Once hailed by Puerto Ricans as the brightest hope to stand as another global boxing icon raised in the territory, Felix Verdejo became enemy No. 1 as round-the-clock news coverage culminated in his arrest on suspicion of murdering his pregnant girlfriend Keishla Rodriguez Ortiz.
As the savage details of Ortiz’s killing emerged through the weekend, Verdejo, 27, surrendered to federal law enforcement authorities and confronted Monday courtroom charges (carjacking and kidnapping resulting in death and intentionally killing an unborn child) that leave him exposed to the death penalty.
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According to a federal criminal complaint, the married Verdejo arranged a Thursday meeting with Ortiz after she informed him she was pregnant with his child. With the aid of another, he participated in Ortiz’s killing, the federal complaint alleges.
The complaint alleges Verdejo punched Ortiz in the face before injecting her with an unknown substance bought at a local drug store, before tying her arms and legs with wire and tying a block to her body. Ortiz was then driven to the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge in Puerto Rico, where she was tossed into the water below, the complaint alleges.
Surveillance camera footage from the bridge was reviewed by the FBI, revealing a SUV vehicle believed to be Verdejo’s first stop in an emergency lane with some movement from the side of the vehicle. The vehicle then made two more visits to the bridge area during the next hour, according to the complaint.
Authorities reported that someone fired at least one bullet toward the water after they found an expended shell casing on the bridge.
Ortiz’s body was recovered Saturday and identified early Sunday. Soon after, the witness who assisted Verdejo began cooperating with police, leading to the boxer’s arrest.
The gravity of the case prompted many watching to conclude Verdejo’s once-promising career over, a footnote now to the massive national grief for Ortiz, her unborn child and their family.
As prosecutors continue to unravel details of Ortiz’s killing, unanswerable questions remain about what could motivate someone to act so reprehensibly. Those who knew Verdejo the boxer expressed horror and shock Monday, grasping to comprehend what has transpired.
What are the latest developments in the case?
Verdejo appeared in U.S. District Court in Puerto Rico, where he was informed of the charges before him. He has not yet entered a plea.
One of the laws he’s alleged to have broken is known as “Laci and Connor’s Law,” following the 2002 murder of the Modesto, Calif., substitute teacher by her husband, Scott, who remains on death row.
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The exposure for killing an unborn child include life imprisonment or the death penalty, prosecutors said.
“The Puerto Rico Police Bureau and the federal agencies have worked long hours collaborating as a team to solve this cold murder expeditiously,” said Alexis Torres, Puerto Rico’s secretary of the department of public safety in a prepared statement distributed Monday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Puerto Rico.
Describing the police work as “tireless,” authorities arrested Verdejo just over two days following Ortiz’s disappearance.
“We trust that the work of our prosecutors in this case will begin to restore the people’s trust in justice,” added Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Justice Domingo Emanuelli.
In court, a Verdejo attorney requested the court’s appointment of an expert counsel specializing in death penalty cases. Verdejo was denied bail in court and he’ll remain in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Puerto Rico.
Flowers and messages are left on the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge, where the body of Keishla Rodriguez was allegedly dumped by Puerto Rican Boxer, Felix Verdejo. (Ricardo ARDUENGO / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images)
What is Verdejo’s boxing background?
Verdejo was named ESPN’s 2014 prospect of the year after compiling a 106-17 amateur record and representing Puerto Rico in the 2012 Olympics. He drew comparisons to the personable Felix Trinidad Jr. – “a man of the people,” one boxing expert said — as he piled up victories while being promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank.
“He came out of central casting – good looking, a great smile,” said a publicist who declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the topic. “Perhaps the hype around Verdejo was always more than the ability, but everybody in Puerto Rico so badly wanted another Trinidad, so that’s how he was viewed.”
Verdejo was positioned as a mandatory challenger to then-lightweight-champion Terry Flanagan, but suffered head trauma, facial lacerations and other injuries in an August 2016 motorcycle crash that sidelined him until a February 2017 non-title comeback bout.
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Verdejo didn’t get back in the ring for another 13 months after that, and then suffered a TKO loss to Mexico’s Antonio Lozada Torres that shattered many of the hopes about the champion he was supposed to become.
On a 2019 Madison Square Garden card that showcased prospects Shakur Stevenson and Teofimo Lopez before they realized their titles, Verdejo told me for a Los Angeles Times story that he was hoping to still wear a world-title belt.
“The mistake I made made me understand and make the changes I needed to do what I’m doing now,” said Verdejo, whose wife had then recently given birth to a girl. “This fight defines my boxing career.
“That simply motivates me to do the things I’ll do Saturday night. The way I am now, I’m more mature. I’m doing the right things for my mind and body, working hard. I learned from my faults, and I’m ready to move on and perform well.”
Verdejo turned in an unsensational unanimous-decision triumph that night, and won twice more before an all-action December bout with Japan’s Masayoshi Nakatani.
Verdejo knocked down Nakatani in both the first and fourth rounds, but was then dropped twice and stopped in the ninth round, with Nakatani earning the reward in victory of a coming shot at former three-division champion Vasiliy Lomachenko.
In the 2012 Summer Games, Verdejo backed up two-time gold medalist Lomachenko with a second-round punch before losing to the Ukrainian, 14-9, in a quarterfinal bout.
What are those who know Verdejo saying now?
Although Top Rank has not officially dropped him from its roster, pending courtroom developments in the case, officials did remove Verdejo from the company website and are privately telling people they don’t expect him to fight again.
Others who knew Verdejo were sickened by the details alleged in the complaint and in Puerto Rico news reports, noting they had not spotted mood swings or spiraling behavior following the brutal bout against Nakatani.
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One Verdejo associate said, “any speculation of brain damage – CTE – is just that.”
Who was Keishla Rodriguez Ortiz?
According to reports from Puerto Rico, the 27-year-old Ortiz knew Verdejo from middle school, and they maintained a relationship through Verdejo’s marriage.
A pet lover who kept at least four animals at home, Ortiz, wearing a pleasant smile in photos that have surfaced, worked as a pet groomer.
In a Puerto Rico newspaper story, Ortiz’s mother told her to be careful about breaking the news of her pregnancy to Verdejo because of his marriage and his celebrity position in Puerto Rico.
The vulnerability of Ortiz and her child triggered widespread sympathy and then outrage in Puerto Rico as television networks provided nonstop coverage from her Thursday disappearance through Verdejo’s arrest and the horrific details connected to the case.
(Top photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images)
