before Brent Sikkema’s killing—Daniel Sikkema allegedly said in a recording: “We are in the divorce process, which never ends.

“Well, he can take all the time he wants. Let’s see if … instead of getting divorced, I end up a widower, which would suit me much better.”

Although Brent Sikkema had disinherited Daniel Sikkema from his will, that didn’t deter his ex’s alleged desire for money post-murder. In one voice note dated 8 February 2024 discussed in court papers, Daniel Sikkema allegedly said: “Well, yes, I already have my lawyers who are going to … at the right time, claim what belongs to me, what I’m entitled to as a widower.

More details emerged in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the executor of Brent Sikkema’s estate.

The couple met in Miami about 19 years ago. They became romantic partners and Daniel Sikkema, a Cuban national at the time, moved into Brent Sikkema’s New York City apartment. They had a son via surrogate in 2010 and wed in 2013.

Daniel Sikkema in 2019 allegedly “propositioned” his then-husband to have an “open marriage” and relocate their family to Cuba. “After Brent S rejected these proposals, their marriage began to deteriorate,” the lawsuit said.

Daniel Sikkema filed for divorce in 2022 and the proceedings swiftly took a bitter turn. He allegedly tried to withdraw $200,000 from his husband’s bank account “using a forged check” but failed as the account didn’t have that much money, the suit alleges.

In March 2022, Daniel Sikkema allegedly told their son’s school that he wouldn’t be returning for the upcoming school year, saying they were moving to Cuba.

Daniel Sikkema allegedly absconded that month, taking their son, without revealing their whereabouts. Brent Sikkema went weeks without knowing where their son was – or whether he was OK.

Daniel Sikkema and their son ultimately “surfaced” in New York City, allegedly because he needed money from Brent Sikkema. After Brent Sikkema obtained a court order to confiscate their son’s passports to prevent Daniel from taking him away without his approval.

Then came the false allegations. Daniel Sikkema allegedly complained to New York City’s child welfare agency in an effort to get full custody of their son – but authorities determined the claims “had no merit”, according to the suit.

Daniel Sikkema complained to the family court in yet another effort to secure full custody of their son. He filed a police report claiming “wrongful eviction” after Brent Sikkema changed their locks.

Daniel Sikkema “also complained to the New York criminal authorities that Brent S planned to commit mass murder at John F Kennedy international airport,” the lawsuit alleges. Brent Sikkema was arrested and jailed in a holding cell with “dangerous criminals” for 22 hours.

The prominent art dealer was “ultimately released without any charges because the police concluded Defendant’s allegations … to be unfounded.”

In 2023, Daniel Sikkema allegedly hired Prevez – who at point had worked as his security guard – to kill Brent Sikkema. He allegedly directed thousands in payments to Prevez, using intermediaries such as his housekeeper.

“The defendant spent over $10,000 on his husband’s death,” Pavlis said in court.

Daniel Sikkema has maintained his innocence. During the defense opening, lawyer Florian Miedel insisted that”no one is going to come into this courtroom and say ‘I have actual knowledge that Daniel hired Alejandro to kill Brent”.

He said there were no messages about a plan to kill Brent Sikkema. Prevez, on the other hand, was “obsessed with a woman in Cuba” and was laser-focused on “buying her a house in Spain”.

As for Daniel Sikkema’s bleak comments about his husband’s death before the murder, Miedel said that life can be “messy”. During contentious divorces, people can say “things they don’t mean”.

And sometimes during acrimonious splits, Miedel argued, people just say things that reflect “the worst versions of themselves”.