Angel Campos-Nava of El Terrero, Mexico, was in his late 20s when he arrived in Russellville, Alabama. He had no passport, work visa, or money. What he did have was an unrealistic view of what his life in the U.S. would be like.
Campos soon discovered that he was lacking in much it took to succeed in this country. Then he met Lesley Hope Plott. Campos didn't care if Lesley was somewhat overweight and already the mother of one child, and she didn't care if Angel stood only 5'3" and barely spoke English. They soon became a couple.
While there are no records of Plott and Campos entering into a legal marriage, they referred to themselves as husband and wife. This didn't stop Campos from demonstrating abject cruelty to Plott; police records indicate that while the couple lived together they were called at least two times to arrest Campos for violently assaulting Plott.
Finally, Lesley had enough. She had a good job at a Russellville physician's office and the emotional support of her family. She ended the relationship, but still often saw Campos when he visited their shared children or when he turned to her in need of money.
Lesley had agreed to give Angel a ride home in the early morning hours of February 22, 2013. It was slightly after one o'clock when the couple began arguing. Plott pulled over in front of Good Shepherd Catholic Church, a fact that later proved the undoing of Angel.
At first, Campos only hit Lesley, but then he took out a knife and began to stab her repeatedly. While Lesley wouldn't live to tell her story, all of Campos' actions were recorded on CCTV cameras placed outside the church building.
Seeing that the 25 year-old mother of his three children was dead, Angel removed her body from the luxury SUV and placed it in a ditch along Jackson Avenue running in front of Good Shepherd Church. It wasn't long before a passerby discovered Lesley's brutalized remains and called the authorities.
When Russellville Police located the 33 year-old Campos, he had multiple stab wounds - all self-inflicted. Angel was initially taken to Huntsville Hospital where he spent a week. Then Campos was placed in the Franklin County Detention Center until his arraignment.
Since video footage proved without a doubt that Lesley was in a vehicle during the deadly attack, Franklin County District Attorney charged Campos with Capital Murder. Rebecca Green Thomason agreed to act as Angel's attorney and quickly began work to save his life.
With financial help from the Mexican Capital Assistance Program, Thomason was able to secure an interpretator who spoke the same Southern Mexican dialect as Campos. She then became aware of the extreme poverty and violence in which he had grown up in the state of Guerrero.
After presenting his background to Joey Rushing, Lesley's family agreed to remove the death penalty from legal options. Campos agreed to a sentence of Life with Possibility of Parole. Today, Angel Campos-Nava is housed under medium security in the Easterling Correctional Center in Barbour County. He will be eligible for parole consideration in February 2028. Both Joey Rushing and Lesley Hope Plott's family will oppose his release. And if Campos should be released from the Alabama State Prison System? He will immediately be deported to Mexico. It's an outcome that no one wants to see.
.jpeg)
