He said he killed his stepson in self-defense. A Palm Beach County jury agreed

Julius Whigham II, Palm Beach Post
·2 min read

WEST PALM BEACH — Humberto Del Campo told investigators he acted in self-defense, shooting his stepson Joel Leonel Pichel when Pichel became physically aggressive during an argument at the family's home in The Acreage in August 2020 and even threatened to grab a knife.

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigators challenged Del Campo's version of the encounter, arresting him on a second-degree murder charge. On Monday, just over three years after his arrest, Del Campo was set free after a jury found him not guilty.

State prosecutors sought to convict Del Campo, now 70, either of second-degree murder or the lesser included crime of manslaughter. Circuit Judge Caroline Shepherd denied motions for judgment of acquittal and for a mistrial by Del Campo's attorneys from the Palm Beach County Public Defender's Office, letting the matter go to the jury.

Jurors deliberated for about 15 hours over a span of three days following three days of testimony and arguments.

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During the initial sheriff's office investigation, Del Campo told deputies he and Pichel, then 33, were fighting when his stepson became physically aggressive and shoved him on the night of Aug. 10, 2020. Del Campo said he then took out his gun and warned that he was going to call law enforcement.

He alleged that Pichel told him and Pichel's mother that he was going to the trailer at the back of The Acreage residence on Edinburgh Drive East to grab a knife and cut them both.

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Del Campo's attorneys sought a mistrial, arguing that surveillance-camera video recorded from a neighboring property was admitted without authentication.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jurors find Acreage man not guilty of murder in stepson's death