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Left: Rene Perez (Palm Beach County Jail). Right: Linda Campitelli (Palms West Funeral Home).
In a shocking and tragic incident in Florida, a 38-year-old man is accused of murdering his mistress during what was meant to be a birthday celebration. Rene Perez has been charged with first-degree murder and evidence tampering after allegedly killing 35-year-old Linda Campitelli and dragging her with her own Chevrolet Tahoe before abandoning her body on the road.
The grim discovery was made by deputies in Palm Beach County, who found Campitelli’s body at approximately 11:15 p.m. on October 28, 2024. She was lying in a pool of blood near her vehicle. According to the arrest affidavit, Campitelli suffered severe injuries, including a significant laceration to her head, bruising around her right eye, and abrasions consistent with being dragged along the roadway.
An autopsy revealed that Campitelli died from blunt force trauma to both her head and torso. Disturbingly, the back of her heels was described as severely worn down and distorted, suggesting she had been forcefully dragged across the pavement, said the police report.
Authorities visited Campitelli’s residence and spoke with her husband, who believed she was spending the evening with friends. However, further investigation revealed that she was involved in an extramarital affair with Perez, a former colleague. Friends of Campitelli confirmed the relationship, shedding light on the tragic turn of events.
Deputies went to Campitelli’s home and spoke with her husband, who said his wife was supposed to go out with friends on the night in question. But detectives spoke with her friends, who said Campitelli was having an extramarital affair with Perez, a former co-worker.
Investigators uncovered WhatsApp messages between the two showing they were going to meet up to celebrate her birthday.
“I love you,” Campitelli wrote to Perez the day before her death. “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.”
Perez responded that there was nothing to worry about and he was trying to show that “I can be romantic,” the affidavit states. They agreed to meet at 7:30 p.m. the following day.
Cops also recovered a photo from the victim’s phone showing all the back seats down in her Tahoe with a blanket or table cover that said “Happy Birthday Hope your birthday is out of this world” affixed to the ceiling. The photo also depicted the back seats covered with hospital bed sheets, cops noted. Data from Campitelli’s phone placed her in a dimly lit parking lot outside a medical facility that had little foot traffic.
While processing the Tahoe, cops said they discovered blood spatter throughout. Blood had “permeated” through the speakers on the rear side of the vehicle, which indicated someone was “bleeding profusely” during transport, police said. Authorities believe the road rash injuries occurred after Campitelli died.
Detectives spoke with Perez, who admitted he and Campitelli had been having an extramarital affair for about two years, according to the complaint. He said they had planned to meet that night, but he claimed he sent her a message saying he had to cancel because his son was sick. But cops found no such message, the affidavit said.
Perez also allegedly told cops that he left work about 11 p.m. that night. Surveillance video from his work contradicted his account, police said. It depicted him leaving the building where he worked as a nurse around 6:30 p.m. and driving away in his Honda Accord. He returned to the office building shortly before midnight. Perez left the building roughly 10 minutes later and drove home, according to the affidavit.
The defendant allegedly told cops he would typically leave his phone at the office when he was supposed to meet with Campitelli because he shared a Life360 app with his wife. He carried a second phone to communicate with Campitelli, the affidavit said. However, detectives could not recover any messages with Campitelli, suggesting he deleted them. Perez also told detectives he lost his primary phone, but video from an AT&T store showed him holding it while buying a new one, proving he lied, according to the affidavit.
Investigators also believe he ditched the pair of shoes he wore on the night of the slaying, cops said.
Detectives said they placed Perez’s Honda near the medical center parking lot, where he and Campitelli had their rendezvous in her Tahoe. The 26-page affidavit does not include a possible motive for the slaying.
Perez was arrested on Tuesday and taken to the Palm Beach County Jail, where he remains without bond. His next court date is set for April 9.
According to her obituary, Campitelli grew up in Miami and later became a nurse. The victim married her husband in 2016 and they had two daughters together.
“She was smart as a whip and had a near-photographic memory,” the obituary said. “She was always up for an adventure and didn’t want to miss out on anything, her calendar filled with fun family outings, date nights, and time with friends.”