The latest headlines from our reporters in the USA are sent directly to your inbox every weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from the USA
On Wednesday, jurors are scheduled to hear opening arguments in the trial of a Las Vegas-area politician accused of killing an investigative reporter who wrote critical articles about him.
The death of reporter Jeff German, who had covered the city, its government and its courthouses for 44 years, and the arrest a few days later of elected official Robert Telles, who was accused of his murder, shocked Sin City and the world of journalism.
A jury of 12 and several alternates were finalized Tuesday. Prosecutors are expected to present compelling evidence to the jury, including DNA believed to be Telles’ and found under German’s fingernails.
When Telles’ defense attorney Robert Draskovich entered court Monday for the first day of the trial, he called the case “difficult” but said Telles was looking forward to telling his story to the jury, which could happen during defense testimony next week.
Telles, 47, has pleaded not guilty and could face life in prison if convicted. He has said he did not kill German, that he was framed and that the police failed in their investigation.
The killing made national headlines over Labor Day weekend 2022. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, German was the only journalist killed in the United States among the 69 news media workers murdered worldwide that year.
German, who lived alone, was found with cuts and stab wounds in front of his house. He was 69 years old.
Police quickly released video showing a person in an orange work shirt and wide straw hat walking toward German’s house on the day of the murder. Police also released images of a distinctive maroon SUV, like the one a Review-Journal photographer saw Telles washing outside his house days later. Telles was arrested the following day and has been in jail ever since.
Prosecutors say articles German wrote for the Las Vegas Review-Journal in early 2022 about Telles and a county office in turmoil provided a motive for the murder. Telles ran for Clark County probate clerk as a Democrat in 2018. He lost his elected office after his arrest.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson, who knew Deutsch, said in a statement Monday: “On behalf of Jeff and his family, the state of Nevada looks forward to seeing justice finally served.” Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.
German’s relatives have not commented publicly on the murder and have not made any statements about the proceedings through a family spokesman and a friend.
The trial was delayed in part by the Review-Journal’s legal battle in the state Supreme Court to prevent the public disclosure of confidential sources on German’s cellphone and computers.
