Olympic boxer convicted of kidnapping, killing pregnant lover who allegedly refused to get an abortion

A former Olympic boxer was once convicted of kidnapping and killing his pregnant lover via tossing her off a bridge right into a lagoon in Puerto Rico, allegedly after she refused to get an abortion.

Félix Verdejo-Sánchez, 30, was once discovered responsible on Friday of kidnapping leading to dying and deliberately killing an unborn kid following a three-month trial within the U.S. District Court docket of Puerto Rico. The jury of 3 girls and 9 males deliberated for 3 days however may just no longer succeed in a unanimous consensus at the fees of carjacking leading to dying and ownership of a weapon all over a violent crime. The trial focused round federal crimes that arose from the disappearance and dying of 27-year-old Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz on April 29, 2021.

Prosecutors reportedly trusted testimony from greater than 30 witnesses, together with Verdejo-Sánchez’s codefendant, Luis Antonio Cádiz-Martínez, 

Cádiz-Martínez testified that Verdejo-Sánchez had burdened Rodríguez Ortiz to get an abortion, the Related Press reported. The sufferer’s folks instructed the newspaper El Nuevo Día that she had stored involved with Verdejo-Sánchez because the two first met in center college, however the former boxer reportedly lived with any other girl. 

GRAND JURY INDICTS PUERTO RICO BOXER IN LOVER’S DEATH

Federal prosecutors stated Verdejo-Sánchez teamed up with Cádiz-Martínez at the morning of the homicide earlier than heading to a gathering level, the place the previous Olympian lured Rodríguez Ortiz out of her Kia Uniqueness and into his Dodge Durango. Cádiz-Martínez testified that is the place the sufferer introduced Verdejo-Sánchez with a good being pregnant check, the Washington Submit reported. 

He additional testified that Verdejo-Sánchez then punched Rodríguez Ortiz and injected her with a substance that Cádiz-Martínez believed to be heroin. 

He stated they each then tied her limbs to a cement block and threw her off the busy Teodoro Moscoso bridge into the San José Lagoon in large sunlight. 

Federal prosecutors stated Verdejo-Sánchez “later jumped into the lagoon in an effort to end murdering each sufferers.” 

“Might he reside the remainder of his lifestyles occupied with what he did to my daughter,” Rodríguez  Ortiz’s father, Tony Rodríguez, instructed Telemundo Puerto Rico out of doors the courthouse.

“We stand firmly with the circle of relatives of Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz and all the ones locally who sought justice for this mindless, merciless, and heinous act of premeditated and cold-blooded violence towards Keishla and her unborn kid,” U.S. Lawyer W. Stephen Muldrow stated in a commentary. “I additionally commend the onerous paintings, willpower, and incessant pursuit of justice via federal and native legislation enforcement, together with the FBI, the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, the Puerto Rico Division of Public Protection, the Puerto Rico Forensic Science Institute, and the Puerto Rico Division of Justice, in addition to the prosecutors {and professional} workforce within the U.S. Lawyer’s Place of work.”

Felix Verdejo reacts within the locker earlier than his battle towards Masayoshi Nakatani on the MGM Grand Convention Middle on Dec. 12, 2020, in Las Vegas, Nevada.  (Mikey Williams/Best Rank Inc by means of Getty Pictures)

BOXER FÉLIX VERDEJO INDICTED FOR MURDER OF PREGNANT LOVER

“There are damages which can not ever be repaired, no longer even via a simply verdict,” FBI San Juan Particular Agent in Fee, Joseph González, added. “In instances similar to those, all we will be able to do is give our all within the pursuit of justice. These days, I will say that my workforce did precisely that, and I’m proud in their willpower. I want to thank the U.S. Lawyer’s Place of work for the superb paintings and the jury for his or her provider. We did what we do and justice was once served.”

A pathologist testified that Rodríguez Ortiz was once nonetheless alive when she was once thrown into the lagoon under the bridge. 

An post-mortem made up our minds she had fentanyl and xylazine, a sedative used for horses and different animals, in her device. 

Cádiz-Martínez stated he made an nameless 911 name days later to give you the location of the frame. Cádiz-Martínez, who prosecutors stated the previous boxer employed to assist perform the premeditated assault, pleaded responsible closing 12 months to carjacking ensuing within the dying of an individual and an unborn kid and is because of be sentenced in August. 

Felix Verdejo and Masayoshi Nakatani change punches all over their battle on the MGM Grand Convention Middle on December 12, 2020, in Las Vegas, Nevada.  (Mikey Williams/Best Rank Inc by means of Getty Pictures)

Verdejo-Sánchez represented Puerto Rico on the 2012 Olympics and was a qualified boxer that 12 months. He completed his profession within the light-weight department with a 27-2 document, with 17 knockouts. Prosecutors stated he faces a compulsory lifestyles sentence for each and every conviction, and his sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 3. 

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The slaying of the pregnant girl and unborn kid outraged many in Puerto Rico who stay hard that government do a greater activity of defending home violence sufferers. 

In 2021, Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluis declared a state of emergency at the island, a U.S. territory, because of gender violence. 

The Related Press contributed to this file.