Owners of Dominican nightclub where 236 people died to be tried for involuntary manslaughter
· Telemundo McAllen (KTLM)
Brothers Antonio and Maribel Espaillat, owners of the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo that collapsed in April 2025, resulting in 236 deaths and 180 injuries, will be tried for involuntary manslaughter, as requested by the Public Ministry, rather than for voluntary manslaughter, as sought by the plaintiffs, according to a decision made by Dominican justice on Monday. The measure, which sends the case to the trial phase (a key stage in the criminal process), was adopted by Judge Raymundo Mejía of the First Instruction Court of the National District, who upheld the legal qualification presented by the Public Ministry and rejected the plaintiffs' request to escalate it to voluntary manslaughter, arguing that the owners were aware of the building's deterioration. Judge Mejía also confirmed the coercive measures against the defendants, which include economic guarantees, periodic reporting, and a prohibition on leaving the country. Additionally, the judge ordered the immobilization of the defendants' assets amounting to up to $8.3 million as a precautionary measure. Following the ruling, the Jet Set Justice Movement, which groups survivors and families of the deceased in the tragedy, expressed in a statement their 'institutional respect for judicial decisions,' but deemed the court's ruling insufficient at this stage of the process. During the reasoning, the magistrate stated that the defendants did not intend to cause the tragedy; however, the movement questioned this conclusion and asserted that voluntary manslaughter with eventual intent—the legal reclassification that this group advocated—'does not require direct intent to kill, but rather assesses whether, knowing of a serious, foreseeable, and avoidable risk, one decided to continue acting despite the possibility of the outcome.' The collective reiterated that it will continue to support the families and survivors 'in the pursuit of proportional, serious justice in accordance with the magnitude of the damage caused.' Alcides Acosta, who lost a brother and sister-in-law in the tragedy, described the judicial decision to maintain the charge of involuntary manslaughter as 'biased.' 'We will continue to fight, we will keep pushing,' Acosta stated to the media, although he argued that it is a 'game of egg and stone' because, according to him, the judge 'does not feel the pain' of the victims. According to the Public Ministry's investigation, for years Jet Set, a symbol of nightlife in Santo Domingo, 'operated with systematic and serious negligence in the maintenance and structural adequacy of its facilities, putting the lives of its customers and employees at risk.' The tragedy occurred in the early hours of April 8 last year, while hundreds of people were enjoying a performance by Dominican merengue artist Rubby Pérez, who also lost his life in the incident, along with one of the musicians from his orchestra. Among the deceased were former Major League Baseball pitcher Otavio Dotel, designer Martín Polanco, and a son of former Senate President and Dominican Minister of Public Works Eduardo Estrella. It was also reported at the time that eighteen Venezuelans, three Hispanic-Dominicans, two French nationals, one Haitian, one Colombian, one Costa Rican, one Italian, and one Kenyan had died.
AI summary · Source: Telemundo McAllen (KTLM) →
