A woman from Alexandria, Virginia has been sentenced to more than 22 years in prison after admitting to the murder of a man at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Northern Ohio. Chelsea Perkins, 35, received a sentence of 270 months (22.5 years) from U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr., following her guilty plea in May to second-degree murder and using or carrying and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence on federal property. She will also serve five years of supervised release after her imprisonment, with restitution to be determined later.
According to court documents, Perkins traveled over 300 miles from Virginia to Ohio in March 2021 to meet Matthew Dunmire, whom she knew. After spending the night at a vacation rental home, Perkins drove Dunmire to Cuyahoga Valley National Park on March 6. They hiked into a wooded area off-trail where Perkins shot Dunmire in the back of the head with a loaded firearm she had brought with her. She then left the scene and traveled to Michigan before returning home to Virginia.
Evidence collected during the investigation included three 9mm pistols found at Perkins’ residence, one of which contained her DNA and was located inside a purse along with her photo identification. Investigators also recovered a deleted note on Perkins’ cellphone that appeared to be a fake suicide note purportedly written by Dunmire around the time his body was discovered by hikers several days after the shooting.
The investigation involved multiple agencies: 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 prosecuted the case for the Northern District of Ohio.
