Convicted killer Felix Verdejo can expect a long sentence in November, which will be the end of life as he knows it after being found guilty of murder.
The Puerto Rican former lightweight boxer was found guilty last month relating to two charges stepping from the kidnap and murder of his pregnant lover Keishla Rodríguez.
Verdejo stood accused of plotting the killing of Rodriguez, who was also carrying his child. Knowingly, Verdejo is guilty of cutting short any chance his unborn offspring had of living.
Those two counts made for somber reading in the courtroom as Verdejo had wanted to abort the child before the horrific events unfolded.
Having punched Rodriguez with the brute force a professional boxer unfurls, Verdejo and his accomplice injected heroin into the helpless victim.
Felix Verdejo, a convicted killer
They then proceeded to bind Rodriguez to concrete and threw her off a bridge in the middle of the day. The deceased was ruled alive when she was thrown into the water.
The whole scenario brought emotion and audible gasps during the proceedings. An expected verdict came after a lengthy trial that will see Verdejo sentenced on November 3.
A life sentence is a real possibility after the death penalty got ruled out.
Before the trial got underway, a document obtained by Telemundo read: “The United States of America notifies the court that we will not seek the death penalty in this case against Félix Verdejo Sánchez and Luis Antonio Cádiz Martínez.
“The Federal Court system also identifies the capital case as ‘closed.'”
This meant only the final ruling would determine whether Verdejo could potentially spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Other charges against Verdejo relating to the kidnap were left obsolete after no verdicts came back.
“Let him live two hundred years”
Rodriguez’s father spoke to Telemundo after hearing the verdict against Verdejo.
“May he live the rest of his life thinking about everything he did to my daughter. The truth always prevails.
“I do not wish him death. I wish him good health and that he can last as long as he can last.
“If he wants to last two hundred years, let him last. But he always remembers what he did to my daughter.”
Having represented Puerto Rico at the 2012 Olympics, Verdejo was a superstar in his country. Signed by Top Rank and Hall of Famer Bob Arum, Verdejo was touted as a future world champion.
After his arrest, his career ended following a defeat in the lightweight division. Felix Verdejo had a 27-2 record, with 17 knockouts at his career’s collapse.
Verdejo’s guilty verdict comes after women’s boxer Viviane Obenauf was sentenced to 16 years for the murder of her husband.
It was another incident that involved pregnancy. Her husband was bludgeoned to death by Obenauf for his reaction to her pregnancy.
