Brazilian police said that they are investigating whether the estranged husband of Manhattan art dealer Brent Sikkema was acquainted with the Cuban suspect who was arrested this week for Sikkema’s brutal murder in Rio de Janeiro, according to a Brazilian news report.

Sikkema, 75, whose Chelsea gallery Sikkema Jenkins & Co. represents Vik Muniz and Kara Walker, among other high-profile artists, was found on Monday, dead from multiple stab wounds to his throat and face in a home he owned in the beachfront city.

Cuban national Alejandro Triana Prevez was arrested on Thursday in connection with the homicide. Police said they seized jewelry and the equivalent of more than $36,000 in cash in the arrest of the fugitive, who was stopped by cops near a highway in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.

Police say they want to speak to Sikkema’s estranged husband, who is also of Cuban origin, the newspaper reported Saturday. Rio police said that the couple was going through a “bitter” divorce and custody fight over their 12-year-old son, according to a report in O Globo, a Rio de Janeiro daily.

“Knowing that the suspect in custody is Cuban, a new phase of the investigation will begin to verify whether the ex-husband had any relationship with the accused,” said Rio police spokesman Alexandre Herdy at a press conference Friday.

Triana, 30, landed in Brazil from Cuba as a refugee in 2022, according to a post on his Facebook page. Police say they found a 92-page book written by Triana and published that same year, entitled “Gray Reflections on Love,” according to O Globo. The book, a type of journal, includes suggestions on making the most out of life, the report said.

Police said that according to video surveillance the suspect cased out Sikkema’s home in the Jardim Botanico neighborhood for nearly 14 straight hours last week, before his body was found.

Footage shows Triana sitting in his car and in the area outside Sikkema’s residence from 2:20 pm last Saturday to nearly 3:57 am on Sunday. He allegedly entered the premises shortly after, and left 14 minutes later, police said.

“We have no doubt that this was a premeditated crime,” Herdy said. “What we don’t know is what was the motive for the crime, whether it was robbery or something else. What we understand is that the suspect was very careful, leaving the air conditioner on in the bedroom in order not to raise suspicion. He also left an expensive cell phone near the body, which we don’t understand.”

Sikkema, who traveled to Rio from New York three times a year, was found Monday by his Brazilian lawyer, who had keys to his home.