Dr. Lary Simms testified that he changed his opinion from "undetermined" to "homicide" based on completely non-medical information. (Court TV)

By Laura Barandes
Court TV

Chief Medical Examiner Lary Simms testified Monday that Ted Binion was murdered — though his initial report listed Binion's manner of death as undetermined. According to Simms, who performed the autopsy, the information that changed the official manner of death from "undermined" to "homicide" was in no way medical.

Simms testified Monday that he changed his opinion on the manner of Ted Binion's death to homicide after he was supplied reports from police and private investigator Tom Dillard. The finding of heroin and Xanax in Binion's system was not, in of itself, a clear indicator of homicide, said Simms.

Prosecutors contend that Binion's live-in girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, and her lover, Rick Tabish, forced a heroin-Xanax mixture down the millionaire's throat Sept. 17, 1998 and then suffocated him when the gardener arrived unexpected. The defense claims, however, that Binion, a long-time heroin addict, overdosed.

While Simms helped prosecutors, in that his final opinion was death by homicide, he also aided the defense by testifying that he saw no evidence of suffocation.

Read Ted Binion's Autopsy Report

Simms testified that he found Xanax and morphine (a broken-down form of heroin) in Binion's stomach, a finding prosecutors claim supports their theory of forced ingestion. According to several witnesses, including his own ex-wife, Binion's only method of heroin use involved burning it and inhaling the smoke.

However, Simms admitted that he had no experience evaluating the effects of Binion's particular method of heroin use, called "chasing the dragon," on the body. "In all the ODs that I had," said Simms, "probably the majority had snorted it or injected it." He also said he was unable to find any helpful case studies on the subject in the medical literature.

The defense also shortciruited possible prosecution claims that Binion would have required a higher level of heroin to overdose because of his tolerance for the drug. Said Simms, "I've never seen that in practice." He said the lethal level, in his experience, is unaffected by an individual's experience with heroin.

And the defense seized on the long period of time between the date of Simms' first theory of death and the final official release of the autopsy report. On Oct. 2, 1998, Simms ruled Binion's death undetermined, "whether it was homicide, suicide or accident," he said. This opinion was reflected on Binion's death certificate.

But Simms testified that he reconsidered his decision after police and private investigator Tom Dillard supplied him with witness statements and other reports. Simms said he filed an affidavit to change the manner of death and the autopsy report was finally published in March 1999.

The defense has argued that the "Binion money machine," by hiring people like Dillard, distorted a drug addict's self-inflicted overdose into a homicide. Attorneys representing Murphy and Tabish also criticized Simms' decision not to investigate the role of Binion neighbor Dr. Enrique Lacayo. The doctor testified earlier that he provided the millionaire next door with a Xanax prescription "on the house" the day before his death.