Article by Rick Mohamed

Felix Verdejo, Puerto Rico’s top lightweight boxer, has been charged and sent to federal prison after the body of a missing pregnant woman he has been accused of seeing was found

Breaking News: Felix Verdejo Sanchez, who normally goes by the name Felix “El Diamante” Verdejo, has been charged and held in Puerto Rico after the body of a young pregnant woman was found. The 27-year old woman’s body was found in a lagoon, Puerto Rican officials stated. 

Keishla Rodriguez was found after she was reported missing only 2 days earlier, on Friday, April 30, 2021. FBI officials arrested Verdejo, also 27, on Sunday May 2 and charged him with kidnapping resulting in death, carjacking resulting in death, and intentionally killing an unborn child. 

Verdejo, who is married to social media beauty & lifestyle influencer Eliz Marie Santiago Sierra, was allegedly having an affair with Ms. Rodriguez, according to her mother, Keila Ortiz. Ms. Ortiz stated that her daughter last spoke to her on Thursday. 

She was awaiting the results of a pregnancy test, and that she was going to inform Verdejo of the results. 

On Monday, federal judge Camille Velez ordered that Verdejo be held without bond while in federal custody, and stated that “This is a death-penalty eligible case.”. The FBI, working with the Puerto Rico Police Bureau and the Puerto Rico Dept. of Justice, is in charge of this case. 

Verdejo, who fought as an amateur when he represented Puerto Rico in the 2012 Olympics in London, UK. He turned professional afterwards, and was a top lightweight contender, sporting a record of 27-2, 17 KOs. 

He last fought on Dec 12, 2020 in Paradise City, NV., losing a 9th round TKO to Masayoshi Nakatani. Top Rank, his promoter, has removed his page from their website and expressed condolences to the deceased woman’s family. The Department of Public Safety of Puerto Rico also expressed their regrets. 

Brawlers Sports joins in with them in expressing our most heartfelt condolences to the family of Keishla Rodriguez Ortiz. 

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