Robert Telles charged with murder in stabbing death of journalist Jeff German
In the chilling case that has raised concerns about press freedoms in the United States, German was found dead with multiple stab wounds outside his home on September 2. DNA found underneath German’s fingernails and surveillance footage helped police link Telles to the killing, authorities have said.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Clark County court, Telles “did willfully, unlawfully, with malice aforethought, kill Jeffrey German, who was 60 years of age or older, with use of a deadly weapon.”
The complaint alleges Telles, 45, stabbed German “multiple times about the body.” Authorities believe Telles was “lying in wait” for German, noting the murder to be “wilfull, deliberate and premediated,” the complaint alleges.
CNN, which obtained the complaint Monday afternoon, has reached out to Telles’ attorney.
Telles’s next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday. He is being held without bail.
According to Cpt. Dori Koren with the Las Vegas police department’s homicide bureau, the suspect approached German’s home and went to the side of the house. German came outside soon after and went to the side of the home, where investigators believe an altercation occurred and German was stabbed multiple times, Koren said last week.
Telles, who lost reelection in June, was identified as a person of interest early in the investigation, as authorities discovered neighborhood surveillance footage capturing a vehicle seen at Telles’ house before and after German’s killing, Koren said. The vehicle, registered to Telles’ wife, was also seen at German’s house at the time of his death.
Telles denied the reports, the Review-Journal said. First elected to the office in 2018, Telles lost his bid for reelection in a June Democratic primary and his term ends in January.
