Over the past few months, Puerto Ricans followed the trial and eventual conviction of former Puerto Rican boxer Félix Verdejo Sánchez in the killing of his intimate partner, Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz, who was pregnant.
Rodríguez Ortiz's horrific femicide in April 2021 stunned the U.S. territory at a time when many Puerto Ricans were already urging officials to reform a government system that they felt had not done enough to address gender violence.
After the weekslong trial, a federal jury found Verdejo Sánchez, 30, guilty of the kidnapping that resulted in the death of Rodríguez Ortiz, 27, and her unborn child. He faces a mandatory life sentence for each conviction. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 3.
"Justice was served for my daughter and my grandson!" Keila Ortiz, Rodríguez Ortiz’s mother, told reporters standing outside the court Friday, following the verdict.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Puerto Rico, Verdejo Sánchez lured Rodríguez Ortiz into his car, punched her, injected her with drugs and tied her with metal wire to a cement block. He then drove to the famous Teodoro Moscoso bridge and threw Rodríguez Ortiz into the San José Lagoon.
Verdejo Sánchez then "jumped into the lagoon in order to finish murdering both victims," the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a press release Friday.
An autopsy determined Rodríguez Ortiz had fentanyl and xylazine, a sedative used for horses and other animals, in her system.
According to a pathologist who testified in the trial, Rodríguez was still alive when she was thrown into the water.
Verdejo Sánchez was helped by his friend Luis Cádiz Martínez, who was also charged in the case.
After pleading guilty and reaching a plea deal with prosecutors last year, Cádiz Martínez served as a crucial witness during Verdejo Sánchez’s trial. He hasn’t yet been sentenced.
Cádiz Martínez testified that Verdejo Sánchez had pressured Rodríguez Ortiz to get an abortion before she was killed.
Rodríguez Ortiz's body was found floating in the lagoon on April 29, 2021, two days after her family reported her missing. Her disappearance marked the first time Puerto Rican authorities activated the “pink alert,” which authorizes the deployment of certain law enforcement resources to find abducted or missing women.
She was wearing the scrubs she used at the pet grooming business where she worked. The images shown at the trial became a symbol used by Rodríguez Ortiz’s family and advocates to seek justice in her murder.
In a social media post shared over the weekend, Rodríguez Ortiz’s sister, Bereliz, sent a message to Verdejo Sánchez.
"On November 3, I need you to tell me what you got out of all this. What did you expect? What was it worth to you? I have so much to tell you,” she said.
Verdejo Sánchez represented Puerto Rico at the 2012 Olympics and later became a professional boxer. He finished his career in the lightweight division with a 27-2 record, with 17 knockouts.
Amid femicides, lawmakers take steps
The verdict has helped bring closure to the family and allowed them to release years of pent-up pain, anger and grief. They are now steadfast advocates against femicide in Puerto Rico.
“Let her be the last,” Ortiz said during her daughter's funeral. “The abuse against women has to stop.”
Since Rodríguez Ortiz’s death in April 2021, at least 153 femicides have been reported on the island, according to data from the civil rights coalition Observatorio de Equidad de Género.
The number of gender-based violent incidents in Puerto Rico has increased over the past few years, Debora Upegui Hernandez, a social researcher and analyst at the Observatorio de Equidad de Género, told NBC News in Spanish.
In 2020, 75 femicides were reported in Puerto Rico, according to the coalition. The following year 58 femicides were recorded, and in 2022 the number jumped to 79. So far this year, 37 femicides have been recorded by the coalition.
But this doesn't mean that nothing has been done curb violence, Upegui Hernandez said.
Shortly after taking office in January 2021, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency due to an increase in cases of gender-related violence on the island. The declaration was instrumental in unlocking $7 million in funding and resources to address the crisis.
A spokesperson for Pierluisi's office did not respond to a request for comment about the results of his executive order.
Upegui Hernandez said it would have been better to create a working group or task force to outline a 5- to 10-year plan to tackle the issue — outlining goals for the short, medium and long term.
The Puerto Rican government has established new protocols to analyze evidence, which allows more violent cases to be investigated as femicides, Upegui Hernandez said.
The government also created its first database in the territory compiling and managing data on gender-based murders of women. So far, it only has data for 2021 and 2022.
In contrast to the Observatorio de Equidad de Género, the government database recorded only 23 femicides in 2021 and 17 the following year.
The government's definition of a femicide is narrower, Upegui Hernandez explained. It focuses only on cases that have been resolved or that can go to trial. "They don't include cases that are still under investigation."
The Observatorio de Equidad de Género counts as femicides all violent deaths of women even indirectly connected to harmful practices resulting from gender-based discrimination.
"We are highlighting the responsibility of the government to have public policies that prevent the deaths of women due to gender reasons," Upegui Hernandez said.
Attention around cases like Rodríguez Ortiz's and others has resulted in more people seeking services and guidance on how to deal with cases of gender-based violence as well as greater support for gender-sensitive education to reform behavior patterns that often lead to violence, Upegui Hernandez said.
"We have a broader view of the consequences of gender violence," Upegui Hernandez said. "There are many ways to cause harm."
