Estranged husband convicted of murder-for-hire in killing of New York City art dealer in Brazil

The ex-husband of a prominent New York art dealer was convicted Friday of hiring a hitman to kill him in Brazil.

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Daniel Sikkema, 55, faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Brent Sikkema, 75, was found stabbed to death in his Rio de Janeiro home in January 2024.

Daniel Sikkema, a U.S. and Cuban citizen living in New York, was arrested in April 2024. He was convicted in Manhattan federal court on charges including murder-for-hire conspiracy resulting in death.

The suspected hitman was arrested in Brazil, where he remains imprisoned.

“In the midst of a contentious divorce proceeding from her then-husband, Daniel Sikkema used a burner phone line to callously order the murder of her husband,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton.

Clayton described the killing of Brent Sikkema as a “senseless, cold-blooded murder” and said the verdict brings a “significant measure of justice.”

Daniel Sikkema’s lawyer, Florian Miedel, said he was disappointed with the verdict and plans to appeal.

“Daniel remains strong and hopes to ultimately be vindicated,” Miedel said.

Brent Sikkema had amassed a multimillion-dollar estate and owned a contemporary art gallery in Manhattan, now Sikkema Malloy Jenkins, which states on its website that it has represented international artists such as Kara Walker, Vik Muniz and Arturo Herrera for nearly 30 years.

Daniel Sikkema was in frequent contact with the suspected hitman before and after the killing, prosecutors said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Pavlis told the jury in an opening statement that Daniel Sikkema paid the man more than $10,000 and promised him more money.

At the same time, Pavlis said, Daniel Sikkema bragged to others that he was going to make more money from his wife’s death than he would have from a divorce. He and Brent Sikkema had a teenage son.

“After her husband was brutally killed, the defendant attempted to cover his tracks and cash in,” Pavlis said.

Miedel told the jury in an opening statement that the case relied on circumstantial evidence and that there was no evidence to prove his client’s guilt.

“Life is complicated. The truth is not always obvious,” Miedel said.