I. The Death of Innocence
She had a name – Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz. A face that radiated warmth framed by dark curls. A voice that comforted the troubled rescue animals she lovingly tended to. And a budding life waiting to blossom inside her as she neared the start of her third trimester. But she also held secrets too heavy for 27 years of life.
Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz, the murder victim (Credit: BBC)
Like so many women in Puerto Rico, Rodríguez found herself trapped in the shadows of domestic violence and machismo misogyny. Statistics estimate 1 in 3 Puerto Rican women experience gender-based violence in their lifetimes. By 2021, Rodríguez herself was ensnared by a possessive lover whose fragile ego and temper unraveled over her refusal to terminate their unplanned pregnancy.
Documents show the rejection stung doubly given Rodríguez‘s lover was already estranged from his wife and young daughter. Rather than face exposure of his latest infidelity, this lover – Félix Verdejo – decided Rodríguez needed to permanently disappear. What unfolded became Puerto Rico’s largest femicide case in recent memory.
II. The Accused Killer
Félix "El Diamante" Verdejo
Unlike his victim Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz, the name Félix Verdejo Sanchez rang out across Puerto Rico long before news of murder entered public imagination. An Olympic boxer turned professional prizefighter, the San Juan native carried the honorary moniker “El Diamante” for dazzling speed and technical prowess inside the ring.
Félix “El Diamante” Verdejo Sanchez (Credit: Getty Images)
Verdejo even qualified to compete at the 2012 London Olympics at just 19 years old. But that early career promise faded into lackluster results as years passed. By 2021, the 27 year old sported a professional record of 27-2 and searched to regain prior form.
Beyond the ring, Verdejo freely enjoyed local celebrity perks thanks to chiseled model looks. He eventually married Eliz Marie Santiago Sierra and fathered their daughter in 2017. Growing dissent in the relationship saw the couple separate as Verdejo pursued affairs like the one with Rodríguez. No public knowledge of violent tendencies or criminality preceded Verdejo prior to 2021.
III. The Toxic Relationship
Details remain scarce how Keishla Rodríguez originally encountered Félix Verdejo and what magnetism first drew them together. Verdejo himself was approaching 30 when they became intimate, while Rodríguez had recently turned 27.
The insurance agent was known by friends to nurture big dreams for her life and career. She studied criminology part-time while working to build savings. To the outside eye, Rodríguez and Verdejo occupied disparate social spheres.
Court testimonies later confirmed Verdejo long relied on deceit to conceal his extramarital affairs from wife Eliz Marie Santiago. In maintaining clandestine relationships, Verdejo weaponized gaslighting and manipulation to ensure partners catered to his needs first.
By early 2021,Verdejo’s toxic hold over Rodríguez had long sunk its claws. The emboldened boxer felt entitled to callously pressure her to end a pregnancy he refused responsibility for. Rodríguez’s refusal to comply ultimately sealed her fate.
Domestic Abuse in Puerto Rico
- Average of 1 woman murdered every 7 days
- Women 10x more likely to be murdered than in US
- 45,000+ women estimated to face abuse yearly
[Statistics source: ACLU ]
IV. The Perfect Murder?
Chronology of Events
April 29, 2021
- 3 Months pregnant Keishla Rodríguez disappears near San Juan home
- Family quickly suspects foul play by Verdejo
April 30, 2021
- Search teams scour lagoons and coastlines
- Police trace Verdejo‘s phone to last location of Rodríguez
May 2, 2021
- Divers recover Rodríguez’s bullet-pierced body
- Autopsy shows victim beaten, drugged and drowned
Building a Case
Investigating the Prime Suspect
Puerto Rico Police Department leading the Verdejo investigation
With evidence mounting, investigators targeted Verdejo early on. Police rapidly tied analysis of cell records and GPS data to place Verdejo‘s phone alongside Keishla Rodríguez‘s near Teodoro Moscoso Bridge within the timeframe of her death.
Security footage also captured a suspicious vehicle matching Verdejo‘s crossing the bridge when Rodríguez vanished. The victim‘s abandoned car was discovered close by, showing signs of a violent struggle and possible injection puncture marks.
An accomplice named Luis Antonio Cádiz Martínez soon provided damning testimonies of Verdejo‘s intricate murder plot and attempts to conceal Rodríguez‘s pregnancy.
Closing the Net
Verdejo with defense lawyer seated in court (Credit: ABC News)
Despite evading authorities briefly after Rodríguez‘s body was discovered, Verdejo ultimately turned himself in accompanied by counsel.
On May 3rd 2021 Verdejo faced formal indictment on the following charges:
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First degree murder
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Abduction of a woman resulting in death
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Killing an unborn child
Bail was set at $3 million USD but ultimately denied given the brutal nature of accusations. Verdejo potentially faced death penalty prior to its abolishment in Puerto Rico.
VI. Seeking Justice
Rodríguez’s family chose to forego pushing for capital punishment, instead emphasizing their need for “peace and closure”. To that end, prosecutors focused securing the maximum penalty possible beyond death: life imprisonment without possibility of parole.
Trial Highlights
Evidence
- Phone/GPS Data
- Surveillance Footage
- Co-Conspirator Testimony
- Victim‘s Vehicle & Belongings
Sentence Request
- Life Imprisonment + Decades More Time
Verdict
After 11 hours of tense deliberation, the jury unanimously found Félix Verdejo Sanchez guilty on all charges related to the brutal kidnapping and murder of Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz – including her unborn daughter.
VII. Combating "Feminicides"
Ongoing protests denouncing rampant violence against Puerto Rican women (Credit: NPR)
Beyond serving justice to Keishla Rodríguez’s killer, her case amplified the crisis of machismo “feminicides” across Puerto Rico. By 2021, over 20 women died from gender-based killings in just four months on the island. According to the ACLU, intimate partner violence disproportionately impacts Puerto Rican women regardless of social class or race.
Ongoing demonstrations led by advocacy groups like Colectiva Feminista en Construcción continue pressuring legislators to address root factors enabling domestic abuse incidents rarely investigated thoroughly enough to yield convictions. They also provide vital support services to victims in crisis.
VIII. Verdict Analysis
Legal Experts Weigh In
“By methodically proving premeditation alongside aggravating factors like the victim’s pregnancy, prosecutors rightfully earned a precedent-setting conviction for violent machismo crimes on the island.” – Ada M. González, Women’s Justice Initiative
“All evidence pointed overwhelmingly against Verdejo. He faces dying in prison as he should, but Puerto Rico must channel outrage over this case to implement stronger measures preventing future gender-based violence.” – Virgen Figueroa, PCA Legal Advisors
*_“Considering over half of past domestic violence cases here get dismissed, this outcome proves justice is possible when the political will exists to hold abusers fully accountable.” – Pilar Roldán, ACLU Puerto Rico_**
IX. Who Was Keishla Rodríguez?
Collage photos commemorating who Keishla Rodríguez was before her murder (Credit: BBC)
While the circumstances around Keishla Rodríguez’s death came to dominate headlines, who she was in life bore equal weight for those mourning her loss. Rodríguez‘s mother described her daughter as perpetually smiling – a helpful hand to whoever needed one.
She dreamed of finishing her degree and nurtured hopes of attending law school. As the only girl among four sons, Keishla shared a special closeness with her mother Iris. Even from childhood Rodríguez demonstrated special compassion towards animals.
The same empathy led Rodríguez to rescue abused dogs and nurse them back to health in adulthood. Her own pets meant the world to her. Ultimately Keishla Rodríguez represented the best of Puerto Rico – a young woman devoted to family, education, and posterity. That she only reached 27 years old bears the deepest tragedy given limitless potential left unfulfilled.
X. Lasting Legacy
Nearly two years removed from Keishla Rodríguez‘s passing, her memory holds profound influence across Puerto Rican society. Heartbreak over her death summoned a reckoning around the plague of unprosecuted domestic violence on the island. It also forged her mother Iris into one of the Caribbean‘s most prominent activists lobbying for justice system reforms and resources to protect vulnerable women.
Rodríguez‘s mother Iris now advocates to prevent violence against women (Credit: Metro PR)
Synthesis and Solutions
While the focus settled on prosecuting Félix Verdejo for cruelty few imagined possible from him, Puerto Rico still wrestles with sobering truths regarding cultural and institutional culpability.
Machismo Attitudes that diminish female autonomy persist, particularly across male youth facing low education/employment prospects. Similarly, aggressive policing contrasts sharply with apathy over domestic violence reports that leave most deaths unsolved.
Holistic prevention includes early intervention and family engagement for at-risk men; security and counseling access for abused women and children; plus policy reform prioritizing investigation rigor into violent incidents against women. Grassroots activists and legislators alike maintain pressure to transform rhetoric into lasting change.
With her passing, Keishla Rodríguez forced difficult reflections on the high price of passive complicity. She left behind a young life cruelly interrupted but destined to stir waves of positive impact for women confronting equally harrowing fates. May she and baby Adrian rest in peace as her legacy takes flight through action. Justice arrived to seal her killer‘s fate – now begins the work of building safety for those still living.