A Las Vegas court has heard details of the murder of 68 year-old Monique Gilbertson, whose body was discovered by law enforcement locked in a freezer. The victim’s roommate Daniel Roush, who identifies as transgender and also uses the name Jazlynn Marie, is accused of killing Gilbertson with fentanyl-laced cocaine before disposing of her body.
Police were dispatched for a welfare check to Gilberston’s mobile home on November 6 after a concerned acquaintance reported that the woman had been unreachable for two weeks.
A press release was issued by the Las Vegas Police Department the following day after a thorough investigation of the residence was conducted.
“Officers entered the home and located two individuals inside who could not provide officers with the location of the elderly female,” the release said. “While officers searched the home they located a deceased female in a freezer. Both individuals were detained as investigators determined their involvement.”
Authorities arrested Roush after investigators established that he was “involved in the victim’s death.” He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center.
According to the police report, Gilbertson met Roush while shopping at hardware store Home Depot, and invited him to move in with her. According to someone who knew Gilbertson, Roush had agreed to help with chores around the house in exchange for a room, but shortly after he began living with Gilbertson, she started to complain about Roush’s untidiness and his drug paraphernalia scattered about the home.
Property manager Demecia Lopez, who reported Gilberston’s disappearance to police, told investigators that Gilbertson had complained “about how filthy Roush was” in the weeks leading up to her death, allegedly telling Lopez she was “upset” and had kicked Roush out, in addition to changing her locks.
In the police report, authorities said Roush was inconsistent when questioned on where he found Gilbertson’s body, and how she had ended up in the freezer. Roush had initially told police that Gilbertson frequently drank and took pain medication, and that he had discovered her deceased at the dining room table. He then claimed he hid her body in the freezer because he “didn’t know what to do.”
Roush pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder on Wednesday. Prosecutors, meanwhile, argued that Roush “willfully, unlawfully, feloniously, and with malice” caused Gilbertson’s death.
Reduxx found that Roush, who has a young daughter, has a lengthy criminal record, including a previous conviction for child abuse, neglect, and endangerment, a felony offense in the state of Nevada. In July 2020, Roush was sentenced to 12 months minimum suspended sentence, and was ordered to submit to drug and alcohol testing upon the request of the Division of Parole.
In March of 2022, Roush was ordered to undergo a substance abuse evaluation and a mental health assessment after he was found guilty of attempting to possess a stolen vehicle.
Despite being listed as a “male” in the Clark County Jail roster, media reports on Roush’s charges have referred to him as a “woman.”
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