WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — Rene Perez pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a grand jury indictment charging him with first-degree murder in the 2024 killing of Palm Beach County nurse Linda Campitelli, as prosecutors confirmed they will not seek the death penalty in the case.
Perez was indicted April 2 on one count of first-degree murder, a capital felony, in connection with Campitelli’s death. The indictment alleges Perez, on or about Oct. 28, 2024, killed Campitelli “from a premeditated design” by inflicting blunt-force trauma to her head and torso. Last week, the State Attorney’s Office filed formal notice that it is not seeking the death penalty.
The case stems from a homicide investigation that began the night Campitelli was found unresponsive near her Chevrolet Tahoe along Lyons Road in suburban Lake Worth. Campitelli, 35, was pronounced dead at the scene, and the medical examiner later ruled her death a homicide caused by blunt-force trauma to the head and torso…