Trial for Jet Set nightclub collapse begins in Santo Domingo: 236 dead
The Espaillat brothers, owners of the Jet Set nightclub, face charges of involuntary manslaughter for the collapse that killed 236 people in April 2025.
Espaillat brothers facing justice over Jet Set tragedy
The trial of Antonio and Maribel Espaillat, owners of the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, began this Friday morning, according to telemundo49.com. The accused face charges of involuntary manslaughter for the collapse of the venue on 8 April 2025, which left 236 people dead and 180 injured.
Both brothers arrived at the Palace of Justice in Ciudad Nueva accompanied by their lawyers and under police custody. The previous night, relatives of the victims had gathered dressed in black outside the same building to demand justice.
Charge reduced following earlier judicial decision
The proceedings begin nearly three months after a judge rejected the plaintiffs' request to try the defendants on voluntary manslaughter charges. The magistrate argued that the Espaillats did not intend to cause the tragedy, which resulted in the charge being brought under the negligent homicide provision.
The prosecution contends that the brothers were aware of the deficient structural conditions of the business premises, that they had placed additional loads without addressing structural problems and that they ignored warnings about the deterioration of the venue. According to the Public Ministry's investigation, Jet Set "operated with systematic and severe negligence in the maintenance and structural adequacy of its facilities, putting the lives of its customers and employees at risk."
The defence, meanwhile, attributes the collapse to hidden construction defects and progressive deterioration, ruling out that the additional load was the determining cause.
Sentences limited by Dominican legislation
During the trial, testimonies and documents will be evaluated to establish the criminal responsibility of the defendants. If both are found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, the sentence would range between three months and two years in prison, given that Dominican law does not provide for cumulative sentences for each of the more than 200 deaths.
The night of the tragedy
The disaster occurred in the early morning of 8 April 2025, whilst hundreds of people attended a performance by merengue artist Rubby Pérez, who also lost his life along with one of his orchestra's musicians. Among the 236 victims are former Major League Baseball pitcher Octavio Dotel, designer Martín Polanco and a son of former Senate president and former Public Works minister Eduardo Estrella.
Among those killed were also eighteen Venezuelans, three Dominican-Hispanics, two French nationals, one Haitian, one Colombian, one Costa Rican, one Italian and one Kenyan.
Source: Google News DO — Crime