Félix Verdejo-Sánchez Guilty in Pregnant Woman's Death

Félix Verdejo-Sánchez, a boxer who competed in the 2012 Olympics for Puerto Rico, has been convicted of federal charges in the 2021 death of a 27-year-old pregnant woman. The US attorney's office in the District of Puerto Rico announced that a federal jury found Verdejo-Sánchez guilty of kidnapping resulting in death and intentionally killing an unborn child, CNN reports. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 3, when Verdejo-Sánchez will face a mandatory life term for each conviction. A co-defendant, Luis Antonio Cádiz-Martínez, helped him, prosecutors said.

Verdejo-Sánchez lured Rodríguez Ortiz, who had told him she was pregnant with his child, into his vehicle, prosecutors said. With the help of his accomplice, Verdejo-Sánchez assaulted and drugged her, tying her to a concrete block, then threw her into the San Jose Lagoon. "He later jumped into the lagoon in order to finish murdering both victims," prosecutors said, per ABC News. Cádiz-Martínez took a plea deal last fall. The investigation was led by the FBI, assisted by Puerto Rican law enforcement agencies. The US attorney called the crime a "senseless, cruel and heinous act of premeditated and cold-blooded violence." (More Puerto Rico stories.)