LAS VEGAS — John Chapman was found guilty on Wednesday of kidnapping and killing Bethel Park woman Jaime Feden in 2019.
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Channel 11′s Amy Hudak was the only local reporter there as witnesses from the Pittsburgh area took the stand. We were in court as a motive, smoking gun and the defense were revealed.
>> Prosecution rests in John Chapman murder trial, defense calls first witness
“The world was a better place with Jaime in it. She was very sweet,” neighbor Betsy Mueller said. “What happened to her shouldn’t happen to anyone, particularly her who couldn’t defend herself.”
During the trial, we learned that Feden was receiving money from a trust fund after her mother’s death.
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Feden’s uncle Keith Lewis testified that he and his wife helped manage the trust fund. The prosecution says the $200 per week Feden was getting from the trust fund was being siphoned into Chapman’s bank account.
The defense said that this killing wasn’t intentional, it was accidental, arguing that there is much more to the story and that Feden and Chapman had a unique relationship.
Chapman and Feden knew each other for about 10 years and their relationship was very on-again, off-again.
“I think it’s the right verdict. He took her out there, he was the last person to see her alive. What he did to her was wrong. You need to pay for your crimes,” Mueller said.
>> Ex-wife of man suspected of murdering Bethel Park woman in 2019 speaks out
Photos of Feden off of a deleted drive on one of Chapman’s cell phones were presented in court. The pictures showed Feden zip-tied to a signpost in the Nevada desert with duct tape covering her mouth and nose.
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.
Bethel Park Police released a statement in reaction to the verdict thanking law enforcement at multiple levels for their work on this case adding:
“We also hope that this verdict helps to bring closure to the family of Ms. Feden. Our entire Department extends its deepest sympathies to Ms. Feden’s family and friends.”
Many witnesses traveled across the country to testify, including one of Chapman’s ex-wives Maureen Baldauf. In a statement to Channel 11, she wrote, “I pray he gets the maximum sentence of life without parole!!!”
Chapman still faces trial at the state level. In Nevada, he is charged with murder of a vulnerable person. That trial will take place in Lincoln County, Nevada.
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