A federal jury in Manhattan convicted the estranged husband of New York art dealer Brent Sikkema on Friday of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot that left the 75-year-old stabbed to death in his Rio de Janeiro townhouse in January 2024. Daniel Sikkema, 55, was found guilty of murder-for-hire conspiracy resulting in death and now faces a mandatory term of life in prison.
The conviction caps a case that revealed how a contentious divorce spiraled into a cross-border killing. Prosecutors said that during the divorce proceedings, Daniel Sikkema used a burner phone to contact a man in Brazil and arrange the murder of his then-husband. On January 15, 2024, Brent Sikkema was discovered in his Rio home with multiple stab wounds. Brazilian authorities arrested the alleged hitman, who remains jailed in that country pending trial.
“Amid contentious divorce proceedings with his then-husband, Daniel Sikkema used a burner phone line to callously order the killing of his husband,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement after the verdict. Clayton described the murder as a “senseless, cold-blooded murder” and said the conviction delivered “a meaningful measure of justice.”
Daniel Sikkema, a dual U.S. and Cuban citizen who lived in New York, was arrested in April 2024. He had been held without bail since his apprehension. The trial, which began in early May, presented evidence of the burner phone purchase, call records linking him to the alleged killer, and financial transactions that prosecutors argued were payment for the hit.
Brent Sikkema was a towering figure in the contemporary art world. A co-owner of the influential Sikkema Jenkins & Co. gallery in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, he represented some of the most celebrated artists of his generation, including Kara Walker, Vik Muniz, and Arturo Herrera. His death sent shock waves through the international art community.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, with cooperation from Brazilian authorities. Daniel Sikkema’s sentencing hearing is expected to be scheduled in the coming weeks. He faces a mandatory term of life in prison, with no possibility of parole.