A sick Florida nurse brutally beat his married ex-coworker to death after luring her to meetup with him so the two lovers could be “romantic” for her birthday, authorities and court records allege.

Rene Perez, 38, was arrested in Miami Tuesday nearly a year and a half after allegedly pummeling married mom Linda Campitelli — she sustained gruesome skull and rib fractures before being killed — in October 2024, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
Mugshot of Rene J. Perez, the suspect in the murder of Linda Campitelli.Rene Perez, 38, was arrested in Miami on Tuesday for allegedly killing his former co-worker, Linda Campitelli, in October 2024.Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
A woman in a floral dress and heels sitting by the water with boats in the background.Campitelli’s mangled body was discovered by police 50 feet away from the car around 10:20 p.m. after several 911 callers reported seeing a woman unresponsive.Palms West Funeral Home & Crematory Inc.
Perez was booked on first-degree murder, deadly weapon and tampering with evidence charges for the violent beatdown, according to authorities.

The two lovers met on Oct. 28, 2024 to celebrate Campitelli’s birthday. The pair were both married at the time and had been having an affair for roughly two years after meeting at the Wellington Regional Medical Center, where they both worked, according to a 25-page arrest affidavit obtained by The Post.

The day before the alleged rendezvous, Campitelli messaged Perez on WhatsApp that she was feeling “a little nervous” about their planned get together.

“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 wrote, according to court papers.

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.