He was sentenced to serve life in prison after his conviction in the August 1990 double murders of 15-year-old Palmyra-Macedon Central School classmate, Cindy Lewis, and the 17-month-old boy she was babysitting, Curtis Rizzo.
The community held its breath in the days before the bodies were discovered. Chad Campbell, 14 years old at the time, even helped in the search for the two children. He quickly became a suspect and eventually told State Police Investigator David Gould (Retired from State Police and current Cayuga County Sheriff) that he started off killing animals. “Once I heard that, I knew he was capable of murder,” said Gould.
A short time later Campbell admitted killing Cindy Lewis and Curtis Rizzo. He eventually led police to where he threw the murder weapon, a long knife, tossed about 25 yards from where the bodies were found, in a field behind the Palmyra-Macedon Middle School.
Campbell told investigators that he had lured Cindy to the location with a phone call and said it was urgent she meet him.
“Why he stabbed the baby is mind boggling. Why not just leave after he killed the girl. There was so much devil meanness in him,” remembered former State Police Investigator David Gould.
Gould recalled their was no remorse for the crime Campbell admitted to. “He was not mentally ill, he knew what he was doing,” recalled Gould. “It was not a heat of the moment crime, he had planned the whole thing out,” he added.
The arrest and killings set off months of speculation as to why Chad Campbell committed such brutal knife killings. It was one of the first cases to shake the foundation of any semblance of community solidarity. People in Palmyra, familiar with all three families and relying on the rumor mill, were taking sides.
Soon, satanic overtones fueled the discussions, as a possible defense formed. Reasoning was beyond reason. No one understood how a schoolmate could murder a friend and a baby. It was long before the current malaise of student killings, appearing all too often in the news.
Rick Healy, now a Wayne County Judge, had become the County’s District Attorney on January 1st, 1991. Chad Campbell was 15 when his trail began in September of 1991, with Healy taking on the case.
The courtroom was filled daily with people hanging on every word. The two week trial was fraught with emotion, accusations and possible other links to the crime. It eventually led to the death of another innocent student by suicide, when the peer finger was pointed at him as being an accomplice.
In the end, the jury saw the true face of evil in Chad Campbell. He was sentenced as a juvenile to the maximum of nine years to life for each of the murders. Once he was old enough at age 18, he was transferred to a maximum adult prison.
Since that time, Campbell has acted as his own jail house attorney. He was eligible for parole the first time in 2008 and every two years since.
Excerpts from In his 2014 parole hearing transcript:
“Q. You raped and stabbed a 15 year old victim approximately 44 times, including slashing her throat. You also killed a 17 month old baby — A 17 month old victim that she was baby-sitting and that 17 month old was stabbed multiple times also ultimately having his throat slashed, is that generally accurate?
Campbell: Yes, sir….”
He went on to explain that he was having “a lot of problems emotionally”…” and that his mother had sent him for counseling. “What was going on in my life was a lot of problems at home with my parents and my family. I always took them I could never do anything right. Everything I did was wrong and that kind of built up. I had a little history of, I was scared of my parents, but I lashed out at other people because I saw them as weaker. That was my way of trying to make myself feel better. It was very irrational but I didn’t — I thought it would make me feel better to do, to hurt others and what not.
When asked why he called to have Cindy Lewis meet him in the field, Campbell responded:
“Chad: My mission was basically to rape and possibly kill, to be honest with you…”
The parole examiner asked Chad why, after he raped and killed Cindy, did he turn the violence towards the baby?
“Chad: “Curtis, which was the young boy, the baby’s name, he was crying and like I said I just, I wanted silence. I mean the noise, I was scared, adrenaline and I just, I just took a step or two over and I stabbed him. I mean he wasn’t doing anything, he was just an innocent like little boy and I had taken his life.”
Chad Campbell is again up for parole the first week of May, 2018. Every time Curtis’ mother, Carol Hartnagel, grandmother, Elaine Hartnagel and Cindy Lewis’ mother, Nancy Lewis, have circulated petitions to present to the parole board, demanding Campbell never be released.
State Senator Pam Helming announced that she has sent a letter to the New York State Parole Board opposing the early release of murderer Chad A. Campbell and demanding that he be kept in prison for the entire length of his life sentence.
“Campbell has been denied an early release five times because he has shown no remorse for his horrific actions that caused irreparable harm to the Palmyra-Macedon community where he committed this terrible violence and unspeakable anguish to the family and friends of those he murdered. Instead, he chooses to blame his upbringing for the heinous crime he committed rather than take responsibility for his own actions”, wrote the Senator. “Cindy Lewis and Curtis Rizzo were not allowed the chance to live out the full potential of their lives, so why should Chad Campbell be given that opportunity? Even if he does one day decide to take responsibility and show remorse for this heinous crime, he does not deserve the opportunity to lead a fulfilling, rewarding life within our community. His victims did not, and he should not. I urge the members of the parole board not to grant parole to Chad Campbell – not now and not ever,” Senator Helming said.
Senator Helming has worked with Elaine Hartnagel, to advocate that Campbell remain in prison and to support bills in the State Senate that would help victims and their families during parole board hearings. One measure (S.2997-A) would lengthen the time between parole hearings from two years to five years. This would give grieving families a greater period of peace before having to relive their tragedies while testifying at the next hearing. Another measure (S.6200) would allow all family members and interested parties to make statements during hearings in order to create a more open and fair process for victims’ families and all those affected by the crime.
“The weeks and months leading up to each parole hearing always places additional stress on our family knowing that one day Curtis’ and Cindy’s murderer could possibly be let free. It also forces us to relive the heartbreak and devastation we felt the day we heard my grandson had been brutally murdered. I will continue to do all I can to make sure this monster never sees a day outside prison walls. I thank Senator Helming for joining me in this fight and for supporting legislation to honor Curtis’ memory by creating a more open process that allows families like mine to be heard,” said Hartnagel.
Both of these bills passed the Senate with wide bipartisan support last year and were re-introduced for this year’s legislative session. Senator Helming is a co-sponsor on both pieces of legislation.
“I have seen and heard firsthand the pain and suffering that Ms. Hartnagel and her family still feel over the tremendous loss of her grandson and his babysitter – lives that were cut tragically short 28 years ago. Ms. Hartnagel and her family bear the burden of reliving their real-life nightmare every two years by testifying to ensure that Chad Campbell is never released into society. Critical legislation would give families five years of reprieve before having to relive their tragedy at the next parole board hearing, and would give them a chance to state their opinions and feelings at the hearing, as grandparents and others are currently excluded from making statements to the parole board. It is an outrage that grandparents, like Ms. Hartnagel, currently do not have the right to testify. The law must be amended to extend the definition of family to include grandparents. I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues to pass these two measures this year, and I call on our Assembly colleagues to pass these bills as well so that we can bring justice to victims and their families,” Senator Helming said.
“If they saw the brutality of the killings at the crime scene they (They Parole Board” would never give him (Chad Campbell) parole,” stated David Gould.