A Professional Boxer Staged His Own Death After Discovering His Wife Had Hired A Hitman
Ramon Sosa was living the American Dream in Houston, TX, coming to this country from Puerto Rico and using his boxing talent to make a name for himself. After opening successful gyms and earning a reputation for his boxing style, the divorced Ramon Sosa met Maria de Lourdes Dorantes - Lulu for short - at a club in 2007. The pair seemed perfect for each other, both working to maintain the boxing gyms that allowed them to live a financially secure life.
Of course, there were cracks in the relationship, including Lulu's involvement in estranging Ramon from his children, but not until a few years into their marriage did things began to fall apart. Dorantes started accusing Sosa of domestic violence and filed for divorce in 2015. However, things got even worse when a gym regular overheard Lulu discussing the hiring of a hitman to take out Sosa permanently and hand her the keys to his lucrative gym empire.
Ramon Sosa Met Lulu Dorantes While Salsa Dancing
Ramon Sosa earned the nickname the Puerto Rican Express during his time boxing in his native country. As a child, his father taught him how to box. From the age of 17, Sosa had a successful career in boxing until he decided to hang up the gloves and set his sights on helping young fighters live their dreams.
He moved to Houston, got married, and had children. Unfortunately, that marriage ended in divorce. He then met his second wife, Maria de Lourdes "Lulu" Dorantes. The pair were at a salsa club in 2007 when Dorantes stepped on his foot, and their whirlwind romance began.
According to friends, the couple was outwardly perfect, with Dorantes sliding easily into managing the Houston gyms Sosa owned and doting on her new beau.
Dorantes’s Mother Tried To Warn Sosa About Dorantes At The Wedding
In Sosa and Dorantes's home, their relationship was not as perfect as friends thought. Dorantes, who had immigrated to America from Mexico with her two children, wasn't very keen on becoming a stepmother to Sosa's three children. According to his daughter Mia, Dorantes ignored her and her siblings.
In fact, Sosa's children did not attend the couple's March 15, 2009, wedding. The wedge driven between them by their father choosing Dorantes over them was too much to overcome at the time. There were more red flags at the ceremony, as Sosa claims his new mother-in-law told him, "Now she's your trouble."
When Money Went Missing From The Gym, Sosa Suspected Dorantes
Sosa and Dorantes settled into married life, pulling in $18,000 to $20,000 a month from the two gyms they now owned together in Houston. Dorantes immediately began running things at the gyms while Sosa focused on training young fighters in his Puerto Rican boxing style.
After Sosa sponsored and assisted Dorantes and her two children in getting their American citizenship, things started to go downhill. Dorantes began acting differently, and Sosa noticed someone was skimming money from their gyms.
Sosa soon discovered the money was going into Dorantes's pockets for a divorce attorney.
Dorantes Filed For Divorce In 2015
Prior to hiring divorce attorney Julio Joglar in March 2015, Dorantes began sowing seeds of marital abuse with her friends and even with Sosa's business partners. She told their friends Natalia Flores and Beth Blair that she was doing all of the work at home and in their gyms while Sosa lazed away at home.
Dorantes also claimed Sosa was abusing her and forcing her into sexual intercourse through violence. She told this to Mr. Joglar and supplied photos purporting to show scratches and bruises Sosa had allegedly given her during altercations.
Strangely, through all of the allegations of abuse and the filing for divorce, Dorantes and Sosa remained in their home together, living on different floors. Sosa also denied all accusations of abuse, admitting only to punching a hole in a wall during one of their arguments.
Sosa’s Friend Mundo Overheard Dorantes Discussing Hiring A Hitman And Volunteered To Help
Mundo lived a rough life as a gang member before meeting Sosa in one of his Houston gyms and becoming his close friend. In June 2015, Mundo was at the gym when he overheard Dorantes speaking with her daughter about a gym client who supposedly had deadly connections.
Mundo then heard Dorantes mention Sosa's name and decided to investigate. He spoke with Dorantes the next day, and she alleged abuse from Sosa and reiterated her desire to have the divorce over and done with through any means - even violent ones.
Mundo decided to make up two gang members, Paco and John Boy, and tell Dorantes he could arrange the hit on Sosa for her. In reality, he immediately alerted his friend Sosa to the threat on his life.
After Going To The Police, Sosa Pretended To Be The Hitman Over Text
Sosa and Mundo went to the police immediately with their evidence but were told they needed more incriminating facts to arrest Dorantes. The two men purchased burner phones so Mundo could communicate with hitman "Paco," who was actually Sosa.
Mundo contacted Paco/Sosa and relayed Dorantes's offer via text: "y'all guys take a truck and 1g after job done? 07 white single cab 20 inch rims Si o No?" Mundo showed Dorantes all of the texts between himself and the fictional Paco to keep Dorantes from looking for a hitman elsewhere. Mundo also recorded all of his conversations with Dorantes for the police.