A former Florida MMA fighter, Phillip Keller, has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for the tragic murder of his fiancée, Alicia Campitelli. The incident occurred in May 2021 at their home in Brevard County, Florida, following a heated argument about Keller’s drug use.
According to reports, Keller secretly took Alicia’s gun, loaded it with three bullets, and hid it in a closet before the argument escalated. When the situation worsened, he retrieved the weapon, concealing it under a towel. As Alicia tried to find cover by ducking and crawling, Keller fired at her. She cried out, “Oh God, no,” before being fatally shot.
After the shooting, Keller attempted to cover up his crime. He disposed of the shell casings, fled the scene, and withdrew $1,481.50 from Alicia’s bank account to buy more drugs. He later threw the gun into a canal.
The next morning, Keller called 911, claiming his house had been robbed and Alicia had been shot. He told the emergency dispatcher, “I need help immediately. It looks like she’s dead. Oh my God. It looks like she’s been shot and been robbed, my house has been robbed.”
However, investigators quickly became suspicious of Keller. During questioning, he mentioned—without being asked—that he had sold a firearm a few days before the shooting. He also admitted to changing his clothes after discovering Alicia’s body, saying it was because he was “sweaty.”
The most damning evidence came from a friend who recorded Keller confessing to the crime over three phone calls. Keller admitted he was “super high on Molly,” a slang term for MDMA, at the time of the shooting. He made a chilling four-word confession to his friend: “I killed her, bro.” He further detailed, “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 [expletive]. I shot her the first time and missed through a towel. She ducked her head, and I shot her twice in the back of the head in cold blood. I did it, I’m so [expletive] sorry, man.”
Initially, Keller was charged with first-degree murder, but he later accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Before the tragedy, Keller had been a professional MMA fighter with a record of two wins and six losses.
