Unearthed diary reveals gruesome final moments of acclaimed NYC art dealer ... trends now
An unearthed diary has potentially offered horrific new details on the gruesome murder of legendary art dealer Brent Sikkema.
Sikkema, 75, moved to Rio de Janeiro last Christmas after spending two years attempting to settle an acrimonious divorce with his estranged husband Daniel, 53.
Daniel was seeking an 'unreasonable' $6 million of his reported $20 million fortune.
On January 13 Brent was stabbed to death, within his two-story vacation home sparking a high profile police investigation and manhunt for his killer.
On January 18 a 30-year-old delivery driver, Alejandro Triana Prevez, was arrested.
After initially denying any involvement in the crime the Cuban immigrant eventually admitted to police that he had killed Sikkema and alleged that Brent's ex Daniel, 53, had hired him to do it.
Brent Sikkema (right) moved to Rio de Janeiro last Christmas after spending two years attempting to settle an acrimonious divorce with his estranged husband Daniel Sikkema (left)
Murder suspect Alejandro Triana Prevez's journal entrees reveal a shocking tale of an alleged 'murder-for-hire' plot by Sikkema's estranged husband
On January 13 Brent was seen entering his apartment for the last time
Daniel has denied the allegations, telling the Wall Street Journal in a statement 'I hope that, based on evidence and not false allegations, what really happened will come to light.'
Now shocking details from Prevez's handwritten prison diary, seen by the Wall Street Journal, reveal the brutal final moments of before Brent was stabbed eighteen times, including in the chest and face, in his own bed.
'He finds [Brent] sleeping with his mouth open, his naked body covered by silky sheets, breathing calmly' Prevez wrote about the moment he entered Brent's bedroom in Rio ready to take his life.
'He moves to the side of the bed silently, trying to breathe calmly but failing' he wrote, describing himself in the third person.
Prevez detailed how he used a knife from Brent's kitchen to murder the millionaire art dealer.
'He closes his eyes and throws himself down on top of the victim, letting the knife go in.'
'The fighting begins, he removes the knife with tears in his eyes and stabs three more times trying to make him stop moving, an image that will never be erased' the harrowing diary entry reads.
Prevez wrote in the account that he stabbed Brent four times, apologized and covered the body with a sheet before washing the knife and leaving the property.
The legenday art dealer had amassed a fortune of $20 million
Prevez detailed how he used a knife from Brent's kitchen to murder the millionaire art dealer
However, an autopsy found that Brent had been stabbed 18 times, mostly in the chest and face.
Prevez, who used to teach at a Havana polytechnic school, came to know Brent and Daniel, who is also Cuban, when he was hired to be a caretaker for a property they owned in Havana.
After some years in this role he moved to Sao Paulo but got back in touch with Daniel in 2022, the Journal reported.
The friends decided to catch up, a meeting at which Daniel allegedly offered Prevez $200,000 and a place to stay in Rio in exchange for murdering Brent, according to Prevez's later police statement.
Prevez's journal reveals that the former teacher had moved to Brazil in September 2022 in the hopes of making a better living.
However, he was tempted by Daniel's alleged offer, the diary claims, after being enraged by Daniel's stories of Brent's poor behavior in the marriage.
Daniel had accused his spouse of cheating, drug use that had got out of hand including leaving 'bowls of cocaine' around their homes, and of planning to take a gun to JFK airport to ' kill people,' the Journal reported.
Prevez wrote in his diary that he became particularly angry after hearing Daniel recall how their son Lucas was left in tears when he heard Brent with an escort in the next hotel room during a trip to Paris.
