In 2017, a woman in Virginia accused a man she knew of rape.
No charges were ever filed. The case didn’t move forward due to insufficient evidence.Four years later, in March 2021, that same woman — Chelsea Perkins, a 35-year-old Coast Guard veteran from Virginia — drove more than 300 miles from Virginia to Ohio. There, she met 31-year-old Matthew Dunmire, an aspiring musician and father.The two spent the night together at an Airbnb in the Cleveland area.
No charges were ever filed. The case didn’t move forward due to insufficient evidence.Four years later, in March 2021, that same woman — Chelsea Perkins, a 35-year-old Coast Guard veteran from Virginia — drove more than 300 miles from Virginia to Ohio. There, she met 31-year-old Matthew Dunmire, an aspiring musician and father.The two spent the night together at an Airbnb in the Cleveland area.
The next morning, on March 6, 2021, Perkins drove Dunmire to Cuyahoga Valley National Park. They hiked off the main trail, past a cemetery and through deep ravines, into a remote wooded area. While they were alone, she shot him once in the back of the head, killing him instantly. Hikers discovered his body several days later.Investigators used GPS data from her vehicle, DNA evidence, phone records, and ballistics from the firearm to link Perkins directly to the killing. In court, prosecutors described the murder as a premeditated revenge killing tied to the 2017 rape allegation.
Perkins had driven across state lines specifically to meet Dunmire, luring him under the pretense of a casual encounter and hike.In May 2025, Chelsea Perkins pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and using a firearm during a crime of violence on federal property. On September 9, 2025, she was sentenced to 22.5 years (270 months) in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
