The Vegas politician is at a loss when confronted with a surprising text message in the murder trial

The whereabouts of a former Las Vegas Democratic politician at the time a veteran investigative journalist was brutally stabbed to death remains a central question in the ex-official's murder trial — and a recently surfaced text message shrouds the mystery surrounding the defendant's alibi as he continues to protest his innocence and deny DNA evidence linking him to the crime.

Robert Telles, 47, is on trial for the killing of journalist Jeff German, who had written stories critical of the officer. The defendant faced tough questions during cross-examination Thursday, during which the prosecutor presented him with a surprising text message from his wife that had disappeared from his phone.

Telles, a former Democratic Clark County property manager, read a text message from his wife that said she had been wondering where he was when German was attacked and killed outside his home nearly two years ago.

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A surprising text message presented at the murder trial of former Las Vegas Democratic politician Robert Telles appears to solve the mystery of his whereabouts on the day of the murder. (KM Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

“It says, 'Where are you?'” Telles said in response to a question from prosecutor Christopher Hamner.

Telles previously testified that he ignored several text messages, emails and voice messages at home and went for a walk and then to the gym on the day of German's murder. Prosecutors suspect he left the phone at home when he carried out a carefully planned fatal attack on the journalist.

Hamner focused on cellphone records presented Wednesday by a defense witness that did not list the text message from Telles' wife. The prosecutor said the text message was found on her Apple Watch and had been deleted from Telles' phone.

Telles said he had the phone all day and had the ability to save and delete messages. He did not admit to deleting the message.

Hamner noted that the time – 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 2, 2022 – was the time when surveillance video previously presented to the jury showed a maroon SUV that Telles agreed looked just like his being in German's neighborhood, driven by a person wearing an orange outfit and a large straw hat. Telles himself referred to that person several times Thursday as German's killer.

Telles said on the witness stand that German was stabbed to death by a professional assassin. He accused a real estate firm of being behind the murder in an attempt to blame him for trying to fight corruption he had observed in his office.

German was found slashed and stabbed to death in a side yard in front of his house. In a criminal complaint, Telles is accused of “lying in wait” until German came out.

FILE – Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles, right, talks with Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German in his office in Las Vegas on May 11, 2022. (KM Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, file)

Telles was arrested a few days later after police released a video showing a person wearing an orange work shirt and a wide-brimmed straw hat, carrying a shoulder bag and walking toward German's home.

Prosecutors say they have compelling evidence, including DNA believed to be Telles' found under German's fingernails, as well as cut-up pieces of a straw hat and shoes found in Telles' home that resembled those worn by the person seen in the video outside German's home.

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Telles did not deny that his DNA was found under German's fingernails, but suggested it may have been planted there. Autopsy photos show knife or cut marks on German's arms, which police said were from German's fight for his life. Telles said he did not know how the cut-up pieces of a straw hat and shoes turned up in his home.

“So you’re also involving the DNA labs?” asked Hamner.

A photo taken as evidence during the murder trial of Robert Telles for the death of investigative journalist Jeff German shows pieces of cut up shoes. (KM Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

“I don't know. I don't know when. I don't know when the sample was taken,” Telles replied.

“Sir, please tell us, jurors. How in the world did your DNA get under Mr. German's fingernails?” Hamner replied.

“I don’t know because I didn’t kill Mr. German,” Telles said.

Hamner acknowledged that two key pieces of evidence were never found: the orange work shirt and the knife used to attack German. He wondered why people trying to frame Telles had removed them from the evidence.

“Why didn't you hide the murder weapon in your house?” asked Hamner. “Does that make any sense?”

“I don’t know,” Telles replied.

On Monday, the jury learned that Telles had hundreds of photos of German's home and neighborhood on his cellphone and computer.

Other photos taken from Telles' devices included an image of a single gray athletic shoe with a distinctive black pattern and a shot of Telles' work computer in the office of the Clark County Public Administrator and Guardian showing the results of an Internet search of a password-protected site that requested German's name, home address, vehicle registration and date of birth.

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Outgoing Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles washes his car in front of his home on September 6, 2022 in Las Vegas. (Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, file)

Hamner had previously told jurors that the photo was taken on August 23, 2022 – less than two weeks before he was found dead in a pool of blood.

Police also released images of a distinctive maroon SUV that a Review-Journal photographer saw washing Telles outside his home several days after the murder. It was driven by a person wearing an orange outfit and a large straw hat.

Both sides said they expect closing arguments on Monday, two weeks after jury selection begins.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.