Verdejo and his accomplice, Luis Antonio Cádiz-Martínez, lured Rodriguez Ortiz into Verdejo’s car, drugged her, and then threw her off a bridge into the San José Lagoon in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Cádiz-Martínez, who is awaiting sentencing, testified that Verdejo tried to convince Rodriguez Ortiz to have an abortion.
“Today’s life sentence rightfully holds Verdejo-Sánchez accountable for the anguish and torment he caused to his victims,” W. Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, conveyed in a declaration. “To this day, the defendant maintains his relentless attitude. As Verdejo-Sánchez has now learned, anyone who perpetrates calculated acts of violence in violation of federal laws will face severe consequences.”The Justice Department and this office will aggressively pursue violations.
El Nuevo Día was told by Keila Ortiz Rivera, Rodríguez’s mother, that Verdejo, who was married, allegedly “pressured [her] not to proceed with the pregnancy, to have an abortion [because] he has his family, he is a boxer [and] a public figure.”
A news report from Muldrow’s office revealed that after throwing Rodriguez Ortiz off the bridge, “[Verdejo] then jumped into the lagoon to commit the murder of both victims.”
On Friday, Verdejo’s attorney stated his intention to contest the verdict. Outside the courtroom, Ortiz Rivera also shouted at some of Verdejo’s supporters who were displaying banners with the message, “Free Félix.”
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