Pennsylvania man tied naked girlfriend to signpost in Nevada desert before watching her die

Pennsylvania man tied naked girlfriend to signpost in Nevada desert before watching her die

In what's been described as a "sick" murder, a Pennsylvania man kidnapped his girlfriend and drove her across the country before tying her to a signpost in the Nevada desert for a "bondage photo shoot" and watching her die.

John Matthew , 44, was found guilty of the heinous crime after a weeklong trial back in May and sentenced last week to life in prison for kidnapping resulting in death.

"The defendant violated the victim's trust by luring her away from her family and friends in Pennsylvania and out into the Nevada desert, where he viciously killed her," U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada Jason M. Frierson said in a press release from the Department of Justice.

"This sentence should send a clear message to others that kidnapping and killing another person will result in a substantial prison sentence. Thank you to our federal and local law enforcement partners for their hard work in bringing justice for the victim's family," he continued.

Court documents and other evidence presented during the trial indicate that the Bethel Park Police Department in the suburb of Pittsburgh conducted a welfare check on Jaime Rae Feden, 33, on Nov. 14, 2019, after a friend became concerned.

Neighbors told the police during the check that they hadn't seen Feden in around two months but had observed a person they believed to be her boyfriend entering and leaving her home. Officers investigated the residence and found ID cards with Chapman's name and photo as well as Feden's phone, multiple zip ties and a roll of duct tape.

The following day, detectives tracked Chapman down and arrested and interviewed him. He admitted, according to the DOJ press release, that he drove Feden from Bethel Park to Las Vegas, Nevada — a 2,200-mile journey — in September of that year. He then admitted to misleading her, tricking her into believing the trip was a simple vacation and that they might look into purchasing a home near Vegas — he led her to believe that they would be getting married and starting a new life together, court documents obtained by Law&Crime reveal.

But Chapman had always planned to kill Feden, he reportedly revealed. He told investigators that he drove her out to Lincoln County in the middle of the desert and told her that he wanted to do a bondage photo shoot. He made her get naked, then bound her hands and feet with plastic zip ties, then attached her to a signpost.

That's when he put duct tape on her mouth and nose and watched her die slowly from asphyxiation. After that, Chapman returned to Pennsylvania and pretended to be the victim, investigators said. He used Feden's Facebook Messenger account and her residence and money after her death. He reportedly discarded Feden's clothes along the way as he drove back and left her body next to the signpost.

The night before the couple arrived in Vegas, Chapman reportedly searched for "dump," "body" and "Nevada." The "photoshoot" he told her they were going on was 150 miles or so north of Vegas in the middle of the desert.

Feden's body was found by an 8-year-old who had been traveling with his grandfather that October, WPXI reported. They were about a mile off of a dirt road on federal land when they found the body. The pair reportedly thought the body was that of a dead animal at first, then discovered it was actually a human woman.

There was no ID near Feden, it was reported, and the body was in the early stages of decomposition. She wasn't identified until Chapman's arrest on Nov. 15, 2019. The Lincoln County authorities reportedly had to reference her medical procedures, a tattoo and dental records to confirm that the body was hers.

Law&Crime reported that Feden's friends didn't like her relationship with Chapman but said she stood her ground. They described him as "very mean" to her and said he used her for money.

Chapman had been married to another woman, Maureen Chapman, who said her husband had been living a "double life" and that he had admitted to the murder when he was at the police station. "Oh my god, it's sick. It's really sick," she told WPXI.

"Today’s sentencing holds the defendant accountable for the callous and brutal murder of an innocent young woman," Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans of the FBI's Las Vegas Field Office said in the press release. "We hope it will bring a sense of closure to the victim's family while affirming the FBI and our law enforcement partners' commitment to pursuing justice for those affected by violence."