LAS VEGAS – A Pennsylvania man who was convicted by a federal jury was sentenced to life for kidnapping a woman in Pennsylvania then driving her to Nevada and killing her in the desert.
Following an eight-day jury trial in May 2024, John Matthew Chapman, was found guilty of one count of kidnapping resulting in death.
According to court documents and evidence presented during trial, on November 14, 2019, the Bethel Park Police Department in Pennsylvania conducted a welfare check on the victim at the request of a friend.
During the welfare check, neighbors stated that they had not seen the victim in approximately two months, but they had observed a person whom they believed to be her boyfriend (Chapman) entering and leaving the victim’s residence. Inside the victim’s residence, officers found identification cards with Chapman’s name and photograph, the victim’s cellular telephone, multiple zip ties, and a roll of duct tape.
On November 15, 2019, Bethel Park Police Department detectives arrested and interviewed Chapman. During the interview, Chapman admitted that in September 2019 he drove the victim from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, to Las Vegas. He also admitted that he misled the victim to believe the trip was a vacation and they would potentially purchase a residence in Las Vegas.
Chapman, however, had planned to kill the victim before their departure to Nevada.
Chapman told investigators that he drove the victim out to the desert in Lincoln County, Nevada. Under the pretext of a photo shoot, Chapman bound the victim’s hands and feet with plastic zip ties and affixed her to a signpost. Then he applied duct tape to her mouth and nose and watched her die from asphyxiation.
The joint investigation revealed that Chapman returned to Pennsylvania. He pretended to be the victim, including using the victim’s Facebook messenger account, and he continuously used the victim’s residence and money following her death.