Former Nevada Politician Found Guilty of Killing Investigative Reporter Over Unflattering Articles

Mar. 15, 2025

Jeff German; Robert Telles.Photo:K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal; Ethan Miller/Getty

K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal; Ethan Miller/Getty

A former Las Vegas area elected official was found guilty on Aug. 28 in the murder of a veteran investigative reporter.

A jury deliberated a day and a half before findingRobert Tellesguilty the murder ofJeff German, aLas Vegas Review-Journalreporter, who was found stabbed to death outside his home on Sept. 3, 2022.

At the time of his death, German, 69, was investigating Telles, a Democratic public administrator who handled unclaimed estates.

In his reports, German described his office as “mired in turmoil and internal dissension over the past two years, with allegations of emotional stress, bullying and favoritism leading to secret videotaping of the boss and a co-worker outside the office.”

At one point, German quoted current and past employees who alleged a hostile work environment and an “inappropriate relationship” Telles allegedly had with a staffer.

A month later, Telleslost his 2022 Democratic primary bidand criticized theReview-Journalfor their coverage.

In the days after the slaying, policereleased surveillance videoof a suspect wearing a wide brimmed straw hat and a reflective orange jacket, carrying a duffle bag.

Investigators recovered a matching straw hat that had been cut up, as well as a pair of shoes the suspect was described as wearing at Telles’ home.

Robert Telles.K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty

K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty

During the trial, prosecutors claimed Telles’ DNA was found beneath German’s fingernails, according to theAssociated Press.

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Telles, 47, testified that he didn’t know how his DNA wound up under German’s fingernails, per AP.

“I’ve never beat anybody up, I’ve never killed anybody. I didn’t kill Mr. German. That’s my testimony,” Telles said, perCNN.

Prosecutor Christopher Hamner argued Telles killed German because “Jeff’s writing destroyed his career, it destroyed his reputation, it threatened probably his marriage and exposed things that even he admitted he did not want the public to know,” he said Monday, per CNN. “He did it because Jeff wasn’t done writing.”

source: people.com