Bond denied to Puerto Rico woman accused of hiring hit man to kill Canadian husband

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A federal judge on Thursday denied bond to a Puerto Rican woman accused of offering a hit man $3 million to kill her wealthy Canadian husband.

Aurea Vazquez Rijos pleaded not guilty and was ordered to remain in jail until her trial, which is scheduled to start Oct. 27.

Vazquez arrived in Puerto Rico in late September after a court in Spain ordered her extradition. Attending Thursday’s hearing was Vazquez’s mother, who was given custody of her daughter’s baby, who was born in Spain.

A U.S. grand jury charged Vazquez in June 2008 following the death of real estate developer Adam Anhang, who had an estimated net worth of $24 million. He was beaten and stabbed to death in September 2005 in the historic district of Puerto Rico’s capital after he and Vazquez met to discuss their pending divorce.

Vazquez refused to co-operate with police and filed a civil lawsuit against Anhang’s family after his death seeking $1 million in damages and millions more from his estate. A judge dismissed the suit.

Vazquez later vanished and reappeared in Spain, where she was arrested in June 2013.