A Las Vegas journalist was found dead in a box at a business earlier this week, and the man believed to be his murderer died in Utah when he flipped his vehicle while fleeing a state trooper.
Matthew Scott Keleman’s sister, Mikki Zaferatos, told the Las Vegas Review Journal that the Clark County Coroner’s Office informed her of her brother’s death on Wednesday. Police investigtators told her that Keleman’s roommate, identified as 63-year-old Joseph Del Rivo had dropped the box off on Monday after making arrangements through an app that allows people to store luggage or other items short term.
Del Rivo reportedly told the business that someone would pick it up again later this week, but when a moving company arrived on Tuesday, employees noted a foul odor from the box and called police, who found the body inside. Police reportedly tried to contact Del Rivo, and he 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.
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[Featured image: Utah crash scene/Sevier County Sheriff’s Office. Inset: Matthew Keleman/Red Flag magazine]
