Who is Felix Verdejo-Sanchez? Former boxer gets life in prison for killing his pregnant lover and their unborn child
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO: A former Olympic boxer was sentenced on Friday, November 3, in a Puerto Rico federal court for brutally murdering his pregnant lover and their unborn child.
The US Department of Justice announced that Felix Verdejo-Sanchez, 30, is going to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
On July 28, a jury convicted him of kidnapping Keishla Rodriguez Ortiz, 27, and killing her and her unborn child.
The co-defendant, Luis Antonio Cadiz-Martinez, 32, pleaded guilty last November 28 to carjacking resulting death and killing of an unborn child. He is still awaiting sentencing.
Felix Verdejo-Sanchez lured Keishla Rodriguez Ortiz to his Dodge Durango
Prosecutors said that Verdejo-Sánchez lured Rodriguez Ortiz to his Dodge Durango on April 29, 2021. The victim was reportedly two months pregnant at the time but still the defendant punched her, injected her with drugs, and tied her with metal wire to a cement block, Law and Crime reports.
The Puerto Rican boxer, also known as "El Diamante" or "The Diamond", then drove her to the Teodoro Moscoso bridge where the two defendants threw Rodriguez Ortiz into the San Jose Lagoon.
Verdejo-Sanchez later went down into the lagoon to finish murdering the victim, prosecutors said. The victim’s mother said that Verdejo-Sanchez had threatened Rodriguez Ortiz about not having a baby.
Verdejo was reportedly married to a woman named Eliz Marie Santiago Sierra for about eight years and the two have a child named Miranda.
According to local reports, "His wife, Eliz Santiago Sierra, was also interviewed and confirmed to authorities that she was aware that Verdejo and Rodríguez Ortiz knew each other and had a relationship."
What did the authorities say?
“In cases such as this one, regardless of the outcome, there is no way to restore what has been lost,” said Joseph Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Juan Field Office.
“The only salve we can offer victim’s families is to do our work zealously and without rest, until justice is served. I believe we have done that here and I pray that this will give Keishla’s family some peace. Special recognitions to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, the Police of Puerto Rico and to our Violent Crimes Squad for a detailed and arduous job well done," he added.
“Today’s life sentence rightly holds Verdejo-Sanchez responsible for the pain and suffering he inflicted on his victims,” said W Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.
“To this day, the defendant maintains his unrepentant attitude. Like Verdejo-Sanchez now knows, anyone who commits cold-blooded crimes of violence in violation of federal law will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law by the Justice Department and this office," Muldrow added.