Joseph Del Rivo’s crashed and burned out car (Utah Highway Patrol).
A Las Vegas murder mystery appears to have concluded in Utah — without justice — as the presumed killer died while on the lam.
In mid-May, Matthew Kelemen, 56, a freelance journalist who often wrote for “Las Vegas Magazine,” was killed. His body was then wrapped in a tarp and locked in a storage container — and left to decompose at a business that stores luggage in downtown Sin City.
The discovery was made on May 20, when an employee noticed a “foul-smelling odor” coming from the storage container in question, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD). The offending parcel, it turned out, had been dropped off on May 16.
At the business, customers use a mobile app to arrange their luggage drop-offs. Police quickly put the information to work.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
Joseph Del Rivo, 63, the victim’s roommate, was soon on law enforcement’s radar as the presumed suspect in the slaying.
But the pursuit of information did not last long.
“On May 21, 2025, detectives were notified that Del Rivo was involved in an unrelated high-speed pursuit with the Utah Highway Patrol the day prior, which resulted in his death after he crashed,” the press release reads.
On Tuesday, at around 5:45 p.m. Mountain Time, a trooper noticed Del Rivo traveling along Interstate 70 — coming up behind him, heading eastbound and presumably speeding.
“He measured the suspect vehicle’s speed over 90 mph,” the Beehive State police wrote in a press release. “He activated his emergency lights and the suspect vehicle fled increasing its speeds to 140+.”
