Man sentenced for kidnapping woman, tying her to signpost in the desert, and watching her die

LAS VEGAS (TCN) -- A Pennsylvania man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for kidnapping a woman, misleading her to believe he was taking her on a vacation, driving her to Nevada, and killing her in the desert.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada announced Aug. 2 that a judge sentenced John Chapman to life in prison in connection with the abduction and death of a woman, identified by NBC News as 33-year-old Jaime Rae Feden. A jury convicted him in May of one count of kidnapping resulting in death.

In a bulletin, the Bethel Park Police Department said Feden was last seen on Sept. 15, 2019. Bethel Park Police in Pennsylvania performed a welfare check on the victim in November 2019, during which neighbors reportedly said they saw Feden with Chapman, who they believed was her boyfriend. Inside the home, authorities discovered identification cards with Chapman’s name and photograph, Feden’s phone, zip ties, and duct tape, according to prosecutors.

One of Feden’s relatives told officials she was speaking with the victim via Facebook messenger, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. Investigators reportedly discovered Chapman responded to messages as Feden after her death. Prosecutors said Chapman also used Feden’s home and money.

Bethel Park Police arrested Chapman on Nov. 15, 2019. He told authorities that he drove Feden from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, to Las Vegas in September 2019. Chapman confessed that he "misled the victim to believe the trip was a vacation, and they would potentially purchase a residence in Las Vegas." However, prosecutors said Chapman planned to kill Feden before they left for Nevada.

Chapman informed officials that he drove Feden to the desert in Lincoln County, Nevada, where he told her they were going to do a bondage photo shoot. Chapman allegedly zip-tied the victim’s hands and feet and attached her to a signpost. He then reportedly "applied duct tape to her mouth and nose and watched her die from asphyxiation."

According to the criminal complaint, after Chapman’s admission, investigators learned Lincoln County officials in Nevada found a deceased victim on Oct. 5, 2019. Using dental records, the Jane Doe was positively identified as Feden.

Detectives also reportedly discovered photographs of the victim on Chapman’s cellphone, including one of her under a "VEGAS" sign, as well as a photograph of Feden bound in the desert and affixed to the signpost.

In a statement, United States Attorney Jason Frierson for the District of Nevada said, "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."

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