Trial over Jet Set nightclub collapse in Santo Domingo postponed until 25 September
A Dominican court suspended for one week the trial against the owners of the Jet Set nightclub, whose collapse in April 2025 left 236 dead.
One-week recess in trial over Jet Set collapse with 236 victims
A Dominican court decreed a seven-day recess on Friday in the judicial proceedings against Antonio and Maribel Espaillat, owners of the Jet Set nightclub, whose collapse in Santo Domingo on 8 April 2025 caused 236 deaths and dozens of injured, according to eldia.com.do. The First Instance Court of the National District set the resumption of the hearing for Friday, 25 September at 09:00 local time.
The pause came after the Public Ministry presented new evidence. Leaving the courthouse, lawyer Luis Custodio told the media that the process continues "proving that the owners of the Jet Set had prior knowledge of what was happening".
"It was normal for them to know that ceiling panels were breaking, to know that it always rained more inside than outside," Custodio said.
Among the evidence presented on Friday was a communication in which Maribel allegedly told her brother that the venue was "all falling apart", referring to the structural condition of the property before the disaster: even without exterior rain or air conditioning running, water continued seeping into the establishment, the lawyer detailed.
The collapse and its victims
The nightclub's roof caved in during the early morning of 8 April while hundreds of people were attending a performance by merengue artist Rubby Pérez, who lost his life in the accident along with one of his orchestra's musicians. Among the deceased were also former Major League Baseball pitcher Octavio Dotel, designer Martín Polanco and a son of current Dominican public works minister Eduardo Estrella.
The list of victims also included eighteen Venezuelans, three Dominican-Americans, two French nationals, one Haitian, one Colombian, one Costa Rican, one Italian and one Kenyan. Nelsy Cruz, governor of Montecristi, also died in the tragedy.
Family members seek more serious charges
The mother of Governor Cruz demanded that the owners be charged with voluntary manslaughter instead of the current charge of involuntary manslaughter, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of two years' imprisonment. The owners knew that "there were problems" and yet "they did nothing to fix anything," she said.
In the previous week's session, three expert witnesses from the Public Ministry agreed that the collapse was caused by structural overload. According to the experts, the progressive accumulation of elements—layers of fine material, water tanks, sheds, air-conditioning equipment, sound systems and lights—exceeded the roof's resistance until it caused its collapse.
Source: Google News DO — Crime