Jean Andrés Pumarol faces trial after killing Ivonne Handal in Santo Domingo

On 23 July 2025, Jean Andrés Pumarol Fernández entered the Naco district of Santo Domingo armed with two knives and stabbed 70‑year‑old Ivonne Handal to death. The attacker also wounded the victim’s caretaker, Maria Teresa Fabián, who survived by shielding herself with a pillow, but she now suffers permanent injuries to her left hand and ongoing health problems.

Handal’s children – Carolyn, Evelyn and Waleska – have asked the appellate court to overturn a prior ruling that released Pumarol from custody. Citing a forensic report that confirms the suspect’s mental competence, the family argues he should remain in a psychiatric facility, noting that more than 100 inmates with schizophrenia are already incarcerated in Dominican prisons. They contend that better control of mentally ill offenders could have prevented the murder.