The National District court has issued a dismissal (auto de no lugar) in the criminal case against 31-year old Jean Andrés Pumarol, ruling that the defendant was experiencing temporary insanity and was under a “psychotic episode” when he killed a woman and injured several others in his apartment building.
Defense lawyer Richard Martínez argued in court that his client, who reportedly had been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia since 2017. He was cared for in his parents home in Naco. His 62-year old father, Guillermo Pumarol Castellanos, and the household help, 48-year old Griselda Ozuna were the first to be injured on that tragic day, 23 July 2025.
The Public Ministry’s file states that Pumarol after injuring his father, left his apartment on 23 July carrying two knives from the house kitchen, and went floor by floor, knocking on doors, and assaulting individuals who opened them in the apartment building where he lived in the Naco neighborhood. The attack resulted in the death by stabbing of 70-year-old Ivonne Handal Abugabir and injuries to Teresa Fabián Heredia (the deceased’s caregiver), 48-year-old Griselda Ozuna, 36-year-old Victoria Heredia, 68-year-old neighbor Francisco Texano, and 62-year old Guillermo Pumarol.
The ruling, announced by defense attorney Richard Martínez, effectively halts the legal proceedings before they could reach the trial phase. Under Dominican law, the dismissal means Pumarol will be released from custody, as the court determined his mental state at the time of the incident precluded criminal culpability.
Addressing the potential for public outcry given the gravity of the incident, Martínez maintained that the court followed strict legal protocols. “Unfortunately for some, this is how it is… however, the law is the law,” Martínez said. “The law, in this case, provides that in a psychotic state, there is no penalty.”
The case has drawn significant attention in the Dominican Republic due to the violent nature of the events and the subsequent debate regarding mental health and criminal responsibility within the judicial system.
Lawyer Martinez said the family has decided that Pumarol continue treatment in a private psychiatric clinic.
Johanna Fernández, mother of Jean Andrés Pumarol Fernández, described a years-long struggle with her son’s mental health and criticized the prison system’s inability to manage psychiatric patients. She said the family is “destroyed” by the events that have turned neighbors into adversaries and left the local community in mourning.
She countered any perception that her son’s condition is a legal strategy, asserting that his psychiatric issues are long-standing and thoroughly documented by medical professionals. “My son is sick. We have been fighting this situation for many years,” Fernández stated, noting that the family never intended for such a tragedy to occur.
She highlighted the heavy burden placed on families within the Dominican correctional system, claiming, “There is no place here for the mentally ill. We are the ones who have to bring my son his medication.”
While acknowledging the severe pain caused to the victim and their family, Fernández used the platform to call for a broader national debate on how the justice system handles defendants with mental disorders. She argued that the current penitentiary conditions are entirely unsuitable for individuals requiring specialized clinical care.
First Lady Raquel Arbaje remarked on the case, stressing the lack of adequate family tutelage to the young man whose condition was known.
The court decision can be appealed
While the dismissal prevents the case from moving to a public trial in its current state, the legal criminal process may not be entirely over. Martínez acknowledged that the ruling is subject to appeal by the Public Ministry or the families of the victims.
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Acento
El Nacional
DR1 News
18 March 2026