Man accused in 2024 murder of Florida nurse arrested in Miami, deputies say
A man accused of killing a nurse in Palm Beach County in 2024 was arrested in Miami on Tuesday, deputies said.
Rene J. Perez, 38, was charged with first-degree murder with a deadly weapon and tampering with physical evidence in the killing of 35-year-old Linda Campitelli, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.
On Oct. 28, 2024, deputies arrived at the 6100 block of Lyons Road after receiving reports of a woman who was found unresponsive outside of her car.
At the scene, the woman was pronounced dead. She was identified as Campitelli.
As the investigation continued, deputies determined that Campitelli’s death was a homicide.
Almost two years after her death, an arrest warrant was issued for Perez, and he was found in Miami before he was taken back to Palm Beach County.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Perez and Campitelli were involved in a romantic relationship.
In the affidavit, on the night Campitelli died, she and Perez, who were both married to other people, were going to meet for her belated birthday.
The two were messaging each other almost every day, and were involved in the relationship for about two years, the affidavit said.
In one message Campitelli sent Perez the day before she was killed, she wrote: “I LOVE YOU, I FEEL KINDA WEIRD. I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT TOMORROW. YOU’VE NEVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS FOR ME BEFORE AND I FEEL A LITTLE.”
The affidavit said that surveillance video on the night Campitelli died captured her Chevrolet Tahoe arriving at Perez’s previously place of employment, the Retina Group of Florida Building and leaving at around 9:59 p.m.
A photo that was found on Campitelli’s phone showed the back of the car, where Perez put out a “Happy Birthday” blanket and Ultrasorb medical sheets, which were the same kind used at Perez’s previous job, the affidavit said.
During the investigation, Campitelli’s Apple Watch was found near the car’s center console and had blood on both sides, the affidavit said. Through DNA analysis, it was confirmed that it was her blood.
The affidavit said “It appears the victim’s watch was taken off her wrist, after the victim was violently
attacked and injured.”
After her body was found, medical examiners said she suffered from “blunt force trauma to the head and torso,” the affidavit said.
When Perez spoke to detectives, he said he cancelled the meeting between him and Campitelli on the day she died, but a review of the messages between them showed that there wasn’t any indication that he told her he cancelled the meeting, the affidavit said.
During his court appearance on Wednesday, a judge denied Perez’s bond.
