Olympic Crime: The Murder of Keishla Rogriguez Ortiz by Felix Verdejo


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Aug 14 2024 30 mins   1

Keishla Rodriguez Ortiz met Felix Verdejo when the two of them were very young, because they attended the same school growing up. Their friendship blossomed into a romantic relationship when they were in high school. Keishla loyally supported Félix as he chased his dreams to become a professional boxer. At 18 years old Félix qualified for the 2012 olympics. He didn’t end up medaling but a professional spot was waiting for him when he got home to Puerto Rico. The beginning of his professional career was explosive. He held the WBO lightweight title for multiple years. He was expected to be the next big boxing star. Unfortunately he got in his own way and ultimately ruined his career and his life. The beginning of the end began to cheat on Kieshla with an underage girl named Elisa Maria Santiago Sierra. She was 14 and he was 18. He broke up with Kieshla to “date” Elisa, but he never actually stopped seeing Kieshla. When Elisa turned 18, Félix proposed and she said yes. I assume she was not aware of his transgressions with not only Keishla, but several women. Elisa became pregnant with Félix’s daughter and Félix took full advantage of the situation - crafting his image to make him look like a devoted husband and father. But cracks in his image started to appear to the public when Elisa found out about his cheating and threw him out of the house. She did take him back after he promised to change his ways, but it would take a lot longer to patch up his public image. When Kieshla ended up pregnant, Félix knew it was all falling apart. He tried to convince her to get an abortion, but Kieshla refused. She wanted the baby even if Félix didn’t want to step up and be a father. This caused Félix to spiral into planning the murder of his first love and their unborn child,. 


Sources:

Acevedo, nicole. “An Ex-Boxer Is Convicted in Heinous Killing of His Pregnant Girlfriend.” NBC News, 31 July 2023, www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/puerto-rico-femicide-focus-verdejo-conviction-killing-pregnant-keishla-rcna97304.


Daily, Juan. “Keishla Rodríguez’s Sister: Verdejo Expressed No Emotion When Hearing Guilty Verdict.” San Juan Daily Star, San Juan Daily Star, 31 July 2023, www.sanjuandailystar.com/post/keishla-rodr%C3%ADguez-s-sister-verdejo-expressed-no-emotion-when-hearing-guilty-verdict#:~:text=Keishla%20Rodr%C3%ADguez%20Ortiz. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.


“District of Puerto Rico | Félix Verdejo-Sánchez Sentenced to Life in Prison for Kidnapping Resulting in Death, and Intentionally Killing an Unborn Child | United States Department of Justice.” Www.justice.gov, 3 Nov. 2023, www.justice.gov/usao-pr/pr/felix-verdejo-sanchez-sentenced-life-prison-kidnapping-resulting-death-and-intentionally.


Ghost of Crime. “The Double Life of Felix Verdejo - Boxing Star and Murderer || True Crime Documentary.” YouTube, 23 May 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCaimYSeaOs. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.


https://www.facebook.com/peoplemag. “Olympic Boxer Félix Verdejo Gets Life for Throwing Girlfriend off Bridge after Pressuring Her to Get Abortion.” Peoplemag, 2021, people.com/olympic-boxer-felix-verdejo-gets-life-murdering-girlfriend-8391294. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.


Rafael, Dan. “Felix Verdejo Named ESPN.com Prospect of the Year - ESPN.” ESPN.com, ESPN, 24 Dec. 2014, www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/12075915/felix-verdejo-named-prospect-year. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.


Victor Torres Montalvo. “MOCION SENTENCIA LUIS CADIZ MARTINEZ.” Scribd, 2022, www.scribd.com/document/741021823/MOCION-SENTENCIA-LUIS-CADIZ-MARTINEZ. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.


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