Opening statements to begin in murder trial of ex-politician accused of killing Las Vegas reporter

(CNN) — Opening statements are expected Wednesday in the murder trial of Robert Telles, the former Nevada politician accused of fatally stabbing a Las Vegas investigative journalist who had published stories critical of him, in a case that could feature the defendant’s own testimony.

Telles, previously the Clark County Public Administrator, has pleaded not guilty to murder with use of a deadly weapon in the 2022 death of Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German, who was repeatedly stabbed outside his house. The indictment alleges the killing was “willful, deliberate and premeditated,” and/or perpetrated by “lying in wait” for him.

With no eyewitnesses, prosecutors are likely to focus on video and DNA evidence placing Telles at the scene of the killing as well as his alleged efforts to destroy evidence.

Telles plans to testify in his own defense, his attorney Robert Draskovich told CNN affiliate KTNV.

The trial in Clark County comes nearly two years after the killing highlighted concerns about violence against journalists, even in the United States. There have been 14 journalists killed in the US since 1992, most recently a TV reporter who was fatally shot in Florida last year while covering an earlier shooting, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

“When we say journalism is a dangerous business, we are most often talking about international crisis and foreign correspondents, but right here in a major city in the United States, we see the depth to which dark forces may sink in order to stop publication of the truth,” Jen Judson, president of the National Press Club, and Gil Klein, president of the National Press Club Journalism Institute, said in a joint statement shortly after German’s death.

German, 69, wrote about the underbelly of “Sin City” and had covered mobsters, crooked officials and corrupt government agencies in an ink-stained life. Yet prosecutors say it was his coverage of a little-known office run by an elected county official that led to the murder.

Prior to his death, German had written about allegations of wrongdoing in the Clark County Public Administrator’s office, reporting that Telles created a hostile work environment and carried on an inappropriate relationship with a staffer.

In response to the articles, Telles published posts on his campaign’s website and wrote a letter to German in which he called the allegations “false” and insisted German was trying to “drag me through the mud.” In June 2022, Telles lost his bid for reelection in a Democratic primary.

The reporter was then found dead with multiple stab wounds outside his home on September 2, 2022. He was working on a story about Telles the week he was killed, according to the Review-Journal.

Las Vegas Metro Police released surveillance video of a suspect wearing a bright orange jacket, an oversized sun hat and gloves, and a vehicle seen at German’s house at the time of his death.

Investigators knew Telles was upset with German for his reporting and put him on a list of persons of interest, Las Vegas Metro Police Capt. Dori Koren said shortly after the killing.

The investigators soon connected German to the suspect’s vehicle, found blood on his shoes and located his DNA at the crime scene, Koren said. Investigators later found a matching hat during a search of Telles’ home that had had been cut, Koren said.

German was stabbed seven times, Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Scow said during Telles’ first court appearance. The DNA evidence was found under the journalist’s fingernails, he said, a detail that Justice of the Peace Elana Lee Graham called “quite chilling.”

“The defendant’s DNA is alleged to have been recovered from the hands of the victim, presumably during the time in which he was fighting for his life,” Graham said, noting German had several “defensive wounds on his hands and arms.”

In a hearing a month after Telles’ arrest, a judge granted Clark County’s motion seeking to have him removed from office.

The trial has been pushed back by several delays related to Telles’ representation and concerns related to access to German’s devices. Telles hired and fired three lawyers and for a time represented himself, according to KTNV.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Raja Razek contributed to this report.