More than two decades after the killing of Canadian businessman Adam Anhang in Old San Juan in September 2005, both of his widow’s federal case are moving again in the US District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Vázquez Rijos, through her newly appointed lawyer Melanie Carrillo Jiménez, filed a two-page motion on October 23 asking to examine and copy restricted and sealed case materials, including the sealed transcript of the first day of trial, the sealed transcript of a bench conference, and the indicative resolution, so she can prepare a possible motion under Section 2255 of Title 28 of the US Code.
Judge María Antongiorgi Jordán granted the request, which states the defense does not seek to unseal the documents. Separately, José Ferrer Sosa filed a 25-page motion on October 25 to void his sentence, opening an independent civil case. His lawyer José R. Olmo Rodríguez argues Ferrer received deficient legal representation in four ways: trial counsel failed to object to the district court’s assessment of the credibility of key prosecution witness Alex Pabón, known as 'Alex El Loco'; appellate counsel failed to raise that failure as plain error; trial counsel did not seek to admit prior testimony from an unavailable witness about the killing that would have contradicted Alex El Loco; and appellate counsel did not timely appeal the denial of a new trial based on Brady and Giglio claims about undisclosed medical evidence.
In 2019, Judge Daniel Domínguez imposed two life sentences on Vázquez Rijos, one on her sister and one on Ferrer Sosa; the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston affirmed.