A Las Vegas journalist’s complaints about his “disgusting slob” roommate ended in murder when the freelancer was bludgeoned with a hammer and stuffed in a storage box, leaving both men dead by the case’s conclusion.
At a Glance
- Matthew Kelemen, 56, a Las Vegas freelance journalist, was found dead in a storage container after complaining about his roommate’s hygiene
- Roommate Joseph Del Rivo allegedly killed Kelemen with a hammer during a confrontation, then stuffed his body in an amplifier box
- Del Rivo later died in a high-speed police chase in Utah reaching speeds of 140 mph, eliminating any chance for justice or answers
- Kelemen had expressed concerns about Del Rivo to family and planned to move out before the confrontation turned deadly
A Fatal Roommate Dispute
Matthew Kelemen, a 56-year-old freelance journalist with contributions to publications including The Daily Beast, Las Vegas Sun, and Las Vegas Weekly, had grown increasingly uncomfortable with his living situation. For roughly six months, Kelemen had shared accommodations with Joseph Del Rivo, a man whose behavior had become a serious concern. The relationship between the two men had deteriorated to the point where Kelemen was actively planning to confront Del Rivo about his living habits, specifically his poor hygiene and slovenly behavior, despite worries about how his roommate might react.
According to Kelemen’s sister, Mikki Zaferatos, her brother had expressed significant unease about his living arrangement. “He’d only lived there for about six months, but he kept telling my brother what a strange guy [Del Rivo] was. He said he was really uneasy living there. ‘The guy was a disgusting slob,’ were his words,” Zaferatos told reporters. Kelemen had apparently been planning to confront Del Rivo but was “worried about how [Del Rivo’s] going to act” when confronted about his hygiene and housekeeping habits.
Grisly Discovery
On May 20, Las Vegas authorities made a horrific discovery when they responded to reports of a foul odor coming from a container near a business on North 3rd Street in Downtown Las Vegas. The container, which had been dropped off on May 16, contained Kelemen’s decomposing body wrapped in a tarp. Investigators believe Kelemen died from blunt force trauma, likely struck from behind with a hammer during what was supposed to be a confrontation about living conditions. The container was identified as a metal amplifier box belonging to Kelemen.
The investigation revealed that Del Rivo had rented storage space using the Bounce storage app, where he abandoned the container with Kelemen’s remains. After storage facility employees reported the suspicious odor emanating from the box, police discovered the journalist’s body in what Zaferatos described as “horror movie stuff.” The coroner’s office did not immediately release Kelemen’s name or official cause of death, but police quickly identified Del Rivo as the prime suspect in the murder case.
A Second Death Ends Investigation
Before authorities could apprehend Del Rivo for questioning in the murder investigation, he died in a dramatic highway incident in Utah. According to reports, Del Rivo was involved in a high-speed police chase on Interstate 70, with speeds reaching approximately 140 miles per hour. The pursuit ended tragically when Del Rivo lost control of his vehicle and was ejected during the crash. His death effectively closed any opportunity for a full investigation into his motives or a prosecution for Kelemen’s murder.
“I’m barely holding it together. I could not process what was going through my brain,” said Zaferatos when describing her reaction to learning about her brother’s murder from the medical examiner’s office. “They asked me my relationship to Matthew Kelemen, and I said, ‘That’s my brother.’ I thought maybe he got in a car accident or something,” she explained, highlighting the shock and devastating impact of the news on Kelemen’s family.
A Career Cut Short
Matthew Kelemen had built a respectable career in journalism since 2003, contributing to various Las Vegas publications and covering entertainment and culture in the city. His final articles included a review of Janet Jackson’s Las Vegas residency and coverage of the Memorial Day Weekend scene, with his Janet Jackson review published posthumously. The violent end to his life has left both colleagues in the journalism community and his family grappling with the senseless nature of his death, especially as it stemmed from what should have been a resolvable roommate dispute.
The case underscores the potential dangers that can lurk in shared living situations and how quickly domestic disputes can escalate to violence. With both men now deceased, many questions about the exact circumstances leading to the murder will likely remain unanswered, leaving a grieving family to wonder what might have been done to prevent such a tragic outcome.
