UPDATE MAY 16: A man who was arrested for a body found near Nelson's Landing told multiple people he was held hostage by the victim, according to the arrest report for Edward Bedrusian.
The Clark County coroner identified the remains found in the tarp as Jon Ernest Gomez and ruled his death a homicide. He had broken ribs, a broken hyoid bone (a bone in the neck), a gunshot wound to the head and blunt force trauma to the head.
According to Bedrusian's arrest report, Gomez's girlfriend reported him missing in December with the last contact in late November. She said Gomez, who was also known as Rabbit, was heading to Bedrusian's trailer in Las Vegas.
Gomez's girlfriend told police she contact Bedrusian several times regarding Gomez's whereabouts but Bedrusian's story continually changed.
In January, police were dispatched to a suspicious vehicle call involving Bedrusian and another woman, Darlene Levitt. The plate on the vehicle didn't match the Dodge itself but rather a Kia owned by Bedrusian's wife, Christal. Bedrusian was arrested for possession of cocaine and the vehicle was impounded.
When officers impounded the vehicle, they found the carpet in the truck had been removed and there was a bottle of bleach in the trunk.
According to the arrest report, Levitt told police that Bedrusian had killed a gangster named Rabbit and buried the body in the desert wash near Needles, California. She said Rabbit had held Bedrusian hostage and stolen his property. She added that Bedrusian then freed himself, struck Rabbit with a sledgehammer and choked him. The body was then put in a blue tarp before loaded in the Dodge.
Near the end of December, Levitt said Bedrusian had driven her to where he had buried the body off Nevada State Route 165 near Nelson's Landing.
The Dodge truck was eventually sold at auction. The new owner allowed police to search the vehicle where they found blood in the trunk. The blood was also found in Bedrusian's room on the walls, ceiling, furniture and closet.
According to the arrest report, other friends of Bedrusian said he had told them that he had been held hostage by Gomez last fall. One friend said that Bedrusian told her "he had to kill Rabbit."
When police arrested Bedrusian on May 13, he admitted to police he killed Gomez around Nov. 28, 2016 by hitting him twice in the head with a sledgehammer and then shooting him in the head.
Bedrusian was arrested for murder with a deadly weapon.
ORIGINAL STORY
A man was arrested this weekend after a body was found in concrete in Lake Mead National Recreation Area earlier this month.
Las Vegas police said Edward Bedrusian was arrested Saturday in connection with the body found in the Aztec Wash area.
Clark County Detention Center records show Bedrusian was booked on a first degree murder charge.
On May 2, Lake Mead employees observed a foul smell and discovered a partially exposed tarp before reporting it to authorities.
