LANTANA, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — More than a year after Linda Campitelli was found dead beside her SUV on the shoulder of Lyons Road in central Palm Beach County, detectives have made an arrest in the case and filed a first-degree murder charge.
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office investigators say Rene J. Perez, 38, was taken into custody in Miami on March 10 and booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on charges of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon and tampering with physical evidence. Campitelli’s death had initially been investigated as an active death case after deputies were sent to the 6100 block of Lyons Road late on Oct. 28, 2024, for a welfare check involving an unresponsive woman found outside a vehicle on the southbound shoulder.
Campitelli was pronounced dead at the scene that night. The Sheriff’s Office has since said her injuries were determined to be consistent with homicide.
According to the arrest affidavit, road patrol deputies were dispatched at 10:18 p.m. after 911 callers reported an unknown woman lying face down in the roadway and bleeding from the mouth. Homicide detectives later identified her as Linda Campitelli after tracing the nearby white 2017 Chevrolet Tahoe to her household and comparing the victim to her driver’s license photo.
Investigators wrote that the scene showed far more than a medical emergency or crash. Detectives documented heavy blood evidence near the SUV, injuries to Campitelli’s head and body, and signs she had been dragged away from the vehicle. The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled the death a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head and torso.
The affidavit says detectives learned Campitelli had been involved in a long-term extramarital relationship with Perez, who was working at Delray Medical Center at the time. Investigators said messages recovered from Campitelli’s phone showed the two planned to meet on the night she was killed. “They regularly discussed having sex, meeting for lunch, and
how much they loved each other.”, detectives say.
Detectives also wrote that forensic evidence, surveillance footage, vehicle data and phone records placed Campitelli and a phone they tied to Perez in the same area near 1397 Medical Park Boulevard in Wellington before both devices and Campitelli’s SUV traveled south toward Lyons Road.
The affidavit further alleges Perez lied to detectives about his movements that night. Investigators wrote that Perez claimed he stayed at Delray Medical Center until after 11 p.m., but surveillance footage showed him leaving the property hours earlier and later returning. Detectives also said Perez admitted he routinely left his primary phone at work when meeting Campitelli so his movements would not be tracked through the Life360 app he shared with his wife.
Detectives later identified what they described as a prepaid phone connected to Perez and said its location data tracked with Campitelli’s phone and SUV on the night of the killing, including near the Lyons Road location where her body was found. The affidavit also says detectives concluded Perez replaced his primary phone in November 2024 and deleted or failed to transfer thousands of WhatsApp messages involving Campitelli.
Court records show Perez’s felony case was filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court under case number 50-2026-CF-001759-AXXX-MB. The docket lists charges of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon and tampering with physical evidence. Records also show Perez appeared in custody for first appearance on March 11, with future court dates set in April.
PBSO said the homicide investigation remains active. Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-TIPS or submit an anonymous tip through the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office app using the “See Something” feature.
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