Felix Verdejo Murder Case Update

Felix Verdejo, Puerto Rico’s former rising star, is standing trial for the murder of his former girlfriend, Keishla Rodriguez, and her unborn child.

On April 30, 2021, Keishla Rodriguez was reported missing.

Statements taken from the family allege that Keishla went missing shortly after visiting Felix Verdejo, now 30, to inform him that he was the father of the child she was carrying.

“El DIAMANTE” Verdejo turned pro in 2012, went 27-2. Promoter Top Rank had high hopes for the pugilist, and it goes without saying that he didn’t meet expectations

Lurid Details Of A Callous Act

Puerto Rican news platforms reported chilling details alleging that Verdejo lured Keishla into an SUV, drugged her, punched her in the face, threw her body over a bridge into a lagoon, and shot her body multiple times.

Later, autopsy reports confirmed that Keishla was one month pregnant and that the cause of death was asphyxia forced by immersion into a body of water (drowning).

After being denied bail, the ex-Puerto Rican boxing star has remained in custody for two years.

Felix Verdejo Trial Ongoing

His trial began six days ago at the Federal Court of Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.

Here is a mini six-day recap of the trial as reported by Telemundo Puerto Rico.

Day 6: Ricardo Díaz, Homeland Security agent, referred to text messages from the ex-boxer’s cell phone.

Day 5: Texts between Verdejo and his wife are introduced.

Agent Manuel Colón Ruiz of the Major Crimes Division. Colón Ruiz spoke on how Rodríguez’s body was found in the San José lagoon, weighed down by a block.

RIP KEISHLA

The agent said Verdejo’s Dodge Durango SUV was parked at the Teodoro Moscoso bridge.

Cops went to the residence of his wife, Eliz Santiago Sierra, looking for a firearm Verdejo told them he owned.

On May 2, Verdejo gave authorities his cell phone.

Some of the texts found on Verdejo’s cell phone, as reported by El Vocero, as reported by Telemundo:

On April 26, 2021, Félix Verdejo’s wife, Eliz Marie Santiago Sierra, told him she no longer wanted to be with him.

Two days later, he went to Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz’s house to cajole her not to have the baby, allegedly. He assured his wife he didn’t want to be with Keishla.

Prosecution Timeline Set

On April 29, Keishla disappeared.

Prosecutors say Verdejo saw Keishla before she went to work at 8 a.m.

The prosecution asserts Verdejo texted his wife from the scene of the crime shortly after the heinous act was committed.

Day 4: Lieutenant José Bonilla Ruiz from the Missing Persons Division of the Bayamón Criminal Investigation Corps (CIC) said he went to the bridge at the lagoon, where police divers found the body.

He testified he saw Verdejo in the back of a Honda Pilot at that time.

Day 3: The prosecutor spoke of a recording between Verdejo and Keishla Rodríguez’s brother-in-law, Junior Zavala, in which the boxer admitted to having driven over the fateful bridge.

Bereliz Rodríguez Ortiz, Keishla’s sister, described their relationship in court as “open and toxic.”

Keishla’s mother Keyla Ortiz and her father spoke.

Keishla’s mother called Verdejo, after figuring out her daughter was missing.

Mother Asks Where Her Daughter Is

“Where is my daughter?” she asked him and Verdejo said, “I don’t know, I don’t know.”

“You are lying to me. She told me that you were going to see her,” Ortiz told Verdejo.

Verdejo faces charges of kidnapping and the intentional murder of an unborn baby, plus a firearm charge.

Prosecutors assert Verdejo beat Keishla, injected her with drugs, and with his accomplice threw the body from the Teodoro Moscoso bridge and shot at it. (Not clear if that was Verdejo or accomplice).

Luis Antonio Cádiz-Martínez, the accomplice, pleaded guilty in November 2022, in an agreement with the federal prosecutor’s office.