Daniel Sikkema was convicted Friday in Manhattan federal court of orchestrating the murder of his estranged husband, Brent Sikkema, by paying a hit man to stab him to death in Rio de Janeiro in 2024. Brent, 75, was found with 18 stab wounds in his apartment during a bitter divorce that included a custody battle over their teenage son. Daniel faces a mandatory life sentence after a jury found him guilty on three counts of conspiracy.

US Attorney Jay Clayton said Daniel used a burner phone to order the killing amid contentious divorce proceedings. Daniel's lawyers argued the roughly $9,000 paid to hit man Alejandro Triana Trevez was back pay for work done while the couple was in Cuba, and that Daniel lied about the relationship out of panic after the murder. The defense maintained his client's innocence throughout the trial.

The murder cut short Brent Sikkema's rising profile in the art world. Through his gallery, now called Sikkema Malloy Jenkins, he had championed artists like Kara Walker and Jeffrey Gibson, who was set to represent the United States at the 2024 Venice Biennale. Alejandro Trevez, a Cuban national who had worked as the couple's security guard, was arrested at a gas station 600 miles northwest of Rio and confessed to the killing. He awaits trial in Brazil.