Update, August 2, 2024:
A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to life in prison for the kidnapping and death of a woman whose body was found in the Nevada desert.
After a trial in May of 2024, John Chapman was found guilty of one count of kidnapping resulting in death.
According to court documents, in November of 2019, a friend requested a welfare check on Jamie Feden. Neighbors told police they had not seen Feden in about two months, but they had seen Chapman entering and leaving her home.
Inside, they found ID cards with Chapman's name and picture, Feden's cell phone, multiple zip ties and a roll of duct tape.
Chapman took Feden to Las Vegas, Nevada, telling her it was for a vacation, and they might buy a home in the area.
Under the pretext of a bondage photo shoot in the desert, Chapman bound Feden's hands and feet and tied her to a signpost. He then applied duct tape to her mouth and watched her suffocate and die.
“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,” said United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada. “This sentence should send a clear message to others that kidnapping and killing another person will result in a substantial prison sentence."
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Original Story, November 22, 2019:
Authorities have confirmed a body found last month in a Nevada desert is a Pennsylvania woman who disappeared in September.
Officials in Nevada on Thursday announced dental records were used to identify 33-year-old Jamie Feden.
Police in Pennsylvania have charged her boyfriend, 39-year-old John Chapman of Oakland, Maryland, with kidnapping.
Authorities say Chapman told police the couple drove to Nevada, and he took Feden into the desert about 170 miles north of Las Vegas. Police say he told them he bound her to a signpost and placed duct tape over her nose and mouth until she suffocated.
Her body was found Oct. 5.
Chapman remains held in the Allegheny County Jail pending extradition to Nevada, where he faces a murder charge.
It’s not known if Chapman has a lawyer.
(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
