{"id":248788,"date":"2026-03-18T08:49:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T12:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/?p=248788"},"modified":"2026-03-18T10:36:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T14:36:27","slug":"psychotic-murderer-case-dismissed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/2026\/03\/18\/psychotic-murderer-case-dismissed\/","title":{"rendered":"Psychotic murderer case dismissed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The National District court has issued a dismissal (auto de no lugar) in the criminal case against 31-year old Jean Andr\u00e9s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense lawyer Richard Mart\u00ednez 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Public Ministry\u2019s 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 Fabi\u00e1n Heredia (the deceased\u2019s caregiver), 48-year-old Griselda Ozuna, 36-year-old Victoria Heredia, 68-year-old neighbor Francisco Texano, and 62-year old Guillermo Pumarol. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ruling, announced by defense attorney Richard Mart\u00ednez, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing the potential for public outcry given the gravity of the incident, Mart\u00ednez maintained that the court followed strict legal protocols. “Unfortunately for some, this is how it is\u2026 however, the law is the law,” Mart\u00ednez said. “The law, in this case, provides that in a psychotic state, there is no penalty.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawyer Martinez said the family has decided that Pumarol continue treatment in a private psychiatric clinic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johanna Fern\u00e1ndez, mother of Jean Andr\u00e9s Pumarol Fern\u00e1ndez, described a years-long struggle with her son\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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,” Fern\u00e1ndez stated, noting that the family never intended for such a tragedy to occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While acknowledging the severe pain caused to the victim and their family, Fern\u00e1ndez 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Lady Raquel Arbaje remarked on the case, stressing the lack of adequate family tutelage to the young man whose condition was known. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. Mart\u00ednez acknowledged that the ruling is subject to appeal by the Public Ministry or the families of the victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more:
Acento <\/a>
El Nacional <\/a>
DR1 News <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

18 March 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The National District court has issued a dismissal (auto de no lugar) in the criminal case against 31-year old Jean Andr\u00e9s 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 Mart\u00ednez argued in … <\/p>\n

Read more\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[340,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248788"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248788"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":248882,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248788\/revisions\/248882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}