Puerto Rico: Boxer Felix Verdejo Receives 2 Life Sentences Over Kidnapping and Death of Pregnant Girlfriend and Unborn Child

Professional Boxer Felix Verdejo may once have brought glory to Puerto Rico, but he has now been sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for killing his pregnant girlfriend, Keishla Rodriguez Ortiz, and her unborn child.

As the judge handed his sentence of two terms of life imprisonment, he slammed the former Olympic boxer and said that Verdejo ended the lives of two people in a horrendous way.

"The level of cruelty only added to the tragedy that led to these unfortunate events. Those lives, as well as those of the family, have been changed forever," the judge said in his sentencing decision. "There is no way to go back on this."

According to The Daily Mail, the judge ordered Verdejo to serve his time inside a federal prison. This means that the former WBO Lightweight Latino Champion will not be able to serve part of his sentence on parole.

Verdejo was found guilty of murder and kidnapping back in July of this year. The parents of his former girlfriend, Keishla Rodriguez Ortiz, stated that they felt justice had been done and that they hoped "the murder of their daughter sticks with Verdejo forever."

"In my mind, I thought many things, but not in my heart," said the victim's father, Jose Antonio Rodriguez. "I got up every day to come here with the purpose of making her count."

"'I have always said that he will live the rest of his life thinking about what he did to my daughter, and that is his worst condemnation," he added. "I do not wish him death, I wish him good health and that he can last as long as he can last... if he wants to last 200 years, let him last, but always remember what he did to my daughter."

Felix Verdejo Planned To Kill Pregnant Ex-Girlfriend Before Dumping Her Body in a Puerto Rico Lagoon

The US Attorney's Office in the District of Puerto Rico revealed that Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz and her unborn child were found dead in the San Jose Lagoon on May 1, 2021. A day later, her boyfriend, former champion boxer Felix Verdejo, was arrested.

Authorities found that the boxer had planned to murder his pregnant lover after he found out that she was pregnant with his child.

A witness testified that Verdejo contacted him to help terminate a pregnancy. However, this did not push through so he instead lured her into a vehicle, drugged her, assaulted her, killed her, and dumped her body in the San Juan Lagoon.

Puerto Rico Residents Happy With Felix Verdejo's Life Sentences

While Verdejo was a celebrated boxer in a US territory that was crazy about boxing, the boxer's fate was celebrated by residents all over the island.

"This sentence should serve as a lesson for others," Puerto Rico Police Commissioner Antonio Lopez told the Associated Press. "It doesn't matter how much fame, money, or power you think you have. If you break the law, you will have to respond."

Many in Puerto Rico were stunned by the murder, though it did result in people calling for more protections for victims of domestic abuse.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Puerto Rican boxer Félix Verdejo held without bail after 27-year-old pregnant lover found dead - CGTN Sports Scene