Ex-Las Vegas politician Robert Telles jailed for life for murder of journalist Jeff German

“Today’s verdict should send a message, and that message is a clear message that any attempts to silence the media or to silence or intimidate a journalist will not be tolerated.”

The two-week trial had heard how German, a 69-year-old reporter at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, had written an article months before his death describing a toxic environment in the county office that Telles led.

The piece, published a month before an election in which Telles was standing to retain his role, detailed complaints of favouritism and allegations that Telles had been involved in an inappropriate relationship with a member of staff.

Telles denied the allegations but lost his re-election bid.

The jury of seven women and five men heard how an irate Telles had driven to German’s home in September of 2022 and hidden in some bushes, from where he launched a frenzied and fatal knife attack.

Telles had denied carrying out the killing, arguing that the police had ignored evidence that other people could have been responsible.

In a lengthy monologue from the witness box, Telles – a lawyer by training – claimed he was the victim of a conspiracy.

After returning their guilty verdict, the jury retired again to consider the sentence, imposing a life term with a minimum of 20 years before Telles is eligible for parole.

Glenn Cook, executive editor of The Las Vegas Review-Journal, said Wednesday the jury had rendered “a measure of justice for Jeff German”.

“Jeff was killed for doing the kind of work in which he took great pride: his reporting held an elected official accountable for bad behaviour and empowered voters to choose someone else for the job.”

German was known for decades of reporting on corruption and organised crime in Nevada’s largest city. His book Murder in Sin City inspired the 2008 movie Sex and Lies in Sin City on the killing of gambling executive Ted Binion.

German was the only journalist killed in the US in 2022, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. The non-profit has records of 17 media workers killed in the US since 1992.

Additional reporting by Reuters and Associated Press