Grand jury indicts Puerto Rican boxer Felix Verdejo in killing of pregnant woman

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A grand jury on Thursday indicted Puerto Rican boxer Felix Verdejo within the killing of a 27-year-old pregnant girl, a case probably eligible for the demise penalty.

The indictment was introduced as dozens of individuals — some bearing flowers, balloons or small presents — attended the wake of Keishla Rodriguez, who was reported lacking final Thursday and whose physique was recognized on Sunday by way of dental information.

An FBI grievance, based mostly on testimony from an unidentified witness, accused Verdejo of punching Rodriguez within the face, injecting her with a syringe crammed with an unidentified substance purchased at a public housing advanced, binding her arms and toes with wire, tying a heavy block to her after which throwing her off a bridge at 8:30 a.m. final Thursday. Authorities mentioned Verdejo then stood on the bridge and shot at her physique that authorities present in a lagoon close to Puerto Rico’s capital on Saturday.

“This can be a case that has shocked Puerto Rico,” mentioned Carmen Romero, who had traveled roughly an hour from the coastal city of Arecibo to pay her respects.

Verdejo, who’s married and has a younger daughter, turned himself into authorities on Sunday night time and is being held with out bail. He’s accused of kidnapping and carjacking leading to demise and with deliberately killing an unborn little one, along with utilizing and carrying a firearm throughout a violent crime. Neither Verdejo nor his attorneys have commented on the case.

Additionally charged within the case is Luis Antonio Cadiz, who on Thursday was order to be held with out bail. The sufferer’s mother and father mentioned in a information convention on the funeral house that they didn’t know Cadiz, including that they wanted their house and didn’t need to speak concerning the case.

“What I need is justice for Keishla,” mentioned her mom, Keila Ortiz. “We’re going by a ache that Tony and I by no means imagined.”

The post-mortem report has been accomplished, however authorities mentioned they will not launch particulars but on precisely how Rodriguez died as a result of the investigation is ongoing.

The sufferer’s father, Jose Antonio Rodríguez, advised WAPA TV on Wednesday that he’s not in favor of the demise penalty.

“That does not clear up something for me. What’s carried out is completed,” he mentioned. “Let him keep in mind day by day who my daughter was.”

Verdejo (27-2, 17 knockouts) represented Puerto Rico within the 2012 Olympics and have become an expert boxer that yr, competing within the light-weight division.

Amid rising accusations that Puerto Rico’s authorities hasn’t carried out sufficient to guard ladies and victims of home violence, the island’s justice secretary introduced Tuesday that prosecutors will now be required to seem in court docket for possible trigger hearings the place a decide guidelines whether or not an alleged abuser must be arrested.

The announcement comes amid anger over the case of one other girl, Andrea Ruiz, who was just lately discovered burned to demise after she filed a home violence grievance {that a} decide dismissed. Gov. Pedro Pierluisi has mentioned that the federal government failed Ruiz.

The Related Press contributed to this report.