New photos have been released of a suspect wanted in connection with the stabbing death of an investigative journalist in Las Vegas, as police reveal that the killer prowled the area before carrying out the “senseless” murder.
Jeff German, 69, was found dead outside his home near Vegas Drive and Tenaya Way at around 10.30am on Saturday.
Mr German, who was well-known for exposing organised crime and corruption in Sin City during his media career, had suffered multiple sharp force injuries and was dead several hours before he was found.
Two days on, no arrests have been made and no suspects named but police are exploring a lead that his death is tied to an altercation he had with another individual just hours earlier.
On Monday, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shared the first known images of the suspect.
The two photos show an individual walking along a sidewalk dressed in an orange, long-sleeved construction shirt and a big, wide-brimmed sun hat, which largely hides the individual’s face.
The suspect is also wearing blue jeans, white sneakers and dark gloves and appears to be carrying a dark-coloured duffle-style bag on a strap over their shoulder.
Police said the bizarrely-dressed suspect appeared to be stalking the area prior to the brutal slaying of the longtime reporter.
“At this time, it appears the suspect was potentially casing the area to commit other crimes before the homicide occurred,” police said in a statement.
Investigators are urging residents in the nearby area to check surveillance cameras around their homes and businesses to see if they picked up any sightings of the person in the images.
Officials are especially asking those in the area of Vegas Drive and Rock Springs Drive to check footage captured between the hours of 8am and 1pm on Friday.
Police previously said they were exploring a possible link between the murder and an altercation between the victim and another person outside of his home on Friday morning.
The details about that incident are unclear but the dispute led to a passer-by reporting the incident to police.
Las Vegas police believe the person involved in the dispute could be the same person who carried out Saturday’s attack.
“We take this case very seriously and our investigators have been working non-stop to identify and apprehend the suspect,” Captain Dori Koren said in a statement alongside the release of the images.
“We enacted our Major Case Protocol immediately following our initial response and are using all LVMPD resources to maximize the progress of this investigation.”
Mr German was well known in Las Vegas for his reporting on the mafia world and for his investigative journalism uncovering corruption in the casino industry.
His career spanned four decades, spending more than two decades atThe Las Vegas Sun before he joined The Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2010.
In 1997, he and his then colleague Cathy Scott at the Sun broke the story that Herbert “Fat Herbie” Blitzstein, a famed mafia bookmaker portrayed in the 1995 film Casino, had been killed in what was later proven to be a mob hit.
More recently, Mr German revealed how executives at a Las Vegas government agency had spent lavishly on expenses and allegedly abused thousands of dollars’ worth of airline gift cards; how a county prosecutor covered up embezzlement against his political campaign by one of his aides; and how a lethal apartment fire was preceded by a string of safety failures.
He was also a host and writer on true crime podcast “Mobbed Up: The Fight for Vegas”.
His industry colleagues paid tribute to him when news broke of his death.
Glenn Cook, Mr German’s executive editor at The Las Vegas Review-Journal said that the “Review-Journal family is devastated to lose Jeff” and that he had not spoken of any threats or concerns for his safey prior to his death.
“He was the gold standard of the news business. It’s hard to imagine what Las Vegas would be like today without his many years of shining a bright light on dark places,” he said.
Ms Scott described Mr German as “a hard news guy” who “worked hard and had tons of sources”.
He was “a dyed-in-the-wool newsman. That’s who he was. He was dedicated to the craft,” she said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact LVMPD’s homicide section at 702-828-3521 or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555
