Police in Brazil arrest the alleged killer of a Manhattan art dealer

Brazilian police say that a suspect has been arrested in the brutal killing of an American art dealer who was the co-owner of a prominent gallery in Manhattan

RIO DE JANEIRO -- A suspect was arrested in the brutal killing in Brazil of an American art dealer who was the co-owner of a prominent gallery in Manhattan, police said Thursday.

Brent Sikkema, 75, was found dead on Monday with 18 stab wounds in his Rio de Janeiro apartment.

Rio state police arrested a man who they identified as Alejandro Triana Trevez near the city of Uberaba, in the neighboring state of Minas Gerais. The man, who local media say is Cuban, was on the run and was found resting in a gas station.

Police said that Trevez allegedly took $3,000 from Sikkema’s home. Detective Felipe Curi, who leads the state police homicide unit, told CBN Rio that the main line of investigation is theft leading to homicide.

“Initial findings of our investigation indicate that Alejandro (Trevez) came from Sao Paulo specifically to commit this crime,” Curi said. He then returned to Sao Paulo, leading investigators to believe he had “some kind of privileged information.”