Murder suspect lived in victim’s home for weeks with body in the freezer, police say
A woman who was found dead in a freezer in her home had invited the person now facing a murder charge in her death to come and live with her after meeting the person at Home Depot, police said.
Daniel Roush, 37, was arrested in connection with 68-year-old Monique Gilbertson’s death and faces a second-degree murder charge. Roush is also known as Jazlynn Roush, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report.
According to the arrest report, the suspect continued to live in Gilbertson’s home for around two weeks with Gilbertson’s body in the freezer.
Gilbertson was last seen on Oct. 22, according to Demecia Lopez, an office manager on the property, the report said. She said that Gilbertson had been known to make complaints often, but that over time, the two had developed a friendship.
Worrying signs, such as Gilbertson’s car being parked in an unusual way and her dogs barking loudly, prompted Lopez to call the police, asking them to perform a welfare check.
When officers searched Gilbertson’s residence on Nov. 6, they found her body in a freezer chest. Roush and Roush’s wife, Gina Roush, were in the home but did not answer the door at first when police knocked.
A chance encounter
In an interview with police on Nov. 6, Roush reported finding Gilbertson dead around a week before Halloween and believed she had taken drugs.
Roush, in an interview the same day in a Metro police vehicle, recalled feeling alone and scared. “I put her in the icebox, because I didn’t know what to do,” Roush said. “Until I could figure it out, I had her in the icebox.”
Gilbertson and Roush met around one month ago, according to Lopez. Gilbertson had told her that the two of them met out shopping at Home Depot and, according to the report, “after some small talk, Monique offered for this person to move in.”
But shortly after Roush moved in, Gilbertson told Lopez that she was “upset about how filthy Roush was,” complaining that she was finding drug paraphernalia around the house and that some of her belongings were going missing. Gilbertson kicked Roush out of the house and changed the locks, according to police. She said she wanted Roush’s belongings removed, but her request to Roush went unanswered.
Lopez said Gilbertson wanted to throw the stuff away, including a handgun, but she was persuaded by Lopez to call the police instead. Gilbertson called 311 on Oct. 22 but, after waiting on hold, decided to call back later. That was the last time Lopez ever saw or heard from Gilbertson.
Police interviews
In an interview with police, Roush said that there had been some altercations with Gilbertson throughout their time living together, including one in which Gilbertson complained Roush had eaten her peanut butter.
Roush told police that Gilbertson did not work and got Social Security, adding that she “enjoyed her Kahlua drinks and took pain pills,” but that they didn’t “party” together.
Roush also told police about fighting with Gilbertson. “I stayed calm you know, I didn’t trip out on her at all.”
Gina Roush told police that she had been visiting “her estranged husband of 16 years” at Gilbertson’s home. She said she had visited on several occasions and regularly stayed overnight on the floor.
Initially, Gina Roush, who was also present in the home when police arrived, denied any knowledge that Gilbertson had been dead in the freezer.
But later, she contacted police and told them that she had not been truthful, according to the report. Gina Roush said that her husband was a drug dealer and was selling drugs to Gilbertson.
Her husband told her that Gilbertson had overdosed, and Gina Roush responded that they should “do whatever,” but that being on probation, she didn’t want to be involved.
Gina Roush eventually admitted to being told the body was in the freezer, but denied having any part in putting Gilbertson in there.
However, she gave conflicting information about when she found this out, and at one point told 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 overdosed right in front of her husband, an allegation which Roush denied, though Roush did express regret for not reporting the death immediately.
Police said that because of the inconsistencies present in Roush’s story, it was “apparent” that Roush was lying to cover up a crime.
Among evidence at the scene was “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.
A previous version of this story misstated Gilbertson’s first name.
Contact Estelle Atkinson at eatkinson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @estellelilym on X and @estelleatkinsonreports on Instagram.