Subscribe to HuffPost’s true crime newsletter, Suspicious Circumstances, to get captivating cases, unsolved mysteries and courtroom drama delivered straight to your inbox every week. Sign up here . The peculiar circumstances surrounding the killing of a tenacious Las Vegas investigative reporter culminated in an even more bizarre trial this month for the disgruntled county official charged with his murder.
Former Clark County public administrator Robert Telles, 47, was accused of fatally stabbing Jeff German, 69, outside his home on Sept. 2, 2022, after the journalist wrote a series of articles for the Las Vegas Review-Journal about alleged misconduct in Telles’ office. After its publication, Telles lost his reelection bid and feared that the release of his emails and text messages with several officials, which German was about to receive via a public records request, would further damage his career and reputation.
The killing sent shockwaves among journalists nationwide, which Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo acknowledged at a news conference following Telles’ arrest six days later. “This is a terrible and jarring homicide, one that has deeply impacted Las Vegas. Every murder is tragic, but the killing of a journalist is particularly troublesome,” Lombardo said.
Telles pleaded not guilty and claimed he was framed for the murder. Against the advice of his attorney, he took the stand in his defense last week and spun a tale of a hired killer wearing an improbable di.