Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Killing Brother-in-Law in Monte Plata

A man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing his brother-in-law with a machete in a Monte Plata batey. The court also ordered him to pay RD$1.5 million to the victim's family.

A court in Monte Plata sentenced Vicente Estime to 20 years in prison after finding him guilty of killing his brother-in-law, Michel de Paula de la Cruz, in the Las Charcas batey, in the municipality of Sabana Grande de Boyá.

According to the case file presented by the Public Prosecutor's Office, the incident took place on August 13, 2025, at around 10:00 p.m., at the victim's home. Estime went there to confront his brother-in-law over alleged insults directed at his sister. During the argument, he took a machete and inflicted ten wounds on different parts of the body.

According to the forensic autopsy report from the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (Inacif), De Paula de la Cruz died from a wound to the left temporal region.

After the attack, Estime fled, but he was arrested the following day, August 14, at around 11:30 a.m., in the same batey, while being pursued by National Police agents.

The case was brought by Monte Plata prosecutor José del Carmen García Hernández, who presented documentary, expert, and witness evidence. The Monte Plata Judicial District's panel of judges handed down the sentence and ordered that Estime serve it at the Monte Plata Center for Correction and Rehabilitation (CCR).

In addition to prison time, the court ordered him to pay RD$1,500,000 in compensation to the victim's family. Estime was found guilty of violating articles 295 and 304 of the former Dominican Penal Code.