An Oakmont native is facing a potential sentence of life in prison after a federal jury Wednesday convicted him of kidnapping a Bethel Park woman, driving her to Nevada and killing her in the desert.
John Matthew Chapman, 44, of Oakland, Md., who previously lived in Allegheny County, was found guilty of kidnapping after an eight-day trial for taking Jaime Feden, 33, then his girlfriend, on a trip to Nevada in September 2019. Chapman allegedly told her they were going on vacation.
On Nov. 14, 2019, Bethel Park police conducted a welfare check on Feden at the request of a friend, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nevada said Wednesday in a press statement. Neighbors told police at that time they had not seen Feden in about two months, but they did see Chapman entering and leaving her home.
Inside Feden’s home, police found ID cards with Chapman’s name and photograph, Feden’s cellphone, multiple zip ties and a roll of duct tape.
After Bethel Park police arrested Chapman, he admitted that, two months earlier, he drove Feden to Nevada and took her into the desert in Lincoln County, Nev., about 170 miles north of Las Vegas, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Chapman bound Feden’s hands and feet with plastic zip ties and tied her to a signpost, officials said. Then, he put duct tape over her mouth and nose and watched her die from asphyxiation.
Federal prosecutors said Chapman admitted to killing Feden “for her money.” Chapman then returned to Pennsylvania and pretended to be the victim, using her Facebook messenger account and home, and spending her money.
Feden was a 4-foot-tall, 70-pound woman who suffered from VATER syndrome, which among other things limited her mental capacity, according to a criminal complaint in the case.
U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan scheduled an Aug. 2 sentencing hearing.
Chapman faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. A federal district court judge will determine his sentence after considering guidelines and other statutory factors.
Justin Vellucci is a TribLive reporter covering crime and public safety in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. A longtime freelance journalist and former reporter for the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, he worked as a general assignment reporter at the Trib from 2006 to 2009 and returned in 2022. He can be reached at jvellucci@triblive.com.