A military veteran and adult performer, now turned convicted killer, was just sentenced to 22 and a half years in federal prison for the murder of a local man in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Chelsea Perkins, 35, blamed the killing on PTSD from past sex assaults. "There's no real way to put value on a human life," the judge said during the sentencing hearing in federal court in Cleveland.
She faced 20 to 25 years in prison. The judge ultimately landed on a sentence in the middle. Perkins apologized to the victim's family a the sentencing hearing. "I take full responsibility for what I've done," she said.
Chelsea Perkins, 35, shot Matthew Dunmire once in the back of the head in the Terra Vista Nature Study Area in Valley View in March 2021, about four years after she had accused Dunmire of rape. In May, she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and using a gun in a violent crime. as previously reported.
Perkins Accused Dunmire of Raping Her in 2017 but There Wasn't Enough Evidence to Charge Him
Dunmire, 31, was an aspiring musician who grew up in Virginia and moved to Cleveland. Perkins in 2017 reported to Virginia Beach police that Dunmire had raped her. Police later told the FBI that they didn't have enough evidence to file charges against Dunmire, according to court records.
After Perkins left the Coast Guard, she became an adult film actress and started an OnlyFans account under the name Selena Savage, according to court records.
Perkins Messaged Dunmire on Facebook, Spent a Night with Him at an AirBnb Before Killing Him in the Woods the Following Morning
In March 2021, Perkins messaged Dunmire on Facebook, drove to Cleveland and spent the night with Dunmire at an AirBnb rental. The next morning, on March 6, 2021, she drove Dunmire to the national park and the two walked deep into the woods, where she shot him once in the back of the head, prosecutors said.
Hikers found Dunmire's body three days later. The FBI investigated the case because the shooting happened on federal property.
Perkins' DNA, Footage from Surveillance Cameras Linked Her to the Scene
Agents linked her to the shooting with DNA found on and near Dunmire's body, traffic cameras and license plate readers, surveillance video and a gun found in Perkins' backpack during a search of her home that matched the bullet fired at Dunmire.
Perkins denied knowing about the murder during a March 2021 search of her home, Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Zarzycki said during Tuesday's hearing. It took the FBI nearly nine months to arrest Perkins.
Dunmire's Mother Disguised Herself as a UPS Driver and Mistakenly Shot Another Woman She Believed Responsible for Her Sons's Murder
While waiting for an arrest in her son's death, Tommie Lynn Dunmire, 54, launched her own investigation to try to find the killer.
In a bid to seek revenge, on Nov. 5, 2021, she disguised herself as a UPS driver and shot a 30-year-old woman in Washington, D.C., who she mistakenly believed killed her son. The woman survived the shooting.
Tommie Lynn Dunmire took her own life after police stopped her car shortly after the shooting. Her longtime partner and Matthew Dunmire's father, John McQuillen, drove her to the shooting. He was later sentenced to three years and six months in prison after pleading guilty to being an accessory after the fact to an assault with the intent to kill. He was released from prison in March.
The FBI arrested Perkins on Dec. 9, 2021.
