It was Tuesday, September 9, 2025. U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. gazed down at the defendant, a woman by the name of Chelsea Perkins.
In May of that year, Perkins had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder under federal law, as well as discharging a firearm on federal property. “There’s no real way to put value on a human life,” said the judge.
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He handed down his sentence. Chelsea Perkins was then remanded into federal custody for the murder she committed back in 2021.
What Happened with Chelsea Perkins?
March 2021. Chelsea Perkins drove her husband’s Smart car from Alexandria, Virginia, to Northern Ohio, a journey of more than 300 miles.
Perkins was a 35-year-old veteran who had spent a brief period in the U.S. Coast Guard.
Here, she had met her future husband, who was still an actively serving member. She was now a mother. By 2021, she was running an OnlyFans account under the name Sabrina Savage and also working as an adult film actress.
She had arranged via Facebook to meet a man she had previously known, Matthew Dunmire. Dunmire was 31 years old, a father of two, and an aspiring musician who lived in Cleveland, OH. He was “a free spirit who loved music, playing his guitar, and being with his friends.”
According to some accounts, the two spent four years in the same high school, from 2005 to 2009.
She picked him up, and the two spent the night together at an Airbnb vacation home in Cleveland that she had booked. Then, on March 6, the next morning, Perkins drove Dunmire to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Valley View, Ohio.
Here, they took a long hike through the Terra Vista Natural Study Area, and eventually went off the trail and into a wooded area, not far past an old cemetery, the Terra Vista Cemetery.
And it was at this moment that Perkins whipped out a loaded handgun and executed Dunmire. She shot him in the back of his head and left him to die.
Was There More To This?
Speculation has run rampant as to why Perkins would do this.
Back in 2017, Perkins accused a man of raping her. That man was none other than Matthew Dunmire.
She had filed a report with Virginia Beach police. However, there wasn’t enough evidence to file any charges.
On the other hand, Dunmire’s family asserted that this was a man who wouldn’t even “harm a flea.” The truth of the matter will likely never be known.
Her defense team claimed in court that she had PTSD from past sexual assaults. No matter what happened exactly, the prosecutors characterized it as a “revenge killing.”
What Did Perkins Do Next?
After shooting and killing Dunmire, Perkins left his body in the woods and hiked back to her car. She then drove to Detroit, Michigan, where she got a tattoo of a noose on her forearm. She had been messaging her tattoo artist the previous day.
Finally, she drove home to Virginia.
It would be three days – Tuesday, March 9 – before a group of hikers stumbled across Dunmire’s body. They alerted the local authorities, the Valley View Police Department (VVPD), who arrived around 11:00 am.
They found Dunmire’s identification card in his pocket. He was wearing a black leather jacket, a black hoodie, black jeans, and black boots, as well as fingerless black gloves.
Authorities took Dunmire’s body to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy. Here, the medical examiner confirmed that he had been killed with a single 9mm gunshot wound to the back of the head.
Perkins committed murder in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. As a national park, its governing jurisdiction falls under the federal government, instead of the state or city.
As such, the case proceeded under federal jurisdiction, led by the FBI with assistance from local agencies.
How Did Chelsea Perkins Get Caught?
Four days before his body was discovered, on March 5, Dunmire went out drinking with a co-worker, his supervisor in the Tiki Underground bar. He told that co-worker he was meeting up with a girl who was staying in the area for the weekend.
Later that evening, around 6 pm, that same co-worker left the bar with Dunmire, and “saw a woman with brown hair pick him up in a white Smart car.”
As soon as investigators had this information, they began the hunt for the Smart car. It didn’t take long before they discovered that it was registered to Perkins’ husband, in Virginia.
Overall, the U.S. Attorney’s Office described “GPS data, DNA, social media and phone records, and ballistics analysis.” Authorities also used toll-road data to track her husband’s car driving across several states.
Witnesses from the National Park were also very helpful. Reports described a woman matching Perkins’ description on the trail. Other hikers in the area also heard a gunshot at some time between 11:30 am and 11:50 am, and still more reported a Smart car matching Perkins’ in the parking lot.
Thanks to this evidence, the FBI executed a search warrant at Perkins’ Virginia home on March 30. Inside, they found three 9mm pistols, including one in her purse.
After seizing Perkins’ phone, investigators also uncovered a deleted note. It appeared to be a fake suicide note that she had written, perhaps intending to cover up her crime.
Perkins was arrested by federal agents on December 9, 2021, at her residence in Pensacola, Florida.
The Dunmire Parents’ Attempted Revenge Killing
Perkins was the FBI’s main suspect from very early on. In fact, the Perkins home was under surveillance from March 17, just 11 days after the murder. But it took nearly nine months before they had enough evidence to be sure they would get a conviction.
In the meantime, Dunmire’s parents – Tommie Lynn Dunmire (his mother) and John Nelson McQuillen (father) became frustrated with the investigation and launched their own. Tommie Lynn’s mental health, in particular, significantly deteriorated.
The couple decided to take matters into their own hands. They drove to Washington, DC. It was November 5, 2021. They were armed.
Disguised as a UPS driver, Tommie Lynn knocked on an apartment door. A woman who she believed had murdered her son answered. Tommie Lynn shot the woman twice in the abdomen with a revolver. She then fled the scene with John driving.
But this was not the person who murdered Matthew. It was not Chelsea Perkins. It was a completely innocent 30-year-old woman. Tommie Lynn had made a terrible mistake.
Tommie Lynn and John fled the scene, changing the plates on their car to try to avoid the authorities. However, it didn’t take long before the police caught up with them.
Tommie Lynn died by suicide shortly after being pulled over on Florida Avenue NE, not long after.
McQuillen, Dunmire’s father, later pleaded guilty to “accessory after the fact to assault with intent to kill.” He received a sentence of three years in prison and has since been released.
The innocent woman shot in the abdomen survived her injuries.
Chelsea Perkins Sentence
It would be three-and-a-half years before the case was resolved in court. Perkins chose to accept a plea deal from the prosecution and pleaded guilty on May 27, 2025, avoiding a mandatory life sentence if found guilty otherwise.
In September 2025, her sentencing date arrived. Dunmire’s family flew in from out of state to be there. Perkins, dressed in a traditional prison orange jumpsuit, addressed them in the courtroom: “I take full responsibility for what I’ve done.”
Matthew’s uncle, Dan Dunmire, addressed the court and the judge. “Someone who can do this can do it to anyone.”
The judge agreed with the prosecution; Perkins’ motive was revenge. But he also took into account her lifetime of trauma. However, he added, “She wasn’t living a lifestyle conducive to being a good mother…”
As part of her plea deal, Perkins had accepted a prison sentence of between 20 and 25 years.
Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. landed on a term directly in the middle, and sentenced her to 270 months – exactly 22 and a half years – behind bars. She is serving it in a federal prison in West Virginia so she can be near her family.
Upon her release, she will also be supervised for five years. Dunmire’s family believed she got off easy.
How Much Did Chelsea Perkins Have to Pay in Restitution?
When an offense is a violent crime, U.S. federal law mandates that the perpetrator must pay restitution to the victim’s estate and family. And on December 2, 2025, it was time for these to be decided.
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As of December 2025, court officials have not officially announced the judge’s decision. However, documents seen by Cleveland 19 show that the prosecutors sought restitution to cover Dunmire’s future lost income, as well as the expenses for his funeral and the family’s travel expenses to get to the court.
The total for Dunmire’s lost income came to at least $596,000. Perkins is challenging the figure.
Realistically, the chances of Perkins ever paying off her full restitution fee is very low. Most defendants simply don’t have the finances to pay off sums of money this large.
However, whatever Perkins can pay will go into Dunmire’s estate and will eventually be inherited by his two children, who were, at the time of writing, minors.
Sources
https://people.com/chelsea-perkins-onlyfans-model-learns-fate-for-shooting-matthew-dunmire-11807481
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