Las Vegas Journalist Found Dead, Roommate Suspect Dies in Utah Crash

Las Vegas journalist Matthew Kelemen was found dead in a large locked container dropped off at The Beef Jerky Store in downtown Las Vegas, with foul odors prompting police to forcibly open the bin and discover his body wrapped in a tarp. Police identified Kelemen's roommate, 63-year-old Joseph Del Rivo, as the prime suspect in the homicide; Del Rivo had used a luggage storage app to arrange the container's drop-off and informed the business it would be picked up later. Shortly after the discovery, Del Rivo died in a high-speed police chase in Utah, where he was ejected from his vehicle after losing control at speeds exceeding 140 mph. Investigators suspect Kelemen died from blunt force trauma, though the official cause of death was pending. Kelemen, a freelance journalist whose work appeared in outlets such as Las Vegas Magazine, The Daily Beast, and Las Vegas Sun, had reportedly expressed discomfort living with Del Rivo and had planned to move out. The tragic case highlights a violent dispute between roommates ending in murder and a fatal police pursuit.