Man federally charged after investigators say he kidnapped, killed local woman in Nevada desert

PITTSBURGH — UPDATE, March 31: The Lincoln County District Attorney said they will be filing two charges against Chapman once the federal court process has concluded. Those charges are murder of a vulnerable person and first degree kidnapping of a vulnerable person. The statute of limitations in Nevada allows three years for kidnapping charges to be filed and there is no limit for murder charges.

ORIGINAL: The man investigators said kidnapped and killed a Bethel Park woman in the Nevada desert is now facing federal charges.

John Chapman is now charged with kidnapping resulting in death, among other charges.

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In court documents, FBI agents said neighbors told them they had not seen Jaime Feden or her special access van in months. But they did see Chapman coming and going from her apartment. Inside, the FBI found a fake CIA credential with Chapman’s name and picture, along with three backpacks. One contained women’s underwear while another had zip ties and duct tape.

Feden was last seen by her family and friends Sept. 15 before she took a trip to Las Vegas with Chapman. Court documents said he misled her about why they were taking the trip, leading Feden to believe they were buying a house there, but he had a “kill kit” ready on the day they left Pennsylvania. He lured her into the desert outside Las Vegas under the pretext of conducting a photoshoot, investigators said.

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According to court documents, once Chapman got to the desert, he bound her hands and feet with zip ties and tied her to a signpost. He allegedly put duct tape on her mouth and nose until she couldn’t breathe and watched her as she died from asphyxiation.

Once she was dead, investigators said Chapman said he took her down from the signpost, removed the tape from her mouth and the zip ties from her hands and feet and then removed her clothes. He then left her next to the signpost and traveled back to Bethel Park, throwing her clothing at various places along the way.

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Her body was not found in the desert until early October and it took more than a month to positively identify her remains.

Chapman admitted to investigators he killed Feden for her money.

Investigators said that once he came back to Bethel Park, Chapman stayed at Feden’s house, passing it off as his own.

In addition to the federal charges, local law enforcement in Nevada said they were filing murder charges against Chapman there.

Channel 11′s Amy Hudak spoke with Chapman’s wife, Maureen, about what she remembers about the day Chapman was first arrested in connection with Feden’s disappearance.

Maureen said she got a 6 a.m. phone call from her husband just after he had been booked into jail and was being questioned by police. He later allegedly confessed to the kidnapping and murder.

“He said, ‘hun, I murdered a woman because I had to,’” Maureen told Channel 11.

A picture of Feden tied up in the desert was found on John Chapman’s cellphone.

“The picture is a trophy. I don’t see it any other way,” said Maureen.

Maureen told Channel 11 Chapman had asked her to go with him to Las Vegas too. She also said their first date -- in which they had pizza and watched movies -- took place at Feden’s townhouse.

John Chapman's wife recalls eerie phone call, texts after his arrest for Bethel Park woman's disappearance John Chapman's wife recalls eerie phone call, texts after his arrest for Bethel Park woman's disappearance

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