In a deal approved Monday, Merritt Island piercing artist Alicia “Red” Campitelli’s former boyfriend pled guilty to her murder and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Campitelli’s family and friends were in tears Monday as Phillip Keller was sentenced at the Moore Justice Center in Viera. Her parents and siblings spoke about her generous spirit and the love of people before she was killed in May of 2021.
Under the deal approved by Judge Curt Jacobus Monday morning, Keller will be ineligible for parole or time off for good behavior until he has served at at least 25.
Police reports showed that Keller, a professional MMA fighter who competed for Titan FC in 2019 and 2020, himself called 911 to report Campitelli’s death several hours after she was shot. Records also showed that Keller made several transactions with Campitelli’s debit card, withdrawing hundreds of dollars.
Sheriff’s deputies found Campitelli with multiple gunshot wounds at her and Keller’s shared apartment on School House Street and later charged Keller with first-degree premeditated murder. Monday’s plea deal reduced his charge to second-degree murder. At the time of her death, friends and family of Campitelli hosted a large candlelight vigil and started the hashtag campaign #JusticeForRed on social media to raise awareness and apply pressure to investigators to make an arrest before Keller was ultimately charged.
The same love that drove that campaign for justice brought Campitelli’s family members to the courtroom Monday as they spoke with a photo of her on the witness stand as a reminder of the life that was taken from them. Campitelli worked as a piercer with DaVinci Tattoo and Body Piercing, a well-known tattoo parlor with a location inside the Merritt Square Mall.
Campitelli’s mother, Debra Moore, said that the fabric of the family fundamentally changed when Alicia died and that the trauma inflicted by her loss was an ongoing challenge.
“Our hearts are so broken every day,” Moore said at Monday’s sentencing. “We still hear her laugh at our family gatherings. It was not just the end of her life. It was the end of our family’s life.”
Phillip Keller, Jr. was sentenced on Monday by Judge Curt Jacobus for the murder of Alicia Campitelli.
Phil Campitelli, her father, said Alicia had always been good to others and lived her life by the golden rule. He and other family members praised Alicia for her sobriety, a personal victory she was open about in hopes of inspiring others to get clean as well. He had harsh words for Keller, who he said should get the death penalty for his crime. “Keller has no remorse,” Phil Campitelli said. “My daughter is dead because she tried to help Keller from himself.”
Throughout the plea hearing, Keller could be seen wiping his eyes and expressing grief. Keller’s attorney Mario Pirolo said that Keller’s drug addiction played a role in his actions despite not giving him an excuse or justifying what he had done. Alana May Marshall-Campitelli, Alicia’s twin sister, said that the trauma of having her sister taken from her so violently was often unbearable. “I can still hear her cries. I can feel her terror. Keller did not just end one life but he destroyed so many others as well,” she said.
This story was originally published by Florida Today, part of the USA TODAY Network.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: MMA fighter Phillip Keller sentenced to 50 years for 2021 murder of fiancée
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