BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A 43-year-old man was sentenced to 50 years in prison for the 2021 murder of his fiancée in Brevard County, according to a news release.

Officials said that Philip M. Keller pleaded guilty Feb. 3 to second-degree murder, grand theft, fraudulent use of a credit card and tampering with evidence.

Deputies said Keller shot and killed Alicia Campitelli, his 35-year-old partner and a popular Brevard County piercer.

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Campitelli worked as a piercer at DaVinci Tattoo and Body Piercing at the Merritt Square Mall.

Keller was arrested toward the end of May 2021, a few days after Campitelli was found dead in an apartment near Woody Simpson Park in Merritt Island. Court documents released after his arrest showed he jumped into Sykes Creek to avoid authorities attempting to arrest him.

He told deputies he and Campitelli were arguing about his drug use and he got her gun from their bedroom and loaded three bullets into the magazine, according to a report. He hid the gun in a closet but later retrieved the firearm and shot at Campitelli, according to an arrest affidavit.

Keller called 911 the following day and told dispatchers he had just arrived home to find it “robbed” and that his fiancée had been shot in the head, officials said.

Later, Keller confessed to sheriff’s investigators that he shot Campitelli in the home they shared on Merritt Island during an argument over his drug use, according to the release.

Under the plea agreement, Keller must serve at least 25 years before he becomes eligible for time off for good behavior or consideration for parole.

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