Felix Verdejo's defence filed for a new trial on Friday, claiming that Luis Antonio Cadiz's statement was manipulated by his lawyer to shift all the blame onto the former boxer

Full article

The former Puerto Rican boxer two life sentenced for murdering his pregnant lover, is asking for a retrial

Former Puerto Rican boxer Felix Verdejo, who was sentenced to two life sentences for the murder of Keishla Rodriguez, his pregnant lover, is now seeking to have the Federal Court in San Juan overturn the verdict and grant him a new trial. The athlete's defence has filed a 20-page motion alleging the existence of new evidence that could be key to proving his innocence or, at the very least, raise reasonable doubts about his guilt.

According to Verdejo's lawyers, Gabriela Cintron and Jason Delgado, the main witness who directly linked Verdejo to the crime, Luis Antonio Cadiz, lied during the trial at the instruction of his lawyer. In the motion filed last Friday, the defence argues that Cadiz was advised to alter his statement and place all the blame on Verdejo. This, the lawyers argue, would be enough to overturn the verdict and reopen the case.

Luis Cádiz, who was Verdejo's accomplice in the murder of Rodríguez, admitted that he withheld information and manipulated his testimony in collaboration with his lawyer, which Verdejo's defence considers exculpatory evidence. Furthermore, they stress that Cadiz's testimony was the only one that directly linked Verdejo to the crime, as there is no other material evidence that conclusively incriminates him.

The defence has also mentioned that other key witnesses, such as Verdejo's ex-wife and Cádiz's brother, could provide new information that could change the course of the case. However, the prosecution maintains that the case against Verdejo is strong and that the crime was premeditated, meticulously executed with Cádiz's help. For now, the court must decide whether to grant the request for a new trial.

The brutal crime that shocked Puerto Rico

The boxer, once one of Puerto Rican boxing's brightest prospects, was arrested in May 2021 after being fingered as the main culprit in the murder of Keishla Rodríguez, a 27-year-old woman with whom he had an extramarital affair and who was pregnant with his child.

On 29 April 2021, Verdejo executed a macabre plan to get rid of Keishla to prevent the pregnancy from coming to light. As proven during the trial, the boxer, with the help of his friend Luis Antonio Cadiz, lured Rodriguez into his vehicle with the excuse of talking about the situation. But instead of a conversation, he brutally assaulted her, injecting her with fentanyl and xylazine, two powerful drugs. He then tied her to a cement block and threw her off the Teodoro Moscoso bridge in San Juan into the San José lagoon.

This plan, which Verdejo had premeditated, was uncovered thanks to the confession of Luis Antonio Cádiz, who turned himself in to the authorities and gave a detailed account of what had happened. His testimony, along with other forensic evidence, was key to a jury finding Verdejo guilty of the kidnapping and murder of Rodriguez and her unborn child.

From ring hero to murderer

Before his name was linked to this crime, Felix Verdejo was known for his promising boxing career. After his participation in the London 2012 Olympic Games, Verdejo rose to fame and quickly began to excel at lightweight. With 23 consecutive victories and the World Boxing Organization championship belt between 2015 and 2017, many believed the Puerto Rican boxer could make it to the top, following in the footsteps of legends such as Miguel Cotto.

But, as his career in the ring progressed, his personal life began to fall apart. In April 2021, when news of Keishla Rodríguez's disappearance broke, Puerto Rico was paralysed. The case gained even more notoriety when Luis Antonio Cádiz turned himself in and recounted the macabre plan they had carried out to murder her.

The trial, which lasted nearly a month, made clear the level of brutality with which Verdejo acted. It was not only murder, but also the death of an unborn child, a fact that caused deep outrage on the island. In the end, the jury had no doubts and sentenced Verdejo to two life sentences.

Now, Verdejo's defence is seeking to turn the case around. They claim that Luis Antonio Cadiz's statement was manipulated and that Prado Galarza, his lawyer, instructed him to lie in order to shift the blame onto the ex-boxer. In addition, they argue that the statements of other witnesses offer a new picture that could favour Verdejo and cast doubt on the verdict of the first trial.

However, it will not be easy for the court to grant the request for a retrial. The prosecution continues to argue that the case is well-supported and that the evidence against Verdejo, both Cadiz's testimony and the physical evidence, is strong. The murder of Keishla Rodriguez was premeditated, brutal and carefully executed, something that, according to prosecutors, cannot be denied.