A 35-year-old Virginia woman who drove 300 miles to Northeast Ohio pleaded guilty to shooting and killing Matthew Dunmire in Cuyahoga Valley National Park in 2021.
Chelsea Perkins pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and using a firearm in a violent crime on federal property, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office news release. She could face between 20 and 25 years in prison.
Attorneys Alvaro DeCola and Stephen Newman, both federal public defenders, represent Perkins.
U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver will sentence Perkins on Sept. 9.
Perkins met up with Dunmire, whom she previously knew, on March 6, 2021, when they visited Terra Vista Natural Study Area, a hiking trail near Valley View. They hiked off-trail into a wooded area where prosecutors say Perkins shot Dunmire in the back of the head, killing him.
Investigators linked Perkins to the fatal shooting by using GPS data, DNA, ballistics and social media and phone records. Federal agents found three firearms at her Virginia home.
Bryce Buyakie covers courts and public safety for the Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @bryce_buyakie.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Virginia woman pleads guilty to killing Cleveland man in Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Reporting by Bryce Buyakie, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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