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Puerto Rican boxer Felix Verdejo was ordered held without bail in the death of his pregnant girlfriend and her unborn baby, according to reports.
Verdejo, 27, a lightweight contender and former Olympian, was charged with kidnapping resulting in death, carjacking, and the death of an unborn child in the death of Keishla Rodriguez Ortiz, who went missing Thursday, Puerto Rico’s El Nuevo Dia newspaper said.
Verdejo, who is married, was arraigned by US District Judge Camille Velez Rive after surrendering to authorities Sunday, the newspaper reported Monday.
The boxer, a member of Puerto Rico’s 2012 Olympic team, became a person of interest Thursday when Rodriguez’s family reported her missing — after she went to confront Verdejo about her pregnancy.
According to a criminal complaint filed late Sunday, Verdejo contacted an unnamed accomplice asking for help on terminating the pregnancy, NBC News reported.
The FBI said Verdejo met Rodriguez at her home, then got in her car and punched her, before he injected her with “a syringe filled with substances purchased from a drug point in Llorens Torres,” a San Juan housing project, the outlet said.
Verdejo and the accomplice then tied her up with wire, tied her to a block, drove to the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge, and hurled her into the San Jose Lagoon, where her body was found Saturday, authorities said.
The boxer then allegedly shot her from the bridge.
Investigators said cellphone records and surveillance footage from the scene helped make their case, and said detectives found a shell casing on the bridge.
Rodriguez’s car was found abandoned about 13 miles away.
Verdejo could face the death penalty if convicted.
A fighter for Top Rank, he went pro in 2012 and amassed a 27-2 record with 17 knockouts, but lost his most recent bout in December, when he was knocked out by Masayoshi Nakatani in Las Vegas.
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