United States of America v. John Matthew Chapman

Las Vegas, Nevada, criminal defense lawyers represented the Defendant charged with kidnapping resulting in death in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1201(a)(1).

Reported by Kent Morlan

Chapman suffers from autism, Tourette syndrome,
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (“ADHD”), and he experienced
language and other developmental delays while growing up.
Chapman began a romantic relationship with Jamie Feden
(“Feden”) in 2009 that lasted on-and-off until her death in
2019. Feden was born with VATER syndrome, a rare
developmental syndrome which caused her to be small in
stature, resulted in breathing issues, asthma, and eye
problems, and prevented her from driving. Chapman
married another woman in 2018, unbeknownst to Feden, but
continued a romantic relationship with Feden, unbeknownst
to his wife.
In September 2019, Feden and Chapman took a road trip
to Las Vegas, which they had been planning for almost a
year. Months before the trip, Chapman searched the internet
for answers to questions about murdering an individual and
disposing of the body. Specifically, on June 23, 2019,
Chapman viewed and followed a question on Quora, a
website allowing individuals to post questions and answers,
asking “[i]f I’m a suspect in a murder but a body is never
found, can I be charged?” On the same day, Chapman also
interacted with a question reading “[y]ou have just murdered
someone. Where would you hide the body.” On August 12,
2019, Chapman interacted with a question asking whether an
individual could be charged “if the police think something
happened to my girlfriend” because she was reported
missing and refused to speak or confirm anything with the
police. Chapman also had viewed and followed questions
about whether acid would dissolve human flesh and when a
dead body would begin to float after drowning. On
September 5, 2019, Chapman interacted with a question
asking “[y]ou just murdered someone. Where would you
hide the body?”
Days before leaving for Las Vegas, Chapman had
mentioned to Feden that he wanted to rent a campsite for a
few nights, but their discussion ended in argument when
Feden said that she did not want to go camping because of
their disputes. Chapman also said that he would move in
with Feden after the camping trip if they had “a nice time”
and did not argue.
Feden and Chapman began driving to Las Vegas on
September 20, 2019. During three days of driving across the
country, Feden told her friends that she and Chapman were
considering moving to Las Vegas. They arrived in Las Vegas
on September 23, 2019, and stayed in a hotel for two days.
Also, on September 23, 2019, Chapman either made or
interacted with several posts stating “[d]ump body Nevada,”;
“[h]ow can I successfully dump a dead body without being
caught?”; and “[y]ou have just murdered someone. Where
would you hide the body.”
On September 25, 2019, Feden and Chapman drove to a
remote desert north of Las Vegas within Nevada. In his
taped confession, Chapman said he told Feden they were just
going for a drive. But, ending their drive, Chapman pulled
off the road, zip-tied Feden’s hands and feet to a signpost,
and then put layers of duct tape over Feden’s mouth and took
photos. Chapman later put duct tape over Feden’s nose, and Feden soon died. After Feden died, Chapman cut her body
from the zip ties, removed the tape and clothing from her
body, and left her body in the desert. Feden’s body was
found ten days later by a car passing by and was originally
declared a Jane Doe.

* * *

Chapman was charged with a complaint and indicted by
a grand jury on one count of kidnapping resulting in death in
violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1). Before trial, Chapman
moved to suppress his confession, and the district court
denied that motion after receiving a report and
recommendation from a magistrate judge, who held a
hearing on the issue.

The Defendant was found guilty.

Affirmed on appeal.