By Andrew Hay
(Reuters) – A jury in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Wednesday found a former elected county official guilty of murdering an investigative journalist who wrote critical articles about him, a case underscoring the growing threats to journalists in the United States.
Former Clark County District Attorney Robert Telles was convicted of murder with a deadly weapon after more than 10 hours of deliberation. Prosecutors accused him of stabbing reporter Jeff German, 69, to death outside German’s home on Sept. 2, 2022.
“He took the life of someone who was just doing his job,” prosecutor Christopher Hamner said in his closing arguments before the two-week trial.
The state’s evidence included Telles’ DNA found under German’s fingernails and a video of the attacker’s car that matched a vehicle registered to Telles’ wife.
The former official, a Democrat, told the court he was framed after trying to expose an alleged kickback scheme related to a real estate company.
During cross-examination, prosecutor Christopher Hamner asked Telles how images of German’s home ended up on his phone, how a shoe identical to the killer’s ended up under his couch, and how his DNA ended up on German.
Telles, 47, said the evidence was planted in a conspiracy by colleagues, a real estate agency, police and possibly the county prosecutor to kill German and frame Telles.
During two days of cross-examination, during which he was questioned about his testimony, Telles repeatedly maintained that he was innocent and had not killed German.
The journalist spent months reporting on complaints that Telles had an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate and oversaw an abusive workplace.
Shortly after one of German’s stories was published, Telles failed in his June 2022 re-election bid, losing the Democratic primary to a rival within his office.
Cell phone messages show Telles saying he was “distraught” after the loss. Roberta Lee-Kennett, the office colleague with whom Telles had an affair, testified that Telles had a “hatred” for German. Telles denied this in court.
German continued to investigate Telles until he was murdered.
He had been known in Las Vegas for decades for his reporting on government corruption and organized crime in Nevada’s largest city.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a press rights organization, German was the only journalist murdered in the US in 2022, out of 69 media workers and journalists killed worldwide.
The US dropped 10 places to 55th in a 2024 ranking of journalist safety, according to the World Press Freedom Index by advocacy group Reporters Without Borders.
The study cites declining public trust in the media and hostility from political officials as contributing factors to the decline.
(Reporting by Andrew Hay; Editing by David Gregorio)
