Cleveland, Ohio (WOIO) – A convicted murderer and former adult film actress has been required to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to the family of a local man she killed in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, although she is contesting the payment.
A federal judge has mandated that Chelsea Perkins compensate the estate and family of Matthew Dunmire, who she fatally injured in March 2021.
The hearing took place in private, and court officials have yet to reveal the judge’s ruling. However, 19 Investigates uncovered additional details from court documents.
History of the murder case
Matthew Dunmire, a young musician and parent, was killed at the age of 31 in what prosecutors described as a “retribution killing.” Perkins laterpleaded guiltyfaced a second-degree murder charge and a firearms charge, confessing that she was responsible for his death.
The mother and veteran, who also managed an OnlyFans account, attributed the killing to PTSD resulting from previous sexual assaults. The two had known each other before, and Perkins had accused him of rape several years prior, although no legal charges were ever pressed.
In 2021, she journeyed from Virginia to meet Dunmire. Authorities discovered that they spent the night at an Airbnb in Cleveland, after which she shot him in the head and abandoned him near a cemetery in Valley View within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
“If you’ve ever met him, I mean, you wouldn’t think this kid could hurt a flea, let alone anyone else,” said Dan Dunmire, Matthew’s uncle, earlier this year.
Restitution dispute
In recent months, a federal judge has required Perkins to provide compensation to Dunmire’s estate and relatives, a requirement under federal law when the crime involved was violent.
As per legal filings, the prosecutors requested compensation for Dunmire’s projected lost earnings, funeral costs, and his family’s travel expenses to attend court from another state.
However, Perkins disagreed with paying the requested amount of lost earnings, which was listed above $596,000. In legal papers, she challenged the figure that prosecutors determined and also mentioned that his living costs should be deducted from the overall amount.
Prosecutors responded in a court document, stating, “She should not be allowed to evade contributing to his estate—which will eventually belong to his young children—by asserting that he earned no income even though he had a full-time job and was able to work. To decide differently would mean granting the Defendant an unfair advantage despite her wrongdoing.”
The Financial Crimes Unit within the U.S. Attorney’s Office is responsible for enforcingorders of restitutionHowever, they realistically point out that the likelihood of complete recovery is very low because many defendants lack the funds to compensate their victims.
Chelsea Perkins is currently incarcerated in a federal prison located in West Virginia, serving a sentence of 22 and a half years. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Federal Public Defender’s Office have not provided any information to 19 News regarding the status of the hearing.
Need an investigation? Contact 19 Investigates with your request.
