John Chapman sentenced to life in prison for murdering Bethel Park woman Jaime Feden in 2019

LAS VEGAS — John Chapman was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for kidnapping Jaime Feden, driving her to Nevada and killing her in the desert.

>> Timeline of Bethel Park woman’s disappearance, man’s alleged confession of her murder

Chapman was found guilty of Feden’s murder in April 2024 after an eight-day trial.

Channel 11′s Amy Hudak was the only Pittsburgh television reporter to attend Chapman’s trial. We were in court as a motive, smoking gun and the defense were revealed.

Chapman and Feden knew each other for about 10 years and their relationship was very on-again, off-again.

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Photos on Chapman’s cell phone showed Feden zip-tied to a signpost in the Nevada desert with duct tape covering her mouth and nose, where she was left to die.

Officers found her body days later.

The defense argued that Feden consented to be tied up and duct taped when she was intimate with Chapman and that’s what the two were doing in the desert when she died.

“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. Thank you to our federal and local law enforcement partners for their hard work in bringing justice for the victim’s family.”

Chapman still faces trial at the state level. He’s charged with murder of a vulnerable person in Nevada.

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