The Public Prosecution Service (OM) on Friday demanded a 15-year prison sentence against Adrian Faña, 21, who is accused of killing his aunt and hiding her body in a freezer. Faña is the accused in the case and the Court of First Instance has not yet ruled; it is expected to deliver its verdict on December 4, 2026.
According to the prosecution, Faña killed his aunt, Luz Divina Faña Paulino, 60, at Solito on November 2, 2025, stabbing her repeatedly with a knife. NoticiaCla reported that she received 33 stab wounds. Her body was hidden in a freezer in a room of the house and was only found on November 22, 2025, after her employer contacted police to say she had not been seen since the beginning of November.
Killing provable, premeditation not, says OM
The prosecutor told the court that the case had deeply shocked the Aruban community. According to the OM, it can be proven that Faña took his aunt’s life, but there is not enough evidence to sustain a murder conviction, because the investigation produced insufficient indications that he acted with premeditation or had planned the killing in advance.
In setting its demand, the OM took into account psychological and psychiatric evaluations which found that Faña’s responsibility was diminished — his capacity to understand the consequences of his actions is limited. At the same time, the OM argued that he was nevertheless sufficiently capable of acting deliberately after her death: he hid the body, collected her salary and rental income, sold her car and then travelled to the Dominican Republic, where he did not go to family.
Flight, arrest and family claims
Faña left Aruba and was in the Dominican Republic from November 9, 2025. At Aruba’s request, Dominican police arrested him in Santo Domingo on December 20, 2025, and handed him over to Aruba on April 8, 2026.
NoticiaCla reported that Luz Divina, originally from the Dominican Republic, had raised Faña from childhood as her own child and had worked for many years at the Chalet Suisse restaurant at Eagle Beach. Her disappearance raised suspicion after she failed to appear at work; according to the investigation, Faña had claimed that his aunt had travelled urgently to the Dominican Republic. Evidence in the case was sent to the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI).
The victim’s family is claiming Afl. 69,000 in damages and has asked that Faña lose his inheritance rights over his aunt’s properties. Faña, for his part, has claimed that he was verbally and sexually abused for years — a claim made by the accused, which the reports present as his account — and has admitted killing his aunt and fleeing to the Dominican Republic without telling anyone. The court must still decide on criminal responsibility, sentencing and the family’s claims, including the inheritance request.
Sources: 24ora | NoticiaCla (November 13, 2026)
