The remains of a long-time freelance writer were discovered last week inside a container at a downtown business in Las Vegas. According to authorities, Las Vegas police found the body of Matthew Kelemen, 56, while investigating a report of a foul-smelling odor coming from the container. The cause and manner of Kelemen’s death are still under investigation by the Las Vegas coroner’s office.
Police identified Kelemen’s 63-year-old roommate as the suspect in his death. However, the suspect died last week after crashing during a high-speed car chase involving the Utah highway patrol. Although the car chase was unrelated to Kelemen’s death, police have not disclosed further details about the incident or the type of business where Kelemen’s body was found.
Kelemen’s sister, Mikki Zaferatos, stated to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that her brother was planning to move out of the room he was renting in a house shared with the suspect. She described her brother as being uneasy about living there, referring to his roommate as “strange.”
Over two decades, Kelemen contributed film reviews, profiles, feature stories and more to local publications, including Las Vegas Weekly. In fact, a short story he wrote about Donny Osmond’s Strip residency was published in Las Vegas Magazine over the weekend. In 2003, Kelemen moved to Las Vegas and worked as a staff writer for several years at now-defunct magazines 944 and City Life.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/27/las-vegas-writer-death-police
