A journalist from Las Vegas was discovered deceased inside a crate at a business location earlier this week. The individual suspected of committing the murder, unfortunately, lost his life in Utah after overturning his vehicle while trying to escape from a state trooper.
Matthew Scott Keleman’s sister, Mikki Zaferatos, shared with the Las Vegas Review Journal that the Clark County Coroner’s Office notified her about her brother’s passing on Wednesday. According to the police investigators, Keleman’s roommate, identified as 63-year-old Joseph Del Rivo, had dropped off the box on Monday. He did so using an app designed for short-term storage of luggage or other items.
Del Rivo reportedly informed the business that the box would be collected later in the week. However, when a moving company came on Tuesday, employees detected a foul odor emanating from the box and alerted the police, who then discovered the body inside. Attempts were made by the police to reach Del Rivo, and he subsequently became a suspect in Keleman’s murder.
That same day, a Utah state trooper pursued Del Rivo’s car in that state, and he was ejected and died in a rollover crash. According to KUTV, the crash happened in Sevier County late Tuesday afternoon when the trooper noticed a vehicle approaching from behind him and passing at more than 90 miles per hour.
The trooper activated his emergency lights and initiated a pursuit, and the driver topped 140 miles per hour as he fled. The highway patrol spiked the driver’s tires, but he kept going until the tires began to come apart. As another trooper prepared to set out more spikes, Del Rivo left the roadway, overturned several times, and was ejected from the vehicle.
Zaferatos said Keleman has recently told his family he planned to move out of the room he’d leased, the Review Journal said.
“He’d only lived there for about six months, but he kept telling my brother what a strange guy this was,” Zaferatos said. “He said he was really uneasy living there. ‘The guy was a disgusting slob,’ were his words. Matt said, ‘OK, I’m going to tell him. I’m just worried about how he’s going to react.’”
Although a cause and manner of death for Keleman have not yet been released, Zaferatos said investigators told her they believe he was struck from behind by some type of blunt object.
Keleman had worked in media since moving to Las Vegas in 2003, with bylines appearing in multiple local publications as well as some national outlets. Recently published pieces included a profile of Janet Jackson and a preview of Memorial Day weekend.
