MMA Fighter Sentenced for Fiancée’s Murder Over Drug Use, Then Stealing Her Money to Buy More: Cops

More than three years after his confession in front of police, a former professional MMA fighter has been sentenced in the shooting death of his 35-year-old fiancée, Alicia Campitelli, in Brevard County, Florida.

Phillip Keller, who was 39 at the time of her death, allegedly first lied to police about how Campitelli died before fleeing. He was arrested on May 20, 2021 after he tried to jump into a creek to avoid capture, per CBS affiliate WKMG.

After his arrest, according to court documents seen by WKMG at the time, Killer reportedly confessed to the the murder. He was hit with a first-degree murder charge, but would ultimately accept a plea deal for a lesser second-degree charge.

At the time of Campitelli’s death, Keller was a professional MMA fighter with a record of 2-6, per Florida Today, with his most recent competitions occurring for Titan FC from August 2019 to September 2020.

On Monday, Keller was sentenced to 50 years for the death of the popular local piercing artist known as “Red” on Merritt Island, per Law & Crime.

Police were called to the apartment shared by Campitelli and Keller on Saturday, May 15, 2021, where they found the body of Campitelli, dead from a gunshot wound. There was also evidence of a robbery, which is what Keller originally reported, per court documents.

“I need help immediately, it looks like she’s dead,” Keller said on the 911 call, according to WKMG. “Oh my god. It looks like she’s been shot and been robbed, my house has been robbed.” He then disconnected the line.

After he was picked up later that week, Keller reportedly told police he’d not been home since midnight the night before the shooting, according to the arrest affidavit, but that’s not what happened at all.

Under questioning by detectives, Keller reportedly confessed to killing his fiancée himself, revealing what really went down that night.

Keller explained to police that he and Campitelli had been arguing about his drug use on Friday night, per WKMG. As noted in the affidavit, Keller said that during the fight he grabbed Campitelli’s gun and loaded three bullets into its magazine before hiding it in another closet.

After continuing their argument in the kitchen, per the court filing, Keller said he went back to the closet for the gun. Campitelli reportedly followed him, so he initially hid the gun from her after retrieving it. Keeping the gun behind a towel when he first fired, Keller said that Campitelli immediately ducked and crawled behind a couch.

He missed with the first shot, according to the suspect’s statement, reporting that he hard Campitelli scream, “Oh god, no!” He then fired two more times, per the affidavit, striking her. Keller confessed to then stealing her car and debit card to make several ATM withdrawals totaling $1,481.50 so he could buy more drugs.

Even had he not confessed to detectives, they’d have been able to quickly get to the truth as Keller had already admitted to what happened on “audio-recorded control calls” made by a friend in coordination with the investigation on the day of his arrest.

The friend previously told police Keller had contacted them and shared information about the alleged shooting, per Florida Today, leading them to reach out to set up the recorded line in hopes of getting a recording of him confessing.

“I killed her bro, I killed her high as [expletive],” Keller said on the call shared by WKMG. “I did it. I don’t know how I did it, but I can’t live with myself knowing that. I’m a piece of s–t. I was super high on Molly.” The street drug is also known as ecstasy and MDMA

According to court records, Keller later said on the call, “I shot her the first time and missed through a towel, and she ducked her head, and I shot her twice in the back of the head in cold blood. I did it, I’m so f–king sorry, man.”

As part of his police confession, Keller shared with detectives his efforts to cover up his alleged crimes. He said that after buying the drugs with Campitelli’s money, he returned home and grabbed the gun, ammunition, and a bag and box the gun had been stored in.

He disposed of two of the three shell casings, one in the trash and one down the toilet, from the shooting, per the filing. He then told investigators he ditched the gun box in a dumpster, the bag and ammo nearby, and finally threw the gun itself into a canal.

It was only then, at approximately 11 a.m. on Saturday, that Keller returned to his home and called 911 with his fabricated story of returning home to find his house robbed and fiancée shot.

He claimed to police that he’d traded the gun two days before the shooting in exchange for “molly.” The suspect further explained that he’d changed his clothes after finding Campitelli’s body, but before calling 911, because he’d been in them since the day before and was “sweaty.”

Records uncovered in the course of the investigation showed that Keller had also reached out to Campitelli’s family before calling 911 that morning, telling them she had broken her phone.

After his recorded confession to his friend on Thursday, which the friend quickly relayed to authorities, police were able to track Keller to a nearby establishment. He attempted to evade capture by jumping into a creek, but was quickly arrested, per authorities.

After Campitelli’s death, a close friend set up a GoFundMe to continue her work in mental health and addiction awareness. “Red was proudly over five years sober and she was an advocate for recovery,” said Misti McDermott in the GoFundMe. “She was well loved in the community, but she inspired many people outside of the Space Coast as well.”

Praising her advocacy and compassion for others, as reported by Florida Today, the victim’s father Phil Campatelli said in court at Monday’s sentencing, “Keller has no remorse. My daughter is dead because she tried to help Keller from himself.”

“Our hearts are so broken every day,” added Campitelli’s mother Debra Moore. “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.”

Campitelli’s twin sister Alana May Marshall-Campitelli called the trauma of losing her sister so violently unbearable. “I can still hear her cries. I can feel her terror,” she said. “Keller did not just end one life but he destroyed so many others as well.”

Under his plea deal, Keller will not be eligible for parole or time off until he’s served at least 25 years of his 50 year sentence.