Chilling new details emerged in the case of married Florida nurse, Linda Campitelli, who met her secret lover for a birthday rendezvous and turned up lifeless near her husband’s car.
It took about a year and a half for cops to arrest the secret lover and charge him for allegedly carrying out the gruesome homicide.
“What kind of human does that? Animals don’t even do that,” the victim’s mother said after the case took a new turn.
Highlights
- The case of Linda Campitelli’s homicide took a massive turn this month.
- The married nurse was found lifeless near her husband’s vehicle in October, 2024.
- Her coworker, whom she was believed to have had an affair with, was arrested and charged this on March 10.
- “What kind of human does that? Animals don’t even do that,” the victim’s mother said.
Chilling new details have emerged in the case of the slain Florida nurse
Image credits: Linda Campitelli
Trigger warning: This article contains graphic details that may be distressing to some.
Rene Perez was arrested on Tuesday, March 10, on charges of first-degree m*rder with a de*dly weapon and tampering with physical evidence.
He was taken into custody in relation to the discovery of Linda Campitelli’s body in Miami on October 28, 2024.
“I LOVE YOU SO MUCH,” was one of the last text messages Rene sent to Linda before her bludgeoned and bloodied body was found.
Image credits: Linda Campitelli
Linda was found unresponsive about 50 feet away from her husband Jon Campitelli’s car on her birthday night.
The couple tied the knot in 2016 and shared two daughters, aged below 10 at the time of their mother's passing.
Linda's mother, Edina Russo, said the couple had been having marital troubles for a while. But the husband “adored” their two daughters and was committed to going for marriage counseling to work on their relationship.
Rene Perez was arrested and charged with first-degree m*rder with a de*dly weapon and tampering with physical evidence
Image credits: CBS 12 News
“My daughter was a difficult person to get along with, but her husband adored her,” Edina told the Daily Mail.
The mother said she had no idea her daughter was having an affair at the time of her passing.
“What she did was awful,” she added. “But my daughter didn’t k*ll anyone.”
Image credits: Linda Campitelli
A couple of Linda’s closest friends told investigators that she was possibly having an affair with Rene for about two years before her body was found.
Linda and Rene both worked at the Wellington Regional Medical Center, and the arrested man was married to someone else when the affair began.
The two of them frequently expressed affection over texts, and Linda sometimes showed frustration over Rene having to divide his time between her and his wife.
Their intimate chats included explicit photos as well.
Linda’s closest friends said she was possibly having an affair with Rene for about two years
Image credits: Linda Campitelli
The 35-year-old victim had messaged Rene on October 27, 2024, the day before her birthday, and said she was “nervous” about the celebration he had planned for her.
“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 NERVOUS," she texted the suspect on the eve of her passing.
Rene responded, saying, “JUST TRYING TO SHOW U THAT I CAN BE ROMANTIC. IT PROBABLY WON'T BE AS GOOD AS WHAT YOU'VE DONE FOR ME.”
Linda then replied to confirm that they were meeting at 7:30 p.m. the following day. She also asked him if he was “100% SURE THIS IS OK.”
“YES, MA'AM. U GOT IT,” he replied. “I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.”
Image credits: Linda Campitelli
As per Jon’s account, his wife told him she was meeting friends for dinner and left their home between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. on October 28, 2024.
He stayed at home in the meantime, as per his cell phone records.
Later in the night, Linda’s bludgeoned body was found 50 feet away from Jon’s Chevy Tahoe SUV.
Multiple 911 calls were made by passersby, reporting an “unknown white female” who was “completely unresponsive.”
She was “bleeding profusely from the mouth" and "lying completely face down,” one caller said.
“I FEEL A LITTLE NERVOUS,” the victim texted the suspect the day before the tragedy
Image credits: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office
First responders arrived at the scene between 10:18 p.m. and 10:21 p.m., and by 10:26 p.m., the nurse was pronounced deceased.
Edina claimed her slain daughter was “beat to de*th with a tire iron.”
Investigators found blunt force trauma on her head and torso, in addition to four lacerations to her scalp and an accumulation of blood in her skull.
Image credits: Linda Campitelli
It is believed Rene had turned Jon’s Chevy Tahoe SUV into a love den for the birthday girl.
A picture on Linda’s phone showed the back of the car with the seats down and a blanket or tablecloth that said, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOPE YOUR BIRTHDAY IS OUT OF THIS WORLD.”
There were also Ultrasorbs Medical Sheets laid out on top of the cover, which were removed from the vehicle before first responders arrived at the scene.
The same brand of medical sheets was found later at Rene’s home.
Blood spatters in the car that were “indicative of a struggle or violent episode”
Investigators confirmed that there were blood spatters in the car that were “indicative of a struggle or violent episode.”
Additionally, they also found evidence of someone “being severely injured and transported” in the Chevy.
Following his March 10 arrest, Rene was taken to the Palm Beach County Jail. He is scheduled to return to court on April 9.
“Someone was going to tell a spouse about the affair,” one speculated online
