A US politician shook his head and looked downcast after he was found guilty of murdering a journalist who wrote critical stories about him.
Robert Telles, 47, had his eyes
on the ground as he shook his head at length while listening to a Clark County
jury’s decision in the case that sparked concerns around freedom of the press.
Las Vegas Review-Journal
investigative reporter Jeff German, 69, was discovered stabbed to death in
September 2022, after writing unflattering stories about Telles.
Politician found guilty of killing journalist who wrote critical stories about him.
The stories included a report
of an alleged affair that Telles – the county public administrator at the time
– had with a staff.
Telles, a Democrat, lost his
re-election bid a month after German’s stories stated that he harboured a
hostile work environment and showed favouritism.
Prosecutors said that Telles
hid in bushes at German’s home and waited for him to arrive home, then fatally
stabbed him. Telles was arrested five days later.
"In the end, this case
isn’t about politics," said Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney
Pamela Weckerly.
"It’s not about alleged
inappropriate relationships. It’s not about who’s a good boss or who’s a good
supervisor or favouritism at work. It’s just about murder."
Telles’ attorney, Robert
Draskovich, had stressed that cops did not consider evidence that could suggest
there were other suspects in the crime, and that the former administrator had
even joked about German’s stories online.
"These articles were not a
motive for a murder," Draskovich said. "And we all know, killing a
journalist does not kill a story."
Telles denied murdering German
and told the court, "Unequivocally, I am innocent."
The jury on Wednesday
afternoon, August 28, found Telles guilty of first-degree murder.
He faces life behind bars
without parole, life with parole eligibility after 20 years, or 20 to 50 years
in prison.
Moments after the verdict,
Katherine Jacobsen, who is the US, Canada, and Caribbean program coordinator
for the Committee to Protect Journalists, stated that it "sends an
important message that the killing of journalists will not be tolerated".
"It is vital that the
murder of journalists should be taken seriously," said Jacobsen, “And
perpetrators held accountable.”
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