Spread on Backseat

Linda Campitelli’s body was found with severe bruises a few feet from a car where she seemingly had a birthday celebration

Rene J. Perez; and Linda Campitelli.Credit : Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office; Linda Campitelli/Facebook

NEED TO KNOW

Linda Campitelli was found dead on a Florida road near her husband’s car after what appeared to be a birthday setup in the backseat
Authorities arrested Rene J. Perez, who was allegedly having an affair with Campitelli, and charged him with murder
Texts and photos suggest Perez planned a romantic birthday celebration for Campitelli before her death

The Florida nurse who was found brutally slain on the side of a road in 2024 was seemingly celebrating her birthday in the backseat of a car with her lover, who is now a suspect in her killing.

Linda Campitelli, 35, was found by authorities responding to a report of a woman lying unresponsive on a road in Lantana, Fla., late in the evening on Oct. 28, 2024, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.

More than a year later, authorities have arrested Rene J. Perez, 38, who has been identified by Campitelli’s friends as a man with whom she was having an affair, according to a statement from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and the affidavit.

Campitelli was pronounced dead at the scene by responding officers after authorities received several 911 calls about a woman lying with her face to the ground and “bleeding profusely” from her mouth, per the affidavit.

She was found a few feet away from a car that belonged to her husband, who was awakened by police when they went to notify him.

Campitelli’s phone records retrieved by police show regular communication between her and a phone number associated with Perez; the messages included intimate photographs.

Photos recovered from her phone show the backseat of her car with medical sheets spread across it and a table cover or blanket reading: “HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOPE YOUR BIRTHDAY IS OUT OF THIS WORLD,” per the affidavit.

Linda Campitelli.Linda Campitelli/Facebook

According to her obituary, Campitelli had just turned 35 years old two weeks earlier.

Text exchanges between the two phone numbers leading up to the apparent birthday celebration show she was nervous about their upcoming date.

In one exchange, she wrote, in all caps, “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.”

To this, the response from the phone number belonging to Perez allegedly read: “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.”

Campitelli’s body was found with a severe gash to her head and “significant swelling and bruising around her right eye, and there were what appeared to be drag or scuff marks,” investigators alleged in the affidavit.

Rene J. Perez.Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office

In her obituary, her family said she was a nurse who “doted on her husband and girls,” and was looking forward to starting a new job.

Authorities charged Perez based on evidence they allege was inconsistent with statements he made to them, one of which was that he had cancelled his plans with Campitelli that evening, the affidavit stated.

A possible motive was not immediately clear. Perez has been charged with first-degree murder with a deadly weapon and tampering with physical evidence, according to online court records reviewed by PEOPLE.

The records did not show plea information. PEOPLE has reached out to his lawyer listed in court filings.