An Alexandria, Virginia woman has admitted to traveling over 300 miles to meet a victim she later shot and killed at a national park in Northeast Ohio.
Court documents reveal that Chelsea Perkins, aged 35, traveled to Ohio with the intention of meeting Matthew Dunmire, someone she was acquainted with. On March 6, 2021, they visited the Terra Vista Natural Study Area within Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Valley View, Ohio. During their hike off-trail into a wooded section of the park, Perkins used a loaded firearm she had brought to fatally shoot Dunmire in the back of the head.
Investigators were able to connect Perkins to the crime using GPS data, DNA evidence, social media and phone records, as well as ballistics analysis. A federal search warrant executed at her home in Virginia led agents to discover three 9mm pistols. One of these firearms was found in a purse containing Perkins’ identification.
On May 27, 2025, Chelsea Perkins pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and using or carrying and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence on federal property. If accepted by the Court at sentencing, her plea agreement suggests a prison term ranging from 20 to 25 years. The final sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge after reviewing the plea agreement alongside U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The sentencing is set for September 9, 2025.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including 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.
Assistant United States Attorneys Scott Zarzycki, Margaret A. Kane, and Adam J. Joines are prosecuting this case.
