After transporting his girlfriend across the nation and enticing her into the Nevada desert for a “bondage photo shoot,” the Pennsylvania man will serve the remainder of his life in prison. He will also duct tape her lips and nose, watch her die, and attach her to a signpost with zip ties.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office sent a news release on Friday, announcing that John Matthew Chapman, 44, had been found guilty in the death of Jaime Rae Feden, 33. In May, he was found guilty of kidnapping someone and killing them.
“The defendant violated the victim’s trust by luring her away from her family and friends in Pennsylvania and out into the Nevada desert where he viciously killed her,” U.S. Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada stated. “This sentence should send a clear message to others that kidnapping and killing another person will result in a substantial prison sentence. Thank you to our federal and local law enforcement partners for their hard work in bringing justice for the victim’s family.”
According to a court document, the defendant informed Feden they were going on a house-hunting vacation in Las Vegas where they would “potentially get married,” which set off a chain of events that resulted in the killing and Chapman’s arrest in September 2019. From Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, to Sin City, the pair traveled approximately 2,200 miles by car.
“Although the victim believed she was going to be starting a new life with Chapman, she was unaware of his true plan, which was to kill her,” according to the court documents.
Authorities discovered that the evening before the couple’s arrival in Las Vegas on September 23, 2019, Chapman had looked up the terms “dump,” “body,” and “Nevada” online.
Two days later, according to court filings, he persuaded her to go into the Lincoln County, Nevada, desert, which is more than 150 miles north of Las Vegas, pretending to be part of a bondage- and sadomasochistic-themed picture shoot. According to court documents, he then fastened his nude lover to a signpost by tying her up with zip ties.
“After applying duct tape to her mouth and then to her nose, Chapman watched the victim die from asphyxiation,” court documents stated.
Subsequently, he disposed of her clothes at several locations while returning to Pennsylvania, leaving her body beside the post. Authorities claim that he pretended to be her while utilizing the dead woman’s house and money, texting her friend under her assumed identity while using her telephone.
The agency stated in a news statement that the body was in the early stages of decomposition and that there was no identification.
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Her identity remained a mystery until the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office received word on November 15, 2019, that Chapman had been detained as a suspect in Feden’s disappearance by the Bethel Park Police Department. Feden’s neighbors allegedly saw someone they believed to be Chapman coming and going from her house.
When investigators searched her home, they discovered ID cards bearing his name and picture, her smartphone, zip ties, and a roll of duct tape, according to the prosecution. Feden’s identification was verified by Nevadan authorities based on her minor 4-foot-1-inch stature, prior medical procedures, a tattoo, and dental records.
Chapman was wed to someone else. According to Maureen Chapman, her spouse had been leading a “double life” and had confessed to her during a phone conversation from the police station.
