Maryland man convicted in Bethel Park woman’s desert death
LAS VEGAS – A Maryland man was convicted Wednesday of killing his Bethel Park girlfriend in the Nevada desert.
John Matthew Chapman, 44, of Oakland, was found guilty by a jury in U.S. District Court in Nevada of one count of kidnapping resulting in death, court records show. He faces life in prison at a sentencing hearing scheduled for Aug. 2.
Investigators said that after killing Jaime Rae Feden, 33, in September 2019, Chapman pretended to be her on her Facebook messenger account and lived at her Bethel Park home.
The woman’s neighbors became suspicious when they hadn’t seen her or her vehicle for months but saw Chapman around the house, prosecutors said. Police conducted a welfare check and found identification cards with Chapman’s name and photo, the victim’s cellphone, zip ties and a roll of duct tape, they said.
Chapman admitted leading the woman to believe the two were taking a road trip to Las Vegas for a photo shoot, prosecutors said. Instead, they said, he took her to a Nevada desert, tied her up and suffocated her. They added that he admitted killing her for her money.
The Associated Press left an email message with Chapman’s attorneys Thursday seeking comment.