Murder suspect kept body in freezer while living in Las Vegas home | Murders

A woman found dead in a freezer in her home invited the person now facing murder charges in her death to stay with her after meeting the person at Home Depot, police said.

Daniel Roush, 37, was arrested in connection with the death of 68-year-old Melanie Gilbertson and faces second-degree murder charges. According to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report, Roush is also known as Jazlynn Roush.

According to the arrest report, the suspect continued to live in Gilbertson's home for about two weeks while Gilbertson's body was in the freezer.

According to Demecia Lopez, an office manager at the property, Gilbertson was last seen on Oct. 22, the report said. She said Gilbertson was known to complain frequently, but over time the two developed a friendship.

Worrying signs, such as Gilbertson's car being parked abnormally and her dogs barking loudly, led Lopez to call police and ask them to conduct an animal welfare check.

When officers searched Gilbertson's home on November 6, they found her body in a freezer. Roush and Roush's wife, Gina Roush, were in the house but did not initially answer the door when police knocked.

A chance encounter

In a Nov. 6 interview with police, Roush reported that she found Gilbertson dead about a week before Halloween and believed she had taken drugs.

Roush recalled feeling alone and scared in an interview that same day in a Metro police vehicle. “I put them in the fridge because I didn’t know what to do,” Roush said. “I had them in the fridge until I found out.”

According to Lopez, Gilbertson and Roush met about a month ago. Gilbertson had told her that the two met while shopping at Home Depot and, according to the report, “after some small talk, Monique offered this person to move in with her.”

But shortly after Roush moved in, Gilbertson told Lopez she was “upset at how dirty Roush was” and complained that she had found drug paraphernalia in the house and that some of her belongings had gone missing. According to police, Gilbertson kicked Roush out of the house and changed the locks. She said she wanted to remove Roush's belongings, but her request to Roush went unanswered.

Lopez said Gilbertson wanted to throw away the stuff, including a handgun, but Lopez persuaded her to call the police instead. Gilbertson called 311 on Oct. 22, but after waiting on hold, decided to call again later. That was the last time Lopez saw or heard from Gilbertson.

Police interviews

In an interview with police, Roush said there were several arguments with Gilbertson while they lived together, including one in which Gilbertson complained that Roush had eaten her peanut butter.

Roush told police that Gilbertson did not work and was not receiving Social Security, adding that she “enjoyed her Kahlua drinks and took pain pills” but they did not “party” together.

Roush also told police about fights with Gilbertson. “I stayed calm, you know, I didn't trip over them at all.”

Gina Roush told police she visited “her estranged husband of 16 years” at Gilbertson's home. She said she had visited several times and regularly slept on the floor.

Gina Roush, who was also present at the home when police arrived, initially denied any knowledge that Gilbertson had been dead in the freezer.

But she later contacted police and told them she wasn't telling the truth, according to the report. Gina Roush said her husband was a drug dealer and sold drugs to Gilbertson.

Her husband told her that Gilbertson had overdosed, and Gina Roush replied that they should “do anything” but since she was on probation, she didn't want to be involved.

Gina Roush eventually admitted that she had been told that the body was in the freezer, but denied having any role in putting Gilbertson there.

However, she gave conflicting accounts about when she found out about it, at one point telling police that she had nothing to do with Gilbertson's “murder.”

She also told police that her husband had given Gilbertson narcotics laced with fentanyl and that she had overdosed right in front of her husband, a claim that Roush denied, although Roush expressed regret that he had done so Death was not immediately reported.

Police said that because of the inconsistencies in Roush's story, it was “obvious” that Roush lied to cover up a crime.

Evidence at the crime scene included “blood near the freezer,” according to the report. Gilbertson's cause of death has not yet been released by the Clark County Coroner's Office.

Contact Estelle Atkinson at [email protected]. Follow @estellelilym on X and @estelleatkinsonreports on Instagram.