The owners of a Dominican nightclub whose roof collapsed and killed more than 230 people appeared in court in Santo Domingo on Monday for the first hearing in a case prosecutors say links them to the April 8 disaster, nearly a year after the country was shaken by the tragedy. Siblings Antonio and Maribel Espaillat, who own the Jet Set club, faced charges prosecutors listed as involuntary manslaughter and involuntary assault and battery.
The judge showed up for the scheduled first hearing but postponed it until April 6. Lawyers for the families packed the courtroom, and as the siblings left, people in the area shouted at them, including “Damn you!” and “Murders, both of you are murderers!”
The collapse took place on April 8 and killed 236 people, with more than 100 injured as authorities worked for days to reach people under the rubble, according to the Associated Press account of Monday’s court appearance. Prosecutors have said they have hundreds of pieces of evidence tying the Espaillats to the collapse.
The AP report said the Espaillats were arrested more than two months after the collapse and that, if convicted, they could face up to two years in prison on the charges prosecutors brought. It also reported that spokespeople for the Espaillat brothers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors have also accused the Espaillats of trying to intimidate or manipulate employees. Antonio Espaillat was described in the reporting as a powerful business person, with ownership of upscale entertainment centers and dozens of local radio stations.
The nightclub had hundreds of people inside when the roof collapsed, the report said. Among the attendees were singer Rubby Pérez, who was among the victims; Nelsy Cruz, the governor of Montecristi province and sister of Major League Baseball All-Star Nelson Cruz; and former MLB pitcher Octavio Dotel, who was pulled from the debris but died in a hospital.