Woman arrested in connection with 2019 shooting of Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz

Dominican Republic Police say a Venezuelan woman has been arrested in connection with the 2019 shooting of Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz.

On Wednesday, the Dominican Republic National Police said 25-year-old María Fernanda Villasmil Manzanilla of Venezuela had been arrested by Interpol. Officials said Manzanilla was actively being pursued with a red notification for being linked to the shooting incident.

It was not immediately clear what charges she is facing.

The Hall of Famer and Dominican native, known as Big Papi, was shot in the back at close range while he was at a bar with friends in a well-off neighborhood of Santo Domingo on June 9, 2019. The wounds were so serious, Ortiz had to be flown to Mass General Hospital in Boston for treatment.

The findings by former Boston police commissioner Edward Davis contradicted a previous theory by law enforcement in the Dominican Republic that the hitman was actually hired to shoot Ortiz’s cousin Sixto David Fernandez, who was sitting at the same table.

Dominican authorities said the hitmen confused Fernandez with Ortiz, one of the country’s most beloved ballplayers.

American private investigators hired by Ortiz said that the famous slugger was targeted by a Dominican drug trafficker who was jealous of him.

When asked in 2019 why Big Papi thought this happened to him, Ortiz answered “That was a question I asked myself. I’m a good person, I’m a friendly guy. I want to make sure people around me are taken care of.”

“I have a lot of things going on down there, I hardly have enough time to you know do my things, so it was very surprising for me that a situation like this happened because I’m a guy who always, you know, my family, my friends when I’m down there,” said Ortiz in 2019. “I always make sure everyone is good and taken care of and you know, situations like this happen you kind of, you know, puts you on the spot, gets you thinking I mean it’s just, I was about to come back to my house the very next day. I only went for about ten days and uhh, a sitch like this, you are like whoa, but I got to say it has been a game-changer. And now you start thinking different.”

In December 2022, a Dominican court convicted 10 people involved in the shooting of Ortiz. Among the crimes for which the 10 men were sentenced were criminal organization, use of illegal firearms, attempted murder, and complicity, the court wrote in a statement.

Two men, including the alleged shooter Rolfi Ferreyra Cruz, were each sentenced to 30 years in prison by Santo Domingo’s First Collegiate Court. Eight others received prison sentences of between 5 and 20 years. Three other defendants were acquitted due to insufficient evidence, including Víctor Hugo Gómez Vásquez, who was accused of planning the attack.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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