32-year old Jean Andres Pumarol Fernandez is now at the Palacio de Justicia temporary jail as he awaits charges. He is held responsible for the injuries and the death of 70-year old Yolanda (Ivonne) Handal Abugabir and four other persons, including his father and the household maid of stab wounds. The tragedy occurred at the Dorado Naco IV apartment building in Naco on Wednesday, 23 July 2025 in the afternoon. His arraignment hearing is scheduled for Monday, 28 July 2025.
His defense lawyer has said the young man is mentally ill and was not aware of what he was doing.
As reported in Hoy, the father, Guillermo Ramon Pumarol Castellanos (Willy), said: “My son has suffered from paranoid schizophrenia for ten years and has been under monitored treatment the entire time. This is the first time he’s ever acted this way.”
The terrifying event unfolded around 3:05pm at the Dorado Naco residential complex in the capital city. It took two taser deployments and the intervention of multiple police officers to subdue the 32-year-old man and disarm him of the two knives he used to assault his victims.
Pumarol Castellanos recounted the moments leading up to the chaos, as reported in Hoy. He explained that he had just arrived home, visited his son’s room to tell him he’d brought some pastries, and then settled in the living room for coffee and work. About ten minutes later, he heard the household service worker, Gricelda Ozuna Torres, screaming desperately, “Let me go, get off me!” He rushed to investigate.
“I went to the kitchen,” he stated, “and I saw my son on top of Gricelda, attacking her with two knives in both hands. I lunged at him, pushed him, and told Gricelda to leave the apartment. I stayed with him to try and calm him down.”
Pumarol Castellanos described how his son then turned on him. In a struggle, he managed to disarm one of the knives, then exited the apartment, quickly closing the iron door to prevent his son from leaving.
Holding the door shut, Pumarol Castellanos recounted how his son pushed against it, knocking him down. “He got on top of me, put a foot on my chest, and grabbed me by the neck to stab me,” he testified. “I was forced to kick him in the groin and run downstairs” to alert others.
“I told Elvin, the building’s concierge, to call the police, the firefighters, everyone,” he said, “and to the other neighbors not to leave their apartments, as my son had become aggressive and had two knives in his hands.”
After injuring his father, the young man proceeded to knock on the door of other apartments and with a knife injured others who opened the door for their neighbor.
Of those injured, two are in serious condition. The injured are Maria Teresa Fabián, the maid of the deceased Yolanda (Ivonne) Handal Abugabir, Francisco Tezano, Gricelda Ozuna (maid of the Pumarol household) and Victoria Heredia.
Pumarol is the son of leading Dominican golfer, Willy Pumarol (Guillermo). He is also the grandson of legendary late Socorro Castellanos, best known for her years as a TV host.
Investigative journalist Nuria Piera interviewed psychiatrist Dr. Hector Guerrero Heredia who explained that even being medicated, a schizophrenic person could have an episode. Dr. Heredia estimated the number of persons with the syndrome at around 150,000 among the country’s around 12 million population. Piera highlighted how this is the first tragic episode of this kind recorded.
The lawyer of the family of the deceased Yolanda Handal, Miguel Valerio called for the detention of Pumarol Fernandez. “Let us be clear: He needs to continue in custody because he is a proven risk,” he said.
Read. More in Spanish:
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Nuria Piera
Hoy
28 July 2025