A Florida nurse has been arrested and charged with murder in the 2024 death of his coworker, and alleged secret lover, more than 17 months after her body was found on the side of a Palm Beach County road.
Rene J. Perez, 38, a registered nurse from Hialeah, was taken into custody in Miami on March 10, 2026, by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. He is charged with first-degree murder with a deadly weapon and tampering with physical evidence in connection with the death of Linda Campitelli, 35, a registered nurse and mother of two who was found unresponsive outside her vehicle on Lyons Road in Lake Worth on October 28, 2024. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Her death was later ruled a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head and body.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Perez and Campitelli, both married to other people, had been involved in a romantic relationship for approximately two years. Investigators say the two communicated almost daily via WhatsApp, and the night of Campitelli’s death was meant to be a belated birthday celebration.
Surveillance footage captured Campitelli’s Chevrolet Tahoe arriving at a building in Wellington where Perez had previously worked, then leaving around 9:59 p.m. A photo recovered from Campitelli’s phone showed the back of the SUV set up with a “Happy Birthday” blanket and Ultrasorb medical sheets — the same kind used at Delray Medical Center, where Perez was employed at the time. Investigators believe the attack occurred there, at an isolated location.
Campitelli’s Apple Watch was found near the center console with blood on both sides. DNA analysis confirmed the blood at the scene and inside the Tahoe was hers. Perez initially told detectives he had cancelled their meeting that night, but investigators say a review of the WhatsApp messages showed no indication he ever told her the plans were off.
Perez appeared in Palm Beach County court on March 11, 2026, where a judge ordered him held without bond. He faces life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.
Campitelli, a PACU nurse at Wellington Regional Medical Center, was remembered by friends and family as a “completely admirable, beautiful person.” She was described as bold, warm, and devoted to her two young daughters. Her mother, Edina Russo, had publicly pleaded for answers in the months following her daughter’s death.
When news of the arrest broke, Russo told reporters she felt a sense of closure, though the grief remains. She said her granddaughters are being well cared for by their father, and that she wants Linda remembered for her heart and her love for those around her. Campitelli’s family has established a scholarship in her name at the University of Miami, where she earned her degree.
This case is a sobering reminder that workplace relationships, and the dangers that can follow, are not abstract concerns for nurses. Campitelli was a healthcare professional, a colleague, a mother, and a wife. Her case went unsolved for more than a year before investigators pieced together digital evidence, surveillance footage, and forensic data to make an arrest.
The charges against Perez remain allegations. He has not yet entered a plea, and the case will now move through the court system. Investigators are asking anyone with additional information to contact Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County at 1-800-458-TIPS.
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