← Back to United States casesMatthew Dunmier Allegedly Murdered by Chelsea Perkins, Valley View, Ohio, United States
Case Summary
In March 2021, 31-year-old Matthew Dunmier was lured to a weekend meeting in Ohio by Chelsea Perkins (also known as OnlyFans model Selena Savage), a former high school acquaintance who harbored deep resentment over an unprosecuted 2017 sexual assault allegation against him. After checking into an Airbnb, having dinner, and engaging in physical intimacy, Perkins drove Dunmier to the Terra Vista Natural Study Area in Cuyahoga Valley National Park near Valley View, Ohio, where she shot him in the back of the head with a 9mm Springfield Armory handgun. Perkins then traveled to Michigan to get a tattoo and posted photos on social media celebrating her weekend. Following the murder, Dunmier's mother, Tommy Lynn Dunmier, suffered a severe mental breakdown from grief and vigilante obsession; she attempted to track down her son's killer, mistakenly shot an innocent woman in Washington, D.C., and then died by suicide. Ballistics, DNA, cell tower pings, and surveillance footage linked Perkins to the crime. She was arrested in December 2021 and eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on May 27, 2025.
Basic Information
Country: United States
State/Province: Ohio, United States
City/Region: Valley View
Incident Type: Murder
Relationship Status: Ex-partners
Relationship Duration:
Incident Date: March 6, 2021
Relationship Journey
Relationship Origins:
- Met at school/college/university
- Met on social media
Relationship Stages:
- Dating
- Police report filed
Analysis
Contributing Factors:
- Domestic Violence Allegation
- Long Distance Same Country
- Domestic Conflict
Red Flags:
- Secretive communication patterns
- Meeting people privately / hiddenly
- Deception after incident
- Suspects identified
- Missing Victim
- Firearm Access / Concerning Weapon Behavior
- Mental Health Deterioration / Hopelessness
Motives:
- Revenge
Relationship Outcomes:
- Legal case ongoing
- Arrest made
- Weapon recovery
- Deadbody recovery
- Suicide
People Link Graph
Matthew Dunmier Allegedly Murdered by Chelsea Perkins, Valley View, Ohio, United States
Relationship Journey Graph
Origin
- Met at school/college/university
- Met on social media
How the relationship or connection began.
Status
- Ex-partners
Stages
- Dating
- Police report filed
Important relationship phases recorded for this case.
Warning Signals
- Secretive communication patterns
- Meeting people privately / hiddenly
- Deception after incident
- Suspects identified
- Missing Victim
- Firearm Access / Concerning Weapon Behavior
- Mental Health Deterioration / Hopelessness
Reported red flags or early concern points.
Pressure Points
- Domestic Violence Allegation
- Long Distance Same Country
- Domestic Conflict
- Revenge
Contributing factors and possible motives from the available sources.
Incident
2021-03-06
Outcome
- Legal case ongoing
- Arrest made
- Weapon recovery
- Deadbody recovery
- Suicide
Recorded relationship or case outcome.
Sources
English labels are shown first. Original-language titles are preserved for source verification.
Matthew Dunmier Allegedly Murdered by Chelsea Perkins, Valley View, Ohio, United States
Coffee House Crime - USA · Original language: English
View original title
OnlyFans to Murder: The Wannabe Model Who Snapped With Revenge
AI Intelligence Assessment
Relationship Pattern
Revenge
Pattern Analysis
The case exhibits a classic long-simmering revenge pattern arising from an unresolved prior dispute. In 2017, Chelsea Perkins reported an alleged sexual assault by Matthew Dunmier to police, but authorities declined to file charges due to insufficient evidence. Festering over the belief that Dunmier had escaped accountability, Perkins spent four years harbouring resentment before re-establishing contact under the guise of a casual weekend catch-up. She systematically lured Dunmier into an isolated location, executed him, and attempted to obscure her crime while feigning normalcy on social media.
Investigative Notes
Federal and local law enforcement built a circumstantial and physical case utilizing turnpike surveillance, plate readers, cell tower pings, GPS history, gas station video, and credit card bookings at an Airbnb. Forensic analysis confirmed Perkins's DNA under the victim's fingernails, on his pubic area, and on an Aquafina bottle at the scene. Furthermore, ballistics matched a 9mm Springfield Armory handgun seized at Perkins's Arlington home to the fatal bullet. Perkins was arrested in December 2021 and entered a guilty plea to second-degree murder on May 27, 2025.
Investigation Confusion
During the initial phase before an arrest was publicly executed, law enforcement hesitated, leaving the victim's grieving family in severe distress. This investigative delay contributed to Tommy Lynn Dunmier launching an independent vigilante search, ultimately leading her to misidentify a target and shoot an innocent woman in Washington, D.C., before dying by suicide.
Case Reconstruction / Puzzle Pieces
Reconnecting with Dunmier via Facebook in February 2021, Perkins crafted a cover story about traveling through Ohio for a tattoo appointment. On March 5, 2021, she picked up Dunmier in a white Smart car registered to her husband. They spent the night at a Cleveland Airbnb and visited local establishments. On March 6, 2021, Perkins drove Dunmier to the Terra Vista Natural Study Area in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, where she shot him in the back of the head. She then drove to Michigan to receive a tattoo, posted celebratory photos on Instagram, and returned home to Virginia until a search warrant recovered the murder weapon weeks later.
Risk Assessment
Perkins displayed severe behavioural escalation and risk indicators, including weapon possession, deceptive planning under an online persona, and calculated pre-incident messaging ("Dead men tell no tale"). Her ability to compartmentalize lethal violence while immediately maintaining a public social media presence highlights extreme dangerousness driven by fixation on past perceived grievances.
Key Takeaways
Unresolved allegations combined with intense personal resentment can evolve into lethal revenge schemes years after the original grievance. Digital footprints, including cell tower location data, financial transactions, and social media activity, provide essential investigative links in cross-jurisdictional homicide cases.
AI Case Q&A
What early signals mattered most?
Early warning signs included Perkins posting 'Dead men tell no tale' on Facebook on the exact day she reconnected with Dunmier, as well as her persistent obsession with the unprosecuted 2017 sexual assault allegation.
Which clues helped connect the case?
Key clues connecting the suspect included supervisor eyewitness testimony at the bar, surveillance footage of the white Smart car, gas station video showing Dunmier purchasing the Aquafina water bottle found at the crime scene, and cell tower pings placing both phones together in the park.
Which evidence types appeared strongest?
The strongest physical evidence consisted of Perkins's DNA under Dunmier's fingernails and pubic area, her DNA on the water bottle beside his body, ballistics matching her 9mm Springfield Armory handgun to the bullet in the victim's skull, and Airbnb credit card records.
Witness / Eyewitness Statements
Matthew Dunmier's supervisor reported seeing him enter a small white car driven by a brown-haired woman outside Tiki Underground. Park visitors reported hearing a single gunshot and subsequently seeing Perkins's white Smart car and Perkins herself near the cemetery trail where the body was found.
How did follow-up reports change the understanding?
Initial missing-person reports quickly shifted to a federal homicide investigation when hikers found Dunmier's body. Delayed arrest proceedings resulted in a secondary tragedy involving Dunmier's mother, before Perkins was eventually taken into custody and pleaded guilty in 2025.
What remained unclear?
It remains unclear why Perkins engaged in voluntary physical intimacy with Dunmier shortly before executing him, or why law enforcement delayed her formal arrest for several months despite possessing strong physical and ballistic evidence.