Félix Verdejo, ex-boxer convicted of killing pregnant lover Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz, gets life sentence

U.S. Manager 07/11/2023

Former Puerto Rican boxer Félix Verdejo Sánchez received two life sentences on Friday after he was found guilty in the grisly killing of his 27-year-old pregnant lover, Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz.

A federal judge sentenced Verdejo following emotional speeches by the family of Rodríguez, who was killed in April 2021.

Verdejo had been found guilty in July of kidnapping that leads to a death and of causing the death of an unborn child. His attorney said Friday that he plans to appeal the sentencing.

During the trial earlier this year, Luis Antonio Cádiz Martínez, a friend of Verdejo's also charged in the case, said the former boxer had pressured Rodríguez to get an abortion. He also testified that the day Verdejo killed Rodríguez, the ex-boxer punched her and injected her with a toxic substance before they tied her limbs to a cement block and threw her off a busy bridge and into a lagoon in broad daylight.

Puerto Rico's Félix Verdejo, right, punches Costa Rica's Bryan Vazquez during the fifth round of a lightweight boxing match in New York, April 20, 2019. AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

Cádiz later called 911 anonymously and provided the location of Rodríguez's body.

An autopsy found that Rodríguez had fentanyl and xylazine, a sedative used for animals including horses, in her system.  

U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow said Verdejo "maintains his unrepentant attitude" for the killing and that the sentence "rightly holds" him "responsible for the pain and suffering he inflicted on his victims."

The case stunned the U.S. territory, where many have demanded better protection for domestic violence victims.

Keila Ortiz, the mother of Keishla Rodriguez, second from left, cries out for justice after boxer Felix Verdejo was arrested in connection with the death of her 27-year-old pregnant daughter whose body was found in a lagoon, outside FBI headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 2, 2021. Carlos Giusti / AP

Many across Puerto Rico celebrated the outcome of the case.

"This sentence should serve as a lesson for others," Puerto Rico Police Commissioner Antonio López said. "It doesn't matter how much fame, money or power you think you have. If you break the law, you will have to respond."

Verdejo had participated in the 2012 Olympics and became a professional boxer that year. He finished his career in the lightweight division with a 27-2 record, with 17 knockouts.

    In:
  • Homicide
  • Boxing
  • Puerto Rico

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