Chelsea Perkins is a killer from Virginia who has been convicted of the murder of Matthew Dunmire in Ohio
According to court documents Matthew Dunmire would tell coworkers that he was meeting a woman who was in town for the weekend. That would be the last time he would be seen alive
According to authorities Chelsea Perkins would lure Matthew Dunmire into a wooded area where she would execute him. After killing him Perkins would then go off and get a new tattoo
Authorities would learn about the killing about five days after Matthew Dunmire would go missing and soon the trail would lead back to Chelsea Perkins.
Chelsea Perkins would claim that she was sexually assaulted by Matthew Dunmire but would ultimately plead guilty to second degree murder instead of going to trial
She will be sentenced at a later date
Chelsea Perkins Case
A Virginia woman accused of shooting and killing a Northeast Ohio man in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park has taken a plea deal less than a week before the case was set to go to trial.
Chelsea Perkins, 35, pleaded guilty to second degree murder and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Murder in a national park
Prosecutors said Perkins, a veteran, traveled from out of state to meet the victim before killing him and trying to cover up her tracks.
Hikers discovered Matthew Dunmire’s body in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in March of 2021.
The 31-year-old was killed by a gunshot wound to the back of the head.
According to federal court documents, Dunmire told his coworkers just days before his murder that he was planning to meet a woman coming in from out of town over the weekend.
They were out at a bar together when coworkers saw a woman with brown hair pick him up in a white smart car.
And that was the last time they saw him.
Months after his death, FBI agents arrested Chelsea Perkins, 31 years old at the time, in Florida.
Documents show they tracked the white smart car that picked up the victim back to a U.S. Coast Guardsman who used to live in northern Virginia with his wife Chelsea Perkins and their two young children.
Agents discovered she had reserved an Airbnb in Cleveland and GPS data from Dunmire’s phone showed he had been there.
According to court documents, witnesses later told investigators they saw a woman who matched Chelsea Perkins’ description on the park trail on the day of the murder.
They said she looked suspicious because she was wearing all-black clothing and knee-high boots instead of hiking clothes.
Turnpike records revealed Perkins drove from Ohio to Michigan that same day to get a tattoo.
According to prosecutors, she left an evidence trail behind.
They said her DNA matched samples taken from Dunmire.
Nine months after Dunmire’s murder, his accused killer was indicted by a federal grand jury.
Chelsea Perkins faced a firearms charge and two counts of murder.
Case has faced delays
This case was originally set to go to trial in February 2022, but that date was pushed back at least four times.
Court records had indicated her attorneys planned to claim the deadly shooting was self-defense.
Back in 2017, Perkins had previously accused Dunmire of rape.
But he was not prosecuted.
In March 2024, Perkins rejected a plea deal that offered 27 to 31 years behind bars, meaning she would be in her 60s when she completed her sentence.
Victim’s mother searched for answers
We spoke with Matthew’s uncle, Dan Dunmire, a year ago.
“Yeah, it was it was a shock as you can imagine especially as the details started to come out,” Dunmire said.
He told us his nephew was an aspiring musician who came to Cleveland after growing up in Virginia.
“I mean if you have you ever met him, I mean, you couldn’t even think this kid could harm a flea nonetheless, you know harm anyone else,” Dunmire said.
After Matthew’s death, his mother Tommie who was living on the East Coast tried to track down the suspect on her own, according to her brother, Dan Dunmire.
But investigators said she shot the wrong woman at a home in Washington D.C., where she knocked on the front door disguised as a UPS driver.
That woman survived. But as police closed in, Tommie took her own life.
“It was like a movie. It was all so surreal,” Dunmire said.
“You know losing Matthew and then his mother. What six months later? I mean– it’s been rough. It’s been a rough couple of years,” he said.
What’s next
The court still has to accept Perkins’ plea deal.
She faces 20 to 25 years in prison and has already been behind bars for more than three years.
The federal public defender’s office representing Chelsea Perkins told us they had no comment in this case.
Sentencing has been set for Sept. 9.
https://www.cleveland19.com/2025/05/27/woman-pleads-guilty-killing-man-cuyahoga-valley-national-park
Chelsea Perkins News
An Alexandria, Virginia woman has pleaded guilty to driving more than 300 miles across state lines after she arranged to meet a victim, whom she shot and killed at a national park in Northeast Ohio.
According to court documents, Chelsea Perkins, 35, traveled to Ohio to meet the victim, Matthew Dunmire, whom she knew previously. On March 6, 2021, they visited the Terra Vista Natural Study Area, a hiking trail located in Valley View, Ohio, within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. While hiking off-trail into a wooded area of the park, Perkins used a loaded firearm she brought with her to shoot the victim in the back of the head, killing him.
Criminal investigators found evidence linking Perkins to the shooting through GPS data, DNA, social media and phone records, and ballistics analysis. During a federal search warrant execution at her Virginia residence, federal agents found three 9mm pistols, including one recovered from a woman’s purse that also contained Perkins’ identification.
On May 27, 2025, Chelsea Perkins pleaded guilty to murder in the second degree and using or carrying and discharging a firearm during, and in relation to, a crime of violence on federal property. If the Court accepts the plea agreement at sentencing, Perkins faces between 20 and 25 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine her sentence after considering the plea agreement, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other statutory factors.
Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 9, 2025.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Cleveland Division, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, National Park Service Investigative Branch, Valley View Police Department, and Cuyahoga Valley National Park Police Department.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndoh/pr/virginia-woman-pleads-guilty-committing-murder-national-park
Chelsea Perkins Sentencing
An Alexandria, Virginia woman has been sentenced to prison after admitting that she drove more than 300 miles across state lines to meet with a 31-year-old man whom she shot and killed at a national park in Northern Ohio.
Chelsea Perkins, 35, was sentenced to 270 months (22.5 years) in prison by U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. after pleading guilty in May to murder in the second degree and using or carrying and discharging a firearm during, and in relation to, a crime of violence on federal property. She was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after imprisonment. Restitution is to be determined at a later date.
Court documents show that in March 2021, Perkins drove her husband’s Smart car from Virginia to Ohio to meet with the victim, Matthew Dunmire, whom she knew. After she picked him up, they spent the night at a vacation rental home. On the morning of March 6, Perkins drove Dunmire to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Valley View, Ohio. They hiked past a cemetery, across deep ravines, and off-trail into a wooded area. While on those federal park grounds, Perkins used a loaded firearm she brought with her and shot Dunmire in the back of the head, killing him. She then left the scene and drove to Michigan to get a tattoo of a noose on her forearm before driving back to Virginia.
During the investigation, evidence linked Perkins to the shooting. Federal agents executed a search warrant at her home in Virginia and found three 9mm pistols, including one inside a woman’s purse that also contained Perkins’ photo identification. The firearm later tested positive for Perkins’ DNA. Investigators also found a deleted note on Perkins’ cellphone that appeared to be a fake suicide note purportedly written by Dunmire that Perkins created around the time that Dunmire’s body was found. Dunmire’s body was found by hikers several days after the shooting.
This investigation was conducted by the FBI Cleveland Division, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, National Park Service Investigative Branch, Valley View Police Department, and Cuyahoga Valley National Park Police Department.
The prosecution was led by Assistant United States Attorneys Scott Zarzycki, Margaret A. Kane, and Adam J. Joines for the Northern District of Ohio.
