Cleveland, Ohio – A woman from Alexandria, Virginia, has admitted to traveling more than 300 miles to Ohio and fatally shooting a man she once knew in what federal authorities described as a calculated and cold act of violence. Chelsea Perkins, 35, pleaded guilty yesterday to second-degree murder and to “using or carrying and discharging a firearm during, and in relation to, a crime of violence on federal property.”
According to court documents, Perkins arranged to meet Matthew Dunmire in Northeast Ohio on March 6, 2021. The two traveled to the Terra Vista Natural Study Area, a secluded hiking trail within Cuyahoga Valley National Park located in Valley View, Ohio. While walking off-trail into a wooded area, Perkins shot Dunmire in the back of the head with a loaded firearm she had brought with her, killing him on the spot.
Authorities were able to link Perkins to the crime through a combination of GPS tracking, DNA evidence, phone and social media records, and ballistics testing. When federal agents executed a search warrant at her home in Virginia, they discovered three 9mm pistols, including one found inside a woman’s purse that also contained Perkins’ identification.
The U.S. Department of Justice noted that Perkins has now pleaded guilty to both charges in federal court. If the court agrees to the terms of the plea agreement, she could face between 20 and 25 years in prison. The final sentence will be determined by a federal judge after reviewing the plea deal, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other legal considerations.
Perkins is scheduled to be sentenced on September 9, 2025. The investigation was conducted by a joint effort from the FBI Cleveland Division, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, National Park Service Investigative Branch, Valley View Police Department, and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Police Department.
