Boxer Félix Verdejo is held without bail in the gruesome death of his 27-year-old girlfriend, who was reportedly pregnant with his child.
A federal judge in Puerto Rico on Monday ordered boxer Félix Verdejo held without bail after he was charged in the death of his 27-year-old pregnant lover whose body was found in a lagoon. Verdejo is charged with kidnapping and carjacking resulting in the death of Keishla Rodríguez and with intentionally killing an unborn child. He did not make any comments during Monday’s virtual hearing in which he relied on a translator. “This is a death penalty-eligible case,” said Judge Camille Vélez. A criminal complaint filed by the FBI accuses Verdejo of punching Rodríguez in the face and injecting her with a syringe filled with an unidentified substance bought at a public housing complex. It alleges he then bound her arms and feet with wire, tied a heavy block to her before throwing her off a bridge at 8:30 a.m. Thursday and then shot at her body. The complaint says a witness it did not identify helped Verdejo kidnap and kill Rodríguez. Rodríguez’s family said she was pregnant with Verdejo’s child. Keila Ortiz, the victim’s mother, told reporters that her daughter called on Thursday and told her Verdejo was going to her house to see the results of a pregnancy test. Verdejo is married and has a young daughter but had known Rodríguez since middle school and maintained a relationship with her, her parents said. Verdejo (27-2,17 knockouts) represented Puerto Rico at the 2012 Olympics and became a professional boxer that year, competing in the lightweight division. His career was temporarily sidetracked after he was hospitalized following a 2016 motorcycle accident.
