Authorities and court documents claim that a Florida nurse, plagued by illness, lured his former colleague into a deadly encounter disguised as a romantic birthday celebration. The gruesome incident involved the brutal beating of his married ex-coworker.
Rene Perez, aged 38, was apprehended in Miami on Tuesday, more than a year after allegedly killing Linda Campitelli, a married mother. The attack, which occurred in October 2024, left Campitelli with severe skull and rib fractures, as reported by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
Perez now faces charges including first-degree murder, the use of a deadly weapon, and evidence tampering, following this violent assault, say officials.
The ill-fated meeting took place on October 28, 2024, under the pretense of celebrating Campitelli’s birthday. Both Perez and Campitelli were married and engaged in a two-year affair after crossing paths at the Wellington Regional Medical Center, according to a detailed 25-page arrest document reviewed by The Post.
A day prior to their intended meeting, Campitelli expressed apprehension via WhatsApp, admitting to Perez that she felt “a little nervous” about their plans.
“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,” Campitelli conveyed in her message, as noted in the court records.
Perez responded, telling Campitelli he was trying to show his romantic side.
‘LOL, IT’S NO BIG DEAL. JUST TRYING TO SHOW U THAT I CAN BE ROMANTIC. IT PROBABLY WONT BE AS GOOD AS WHAT YOUVE DONE FOR ME,” he wrote.
Campitelli left her home that night in a red dress and black heels, telling her husband, John, that she was dining out with her friends, according to the affidavit.
Authorities determined that her Chevy Tahoe later arrived at the Retina Group of Florida Building in Wellington, where Perez previously worked.
In preparation, Perez had laid down a blanket that said “HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOPE YOUR BIRTHDAY IS OUT OF THIS WORLD,” as well as medical sheets used to control odor and moisture in the back of the Tahoe with the rear seats laid flat, court papers said.
At around 10:20 p.m., Campitelli’s mangled body was discovered by police 50 feet away from the car — after several 911 callers reported seeing an unresponsive woman.
She suffered blunt force trauma to her head and torso, four lacerations to her scalp and a fatal accumulation of blood in her skull, according to court papers.
Large pools of blood trailed away from the passenger side of the Chevy to Campitelli’s limp body. Postmortem marks, drag and scuff marks and severe road rash indicated that she had possibly been dragged.
Blood stains on the Tahoe’s rear driver’s side door handle showed someone had attempted to wipe blood away and Campitelli’s blood-soaked Apple Watch was found in the center console, court documents revealed.
Later that evening, Perez was seen on surveillance cameras walking toward his workplace at the time, Delray Medical Center — and tossing something unknown into the trash.
Perez claimed to cops he canceled his secret celebration with Campitelli because his son was sick, though text messages refuted his bogus alibi.
Detectives interviewed “countless” witnesses, wrote more than 50 search warrants, and analyzed “hundreds and hundreds” of cell phone data to arrest Perez for the crime nearly two years later, Capt. Michael Ott with the Violent Crimes Division detailed at a press conference, according to WPTV.
The disgraced nurse was ordered held without bond during his appearance in court Wednesday. He remains behind bars at the Palm Beach County Jail.
