On September 3, 2022, Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German was found stabbed to death outside of his house. Much of German's work involved deep and intricate investigations into the city's criminal empires — he wrote the 2009 book Murder in Sin City: Death of a Casino Boss, and most recently hosted the Review-Journal's true crime podcast series "Mobbed Up: The Fight For Las Vegas."
On Wednesday, September 7, authorities arrested Robert Telles, a Democrat who was served as the Public Administrator for the county. According to CNN, Telles's DNA was found underneath German's fingernails. From ABC News:
Police focused on Telles because of his anger over stories written by German, officials said during a press conference Thursday. Then they found a vehicle outside Telles' home that matched the suspect's vehicle.
In the search warrant execution at Telles' home, they found a pair of shoes that matched the suspect's shoes, police said. There was blood on the shoes, which police said were cut up to purportedly destroy evidence. They said they also found the straw hat cut up to allegedly destroy evidence.
German's death is of course a tragedy in its own right. But the idea of an elected official murdering a reporter for investigating corruption is particularly concerning.
Police arrest county official in reporter's stabbing death [David Ferrara, Briana Erickson and Glenn Puit / Las Vegas Review-Journal]
How Murdered Journalist Jeff German's Colleagues Hunted Down His Alleged Killer [Corbin Bolies / The Daily Beast]
