Judge upgrades charges to voluntary manslaughter against Jet Set owners in Santo Domingo
A Dominican judge changed the classification of the Jet Set collapse case from involuntary manslaughter to voluntary manslaughter with eventual intent. The Espaillat brothers face up to 20 years in prison.
Jet Set owners could receive up to 20 years in prison following change in charges
A Dominican Republic judge modified the legal classification of the case against the owners of the Jet Set nightclub on Friday, upgrading it from involuntary manslaughter to voluntary manslaughter with eventual intent, according to infobae.com citing data from the EFE news agency. The decision exposes brothers Antonio and Maribel Espaillat to sentences of between three and 20 years in prison, compared with the maximum of two years that the previous charge carried.
The ruling was issued by Franny González, judge of the Fourth Chamber of the Criminal Court of the Court of First Instance of the National District, in Santo Domingo. The magistrate considered that the owners of the establishment knew of the deterioration of the roof structure before the collapse that occurred on 8 April 2025, and that they had received documentation, warnings and signals that alerted them to a concrete and imminent risk.
The court accepted the position of several plaintiffs who had requested a more serious charge against the Espaillat brothers. However, it ruled out the existence of aggravating factors, a circumstance which, had it been proven, would have raised the sentencing range to between 20 and 30 years in prison.
González also determined that the size of the case file exceeds the jurisdiction of the court that has been hearing it thus far. The case must be referred to a three-judge panel and the trial will begin from the beginning.
Reaction from the victims' lawyers
Plutarco Jáquez, lawyer for a group of victims, assessed the decision positively. "It is not possible that an event like this, where so many people died, could continue in this process as involuntary manslaughter," he stated to the media, according to EFE. Jáquez maintained that during the investigation elements emerged that link Antonio Espaillat to the generation of the risk that led to the collapse.
Yan Carlos Martínez Segura, another legal representative of relatives of victims, described the ruling as "historic". In a video published on social media X, he asserted that the judge based the change in classification on the law and jurisprudence applicable to the case.
The tragedy of 8 April 2025
The collapse occurred in the early morning hours of 8 April 2025, whilst hundreds of people were attending a concert by merengue artist Rubby Pérez at the Jet Set nightclub, located in Santo Domingo. The roof collapse caused 236 deaths and dozens of injured.
Among the victims were Pérez himself and one of the musicians from his orchestra. Also killed were former Major League pitcher Octavio Dotel, designer Martín Polanco and a son of Eduardo Estrella, former Senate president and former Dominican Minister of Public Works.
Experts pointed to progressive overloading
In early September, three Public Ministry experts agreed that the collapse was related to progressive overloading of the structure. The specialists determined that the roof bore a weight greater than it could withstand, due to the installation of water tanks, sheds, air-conditioning equipment, sound systems and lights.
Those expert reports formed part of the proceedings prior to the judicial decision that modified the charge against the owners of the establishment.
Source: Google News DO — Crime