She Was a Coast Guard Vet, an Adult Film Actress — and Finally, a Killer. Inside Her Chilling Story

A Virginia woman lured a man she claimed had raped her into the isolated woods of a national park in Ohio — and fired a bullet into the back of his head. 

Chelsea Perkins, 35, pleaded guilty to second degree murder after shooting 31-year-old Matthew Dunmire in the back of the head, killing him, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

Perkins, a coast guard veteren who later became an OnlyFans model, shot Dunmire in March 2021, about four years after she accused him of rape, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cleveland 19 and Law & Crime reported. 

On March 9, 2021 at around 11:00 a.m., authorities showed up to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park when hikers discovered a dead body, later identified as Dunmire, according to the criminal complaint. An autopsy found that his cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the back of his head. 

An investigation found that four days before Dunmire’s body was found, he was out with his co-workers at a bar when he told them he was going to meet a girl he met online who was staying in the area, per the criminal complaint. 

Dunmire’s boss watched him get into a white car and leave. Authorities say the car Dunmire got in belonged to Perkins’ husband, the criminal complaint said. The two later drove to an Airbnb that Perkins rented.

The next day, Dunmire sent a text to his girlfriend that he planned to donate plasma and return home, the complaint said. Authorities tracked his phone to the Terra Vista Natural Study Area of the park. 

At approximately 10:29 a.m., Dunmire sent a text to his girlfriend saying “OK. I’ll see you in a little while,” the complaint said. 

A couple hiking in the woods said to authorities that they heard a gunshot between 11:30 and 11:50 a.m, per the complaint.  

Another couple said they encountered a woman in the woods wearing all black clothing, black knee-high boots and a black hoodie. According to the criminal complaint, the woman seemed confused and expressed no emotion. She noted she was looking for the cemetery and became lost. 

On March 30, 2021, investigators executed a search warrant of Perkins’ home in Arlington where they found that the markings on the bullet that killed Dunmire were similar to those seized by officers at Perkins’ home, according to the criminal complaint. 

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On May 27, Perkins pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence on federal property, a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Ohio said. If the court accepts the plea agreement, Perkins faces between 20 and 25 years in prison. 

Perkins is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 9, 2025, per their statement.