‘He loved what he was doing’: Family offers glimpse into life of slain Las Vegas journalist
Jeff German was dedicated to his family, his career as a journalist and to the community he covered.
In a Las Vegas courtroom on Wednesday afternoon, the slain reporter’s three younger siblings offered a glimpse into a side of German that many people never saw.
“Let me give you a little insight into the man behind the byline of Jeffrey German,” said his youngest sibling, Jill Zwerg.
German’s siblings took the witness stand on Wednesday in the murder trial of Robert Telles before jurors would decide his punishment. Prosecutors had asked the jury to deliver a life sentence.
German’s brother and two sisters described him as a family man dedicated to his siblings, nieces and nephew.
Zwerg said she considered German a “second father” because of their age difference. He was the first person Zwerg told when she got engaged, and she recalled German buying an entire bar a round of champagne to celebrate.
Whenever Zwerg asked German why he didn’t move to a different city to work at a larger newspaper, German just replied: “Jill, this is Las Vegas, this is Sin City, this is where I need to be.”
“These last two years I’ve felt like I’ve been living inside the chapter of a murder novel as it unfolds, one my brother could have written, entitled: Murder in Sin City Part Two, the Death of a Journalist,” Zwerg said.
German was the author of the 2001 true-crime book “Murder in Sin City: The Death of a Las Vegas Casino Boss,” the story of the death of Ted Binion, heir to the Horseshoe Club fortune.
The same jury that found Telles, the former Clark County public administrator, guilty of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon against a victim 60 or older decided that he should serve life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years for fatally stabbing German in 2022.
Prosecutors said the reporter was killed over articles he had written about Telles’ work as an elected official.
District Judge Michelle Leavitt ordered Telles back to court on Oct. 16, so that the judge can render a sentence for the enhancements.
Under Nevada law, a judge must decide penalty for an enhancement, which carries a sentence range with a minimum of one to eight years, and up to 20 years maximum.
Telles “anticipates proceeding with his appeal,” said his defense attorney, Robert Draskovich.
Prosecutors said Telles, now 47, waited outside German’s home while wearing an orange reflective vest and large, straw hat, before attacking the 69-year-old journalist, who had reported on allegations that Telles created a hostile work environment and had an “inappropriate” relationship with a staffer.
Prosecutors also alleged that part of the motive for the killing was to prevent German from writing about Telles again.
In closing arguments of the trial’s penalty phase, Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Hamner said Telles argued that Telles’ life was not over after German published his articles, but he let his ego and pride “get in the way.”
“It manifested itself in the worst possible way, and we have lost one of the most significant journalists we’ve had in our community, in the world of investigative journalism,” Hamner said.
‘I accept the verdict’
Telles’ wife, ex-wife and mother all testified to the jury on his behalf. The three women all described Telles as a loving father to his blended family. His mother, Rosalinda Anaya, cried throughout her testimony.
“I accept the verdict,” Anaya said. “If you could, please give my son a chance at parole. His family is still very young, and I would like for him to some day be back with them again.”
Telles’ wife, Mary Ann Ismael, said the two had a “good marriage, overall,” and that he is an “amazing father.”
“I would love for my children to not lose that,” she said. “At least not for the rest of their lives.”
Telles wiped his eyes with both his hands as his wife testified. He appeared to mouth words to her while she was on the stand.
Before he was killed, German had sought emails and text messages between Telles and other county officials, including correspondence with his employee Roberta Lee-Kennett. Telles admitted at trial that the two had an affair.
County officials had alerted Telles about the release of those records the day before German was slain.
Telles admitted during his testimony that he had feared German’s reporting would prohibit him from ever working as a lawyer again in Las Vegas.
In his own testimony last week, Telles denied his role, telling jurors that he was framed for German’s killing by officials and a disgruntled real estate company.
When asking for a life sentence, Hamner told the jury they should consider the motive behind the crime.
“What happened here is literally a journalist wrote a story, or series of stories, and lost their life over it, because someone … just did not like the consequences of the writing,” Hamner said. “That’s a pretty serious thing that doesn’t happen very often, and it should be considered.”
Draskovich emphasized mercy in his closing arguments to the jury during the penalty phase. He asked the jury to consider Telles’ family and children, and not to punish him for “exercising his Constitutional right” by pleading not guilty and moving to a trial.
“Show him mercy, please. I would submit to you that as a society, it’s the appropriate thing to do,” Draskovich said.
Draskovich told the Review-Journal on Wednesday that he is happy with a sentence that allows Telles to possibly be released.
“We do not think they acted unreasonably,” Draskovich said about the jury’s sentence.
‘Jeff was our leader’
When German’s siblings took the stand, they all commented on their brother’s dedication to his career. Jay German recalled how his older brother drove his car across the country to move from Milwaukee to Las Vegas, where he first worked at the Las Vegas Sun.
He recalled his older brother taking him to movies, teaching him to play golf, and inviting him out to Las Vegas to spend 1980’s New Year’s Eve in downtown.
Prosecutors showed the jury a photo of the two brothers, holding beers and smiling for the camera in front of neon signs. Another photo showed Jeff German at 9 years old, smiling and holding a baseball bat.
“Jeff was our leader,” Jay German said. “He was the older brother that we all leaned on.”
As the years went on, his brother showed “no interest in retiring,” Jay German said.
“He loved what he was doing,” Jay German said. “He just wanted to keep writing and investigating.”
When German’s sister Julie Smith took the stand, she also recounted German’s personality that was hidden from the general public. Reading from a prepared statement, Smith said her brother had an almost photographic memory. He loved sports almost as much as reporting. She smiled at his “quirky” qualities, including German’s meticulously clean house.
Smith paused to collect herself as she reached the end of her statement, her voice thick with emotion.
“We’re never going to be able to share laughter with him again, discuss sports with him, enjoy a barbecue with him, or admire his tenacious spirit,” Smith said. “The tragic and brutal taking of his life has resulted in a loss that I don’t think we’ll recover from.”
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.