FORMER Olympic boxer Felix Verdejo has been handed two life sentences for the “macabre” murder of his pregnant girlfriend and unborn child.
Keishla Rodriguez, 27, was drugged before being hurled alive into a lagoon in San Juan, Puerto Rico in April 2021.
GettyEx-Olympic boxer Felix Verdejo has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering his pregnant girlfriend and unborn child[/caption]
Family HandoutKeishla had met Verdejo at her home to tell him she was pregnant – before she was attacked and hurled into a lagoon[/caption]
A court heard Verdejo, who represented Puerto Rico at the 2012 Olympic Games, had pressured her to abort their unborn child.
The 30-year-old had been found guilty in July of kidnapping that leads to a death and of causing the death of an unborn child.
During the trial, the court heard how Keishla told her mum Keila Ortiz she was meeting Verdejo at her home to tell him she was pregnant.
He arrived at the apartment with pal Luis Antonio Cádiz before Keishla climbed into his SUV.
But Verdejo punched her in the face and injected her with an unknown substance.
Verdejo had earlier made a purchase of what Cádiz believed to be heroin from drug dealers at a residential complex in Santurce.
A later autopsy determined Keishla had fentanyl and xylazine, a sedative used for horses and other animals, in her system.
The men then allegedly used wires to bind her hands and feet, before tying her to a cement block.
Keishla was then thrown off a busy road bridge in San Juan and into the San José Lagoon in broad daylight.
Cádiz later called 911 anonymously and provided the location of her body.
A pathologist told the court that Keishla was still alive when she was thrown in at approximately 8.30am.
Keishla’s body was discovered on May 1, 2021, two days after being killed by Verdejo.
She was reported missing that same day after failing to show up for work.
Speaking after Verdejo’s guilty conviction in July, Keishla’s heartbroken mum said: “Justice was done for my daughter and my grandson, they did justice for both because they are two lives.
“This was a macabre murder.”
Following Verdejo’s sentencing on Friday, Puerto Rico Police Commissioner Antonio López said: “This sentence should serve as a lesson for others.
“It doesn’t matter how much fame, money or power you think you have. If you break the law, you will have to respond.”
Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
