.A woman was detained in relation to the shooting David Ortiz
Steve DelVecchio, March 22, 2024
In relation to the incident that nearly five years ago seriously injured Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz, a woman
was taken into custody this week.
The 25-year-old Venezuelan national MarÃa Fernanda Villasmil Manzanilla was brought into custody by Interpol
agents in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic National Police stated on Wednesday. Manzanilla was allegedly
spotted with other suspects connected to the attack on the evening of the June 2019 shooting, according to the
prosecution.
According to the Boston Globe, Manzanilla was freed from detention and is not facing any charges. It took some time
for information about her arrest to become accessible.
On June 9, 2019, Ortiz was shot when he was inside a bar in Santo Domingo. He spent several days in the hospital
after suffering severe injuries. There were several accounts of the occurrence, each with contradicting information.
Eventually, Ortiz recruited former Boston police commissioner Ed Davis as a private investigator and discovered that
the former slugger was the target of a bounty placed by a local drug kingpin, who wanted him dead.
Born in Santo Domingo, Ortiz—fondly referred to as “Big Papi” by baseball fans—signed his first professional
contract in 1992. In addition to owning a club in his home nation, he obtained U.S. citizenship in 2008. The 43-year-
old is a three-time World Series champion, a 10-time All-Star, a former MVP of the World Series.
