Kriti Mehrotra
It was July 24, 2000, when Nancy Campbell-Panitz suddenly lost her life in the worst way imaginable, only for it to later come to light that her ex-husband, Ralf Panitz, was responsible. What’s also significant to note, as explored in Netflix’s ‘Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action,’ is that this is the same evening the episode chronicling the love triangle they were involved in premiered. The third person involved in this relationship was Eleanor Panitz, who did indeed feature in ‘The Jerry Springer Show: Secret Mistresses Confronted.’
Eleanor Panitz Fled With Her Husband Following the Murder
Although it’s unclear precisely when Eleanor first came across German painter Ralf Panitz, we do know they began a romantic relationship while he was married to Nancy Campbell. This, along with troubles like domestic violence in the marriage, resulted in the couple divorcing, only for the German native to tie the knot with Eleanor in March 2000. However, the love triangle continued as Ralf and Nancy stayed in touch and even became involved over time, which led them to film ‘The Jerry Springer Show’ in May of the same year.
That’s when it came to light that not only had Ralf spent the night with Nancy as recently as the previous night but that he had also not told her that he was a married man. As if that’s not enough, the new couple actually accused Nancy of stalking them before making fun of her by calling her “old and fat” and celebrating when she chose to walk away from the set. It seemed like things ended at this point, but NAncy and Ralf found their way back to each other again and had broken up again by the time it came time for their episode to air.
What followed was claims of domestic violence and Nancy filing for a restraining order against her ex-husband, which even prohibited him from stepping foot into her space. The last hearing they had on this matter was on July 24, 2000, and mere hours later, their episode aired, and after that, Nancy was found dead in the kitchen of her home. As for Ralf and Eleanor, by the time officials were sure the former was her killer because of the evidence recovered, they had Florida in the hopes of escaping the situation as well as his crime.
Eleanor Panitz is Still Happily Married to Ralf Panitz
It was on July 26, 2000, when Eleanor and Ralf surrendered to the authorities, resulting in them being extradited and him being charged with murder while she was deemed a witness. According to reports, the German native was possibly trying to flee to Canada, whereas his wife was either planning on staying with him or taking advantage of her heritage to settle down on an Indian reservation. The wife was soon released on a $25,000 bond and granted immunity in exchange for her statements about what had transpired. In the end, she walked free while her husband was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Despite the fact that Ralf has been behind bars since 2000, Eleanor has not only stayed happily married to him but has also remained loyal and supportive in every sense of the term. Her social media platforms are proof of this, especially as they make it clear that she visits him often and is genuinely proud of being his wife. In fact, she has even attended prison marriage seminars alongside him and seemingly does her best to make as much time for him as possible.
Eleanor’s personal standing, from what we can tell, is that this Millinocket, Maine native currently resides in Bradenton, Florida, where she has built a good life for herself. She is actually retired as of January 2021, after years of serving as an outbound sales associate at Unique Services, working for the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), serving at the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), and being a Mission Support Specialist at Goodwill Manasota.
Read More: Nancy Campbell-Panitz’s Murder: Where is Ralf Panitz Now?
