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In the realm of criminal investigations, evidence found on victims’ bodies and video surveillance footage often proves to be critical in solving cases.
The gripping season one finale of Oxygen‘s The Death Investigator with Barbara Butcher showcased how detectives adeptly utilized these elements to unravel the perplexing murder of an esteemed and beloved reporter.
On September 3, 2022, Jeff German, a highly respected investigative journalist with a career spanning four decades, was discovered dead outside his Las Vegas home. German, who was 69, was adored by his family, including his sisters and their children.
“The scene was gruesome,” recounted Lieutenant Jason Johansson of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department during the episode aired on November 29. “There was blood splattered on the bushes, and the branches appeared snapped and broken.”
When the coroner arrived at the scene, they confirmed that German had suffered multiple stab wounds, lending further gravity to the investigation.
Upon the arrival of the coroner, it was determined that German had been stabbed multiple times.
There were no signs of a break-in at the residence and no valuables were taken. Investigators doubted it was a robbery gone bad and focused on German’s work as an investigative reporter in Sin City.
“This is a very active town when it comes down to crime,” said LVMPD Lieutenant Randy Sutton. “From drugs to prostitution to organized crime.”
German’s job, including his work at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, put him in the thick of all of that.
“There’s a lot of corruption,” said fellow LVRJ journalist Arthur Kane. “Jeff had run down some of the most dangerous characters on the planet.”
Surveillance footage reveals clues
A search of German’s house turned up a receipt from a local taco restaurant dated Sept. 2, a day before his body was found.
Video from the shop showed that he’d been by himself. He was wearing the same clothes he had on when he was killed.
Detectives learned that German’s neighbor had a camera that was pointed directly at the back of the victim’s house, where his body was found.
“We have the murder on camera,” said Sutton. “This was the moment of, ‘You gotta be kidding me.’”
The video, timestamped Sept. 2 at 11:18 a.m., showed a man whose face was not visible walk to the rear of the residence. He was wearing a wide-brimmed straw sunhat, bright orange shirt, a vest and Nike sneakers and carrying a gray bag.
Five minutes later, the footage showed the garage door open and German walk out and head into his backyard.
“You see, briefly, the person wearing the hat attack Mr. German,” said Johansson. “The attack was very vicious and quick. The person in orange with the hat…just calmly left in the same manner he walked in.”
The video showed the same person pull up in a red SUV about 30 minutes later. He got out, went to the crime scene, then drove off. It appeared to be a Yukon Denali, but the license plate was unreadable.
What Jeff German’s body revealed
The autopsy showed that German suffered multiple stab wounds, including a deep laceration in the throat that cut his carotid artery. There were three more wounds, including one near German’s heart.
“There’s something a little personal about that,” Barbara Butcher observed. “The idea of stabbing someone.”
The murder reverberated across the city. “Jeff German was so well-known in Las Vegas,” said Clark County Assistant District Attorney Pamela Weckerly. “The community felt like they had lost a friend.”
Searching for Jeff German’s killer
Law enforcement instituted a major case protocol that involved detectives from various departments to solve German’s murder.
Initial suspicion fell on a thief police had nicknamed “Bob the Burglar,” who’d committed a series of robberies in the summer of 2022. He was caught on tape wearing a hat like German’s killer.
When DNA taken from underneath German’s fingernails was fed into CODIS, the FBI’s national database of genetic profiles, no match was found. That ruled out Bob the Burglar.
Investigators reach out to the public
Police released photos of the suspect, hoping that a solid lead might emerged. One tipster provided the name of Robert Telles, an elected official from a family of politicians. As Clark County Public Administrator, he managed unclaimed estates.
German had recently done a series of articles on Telles exposing his lack of leadership at his office and his alleged romantic affair with a woman who was his subordinate.
Aleisha Goodwin worked in the office. “I realized that I needed to file an official complaint [about Telles],” she said. “But as months went by, nothing had changed.”
At the advice of a friend, she’d alerted German to the mismanagement at her workplace. The story became front-page news.
“This is critical because about this time, Telles was running for reelection.” said Sutton. “When Jeff German’s report came out, his house of cards came tumbling down.”
In the June primary election, Telles lost. “There was a total of four articles,” said Goodwin. “Jeff was working on number five when he was killed. I just felt, like, if I hadn’t called Jeff, he’d still be alive.”
Robert Telles becomes lone suspect
Detectives learned that Telles’s wife drove a red Denali, like the one in the video of the crime scene.
On Sept. 7, police obtained warrants for Telles’ DNA and to search his house. He was pulled over for a traffic infraction and agreed to have DNA collected.
While he was detained, detectives observed a cut on his finger—one that could have been sustained during the crime. Telles’ DNA was a match for evidence found under German’s fingernails.
At Telles’ residence, police collected a gray shoulder bag and shoes matching the one the suspected killer carried, recounted Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Hamner, plus cut up pieces of a straw hat. The orange shirt and murder weapon were not found.
Robert Telles arrested and tried
On Sept. 7, authorities went to Telles’ home to arrest him. After he barricaded himself in a bathroom and superficially cut his arms, he was arrested and taken into custody.
Telles pleaded not guilty. At the trial he took the stand and claimed he’d been framed.
At the end of a 13-day trial, Telles was found guilty of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to 28 years to life in prison.
Watch The Death Investigator with Barbara Butcher episodes on the Oxygen app.
