Naman Shrestha
In HBO’s ‘Nature of the Crime,’ the focus is on the crimes of three convicts who had been serving their respective sentences for multiple decades. One of the murders explored in the documentary film was the brutal 1990 killings of Cindy Lewis and Curtis Rizzo in Palmyra, New York. With the help of the exclusive interview with the killer himself, the audience is able to hear all the intricate details of the story from his perspective.
The Bodies of Cindy Lewis and Curtis Rizzo Were Found Mutilated Near Her School
Born on March 14, 1975, to Nancy Lewis-Bardo and Edward Cornelius “Eddie” Lewis, Cynthia M. “Cindy” Lewis was a student at the Palmyra-Macedon Middle School and worked as a part-time babysitter for Curtis D. Rizzo, the one-year-old son who was brought into the world on February 13, 1989, by Carole Bauer. While the 15-year-old teenager was only beginning to weave dreams and aspirations of her own, the one-year-old toddler still had the entire world to explore outside his parents’ residence. With so much to look forward to, they met their untimely demise on August 1, 1990.
When the families of Cindy and Curtis could not locate them anywhere, they were concerned about their well-being and whereabouts. A day after their sudden disappearance, on August 2, 1990, their mutilated bodies were found in a field behind the school where the former studied. Upon the horrific discovery, the lives of the two families were changed forever, and the authorities launched a double homicide investigation. The autopsy results declared that they were stabbed to death. Starting from the site where they found the bodies to their respective houses, the detectives gathered all the evidence they could find in order to get to the bottom of the case and bring the perpetrator to justice.
Cindy Lewis and Curtis Rizzo Were Murdered by a Former’s Acquaintance
During the investigation, many locals from the community helped the investigators in searching for Cindy Lewis and Curtis Rizzo. One of them was a 14-year-old classmate of Cindy named Chad Campbell. Sooner rather than later, he ended up becoming the prime suspect in the case. As the authorities dug deeper into his life, they learned that he had allegedly started off killing animals. Not long after, upon interrogation, Chad admitted to murdering his schoolmate and the toddler she was babysitting on August 1, 1990. He also told the police the location of the murder weapon, which was a long knife thrown about 25 yards away from the bodies.
As per his claims, he called Cindy and lured her to the location by saying that it was an urgent matter. When she arrived with the child, he ambushed her and stabbed her multiple times before doing the same to the 17-month-old baby. According to reports, it was alleged that Chad suffered from encephalitis, a condition that caused learning disabilities in him as a child. Since he did not receive the right treatment for the disease, it allegedly triggered behavioral issues within him. This was considered one of the possible motives for him to commit the horrific crime.
The Killer Was Brought to Justice For Both Murders
In 1991, Chad Campbell stood trial for being involved in the brutal killings of Cindy Lewis and Curtis Rizzo. During the trial, while prosecutors presented the evidence they gathered, the defense argued that others could be responsible for the tragic deaths. After taking into consideration both sides’ arguments, the jury returned with a guilty verdict and convicted him of two counts of second-degree murder. Later, he was sentenced to nine years to life for each murder, making it 18 years to life concurrently. Initially, he was sent to juvenile confinement before getting transferred to state prison as he entered adulthood.
Ever since then, the victims’ families have tried their best to keep the killer behind bars while the defense has been pushing for parole once every few years but in vain. In 2018, Chad Campbell reportedly also wrote letters to both of his victims’ families, apologizing for his crimes and everything they had to go through because of him. During one of his parole hearings, the perpetrator opened up, “My issues as a child does not absolve me or excuse me for what I’ve done. Every night I pray that one day I will be forgiven. I understand the severity of my crime. I understand what I’ve taken; I understand who I’ve hurt and that nothing I can possibly do until the day I pass away will ever make up for what I’ve taken, what I’ve done. I think it’s important to show that who I was and the horrific thing I did is not who I am today.”
Read More: Chad Campbell: Where is the Killer Now?
