Tanya Cropp was Ted Binion's personal secretary. (Court TV)

By Laura Barandes
Court TV

In testimony stinging to the defense, a close friend of Sandy Murphy testified Tuesday afternoon that the former stripper asked her to lie to investigators in the Ted Binion murder case.

"I thought I was helping a friend," said Tanya Cropp of two false statements she gave, allegedly at the request of Murphy, who is now accused along with her lover, Rick Tabish, of killing Binion.

Cropp, a sometimes housekeeper and secretary for Binion, told the court that soon after the casino mogul was discovered dead on Sept. 17, 1998, Murphy approached her.

"She asked me to say I saw Ted give Rick Tabish some money...the 16th of September," Cropp said.

Murphy also allegedly wanted Cropp to say she overheard Tabish state on Sept. 18 that he was going to "take care of something" — presumably referring to Tabish's plan to unearth Binion's buried silver before the estate got possession of it.

Tabish claims Binion ordered him to remove the silver immediately if he died. The police in Pahrump, Nev. did not believe him, however, and he was arrested in the early hours of Sept. 19, trying to dig up the 46,000 pounds of silver coins and bars.

According to Cropp, Murphy also entrusted her with a seven-page "handwritten inventory of some coins," and later asked that she fax it to a particular number.

Previously introduced records show the list was sent to one of Tabish's companies in Missoula, Mont., where he lived with his wife and two young children.

Cropp said she once confronted Murphy with a damning newspaper story about her role in Binion's death. Prosecutors allege that Murphy and Tabish forced Binion to overdose on heroin and Xanax and then suffocated him.

"She said it was all a lie," testified Cropp, adding that Murphy asked, "If she poisoned him, why didn't police take the glass that was in the house?"

One day after Binion's death, Murphy is captured on videotape apparently pocketing a wine glass that investigators speculate may have been used to pour the potent drug concoction down Binion's throat.

In addition to her testimony about Murphy, Cropp painted a mixed picture of Binion, one that proved helpful to the prosecution and the defense. On one hand, she testified that "he seemed like he was in high spirits" the day before he died.

Valentine's Day Card: From Tanya Cropp to Sandy Murphy, February 1999 "I want you to know how much I love you. Thank you for being there for me when I needed you the most. I have a feeling this year is going to be rocky. I want you to know and feel that you can call me there for anything. You are one of the four dearest people to me and I love you. Love you, Tanya" "Our friendship is exactly the consistency of fudge. A beautiful thought, isn't it? Happy Valentine's Day."

Cropp, who had recently been hired as Binion's personal secretary, said the millionaire spoke of future investments he was planning, and even offered to teach her how to invest. He spoke of "how we would make money together," said Cropp. He also told her "he loved money and he hated to part with it," she testified.

But Cropp's portrait of Binion was not totally flattering. She described him as jealous, promiscuous and drug addicted. She said Binion wanted to know if Murphy was cheating on him. "He asked me if Sandy was having an affair," said Cropp, who knew Murphy had described Tabish as her new "significant other."

"I told him that I knew that the intentions were there," she testified.

But Binion, said Cropp, had his own relationships on the side. She acknowledged that the 55-year-old Binion had affairs with other women from Cheetah's, the topless bar where he first met Murphy. He had even asked her once if she "'knew any redheads,'" the witness said.

Cropp also testified that Binion told her about his heroin addiction, and even explained to her how he used Xanax — the prescription drug found with heroin in his dead body — to get over the withdrawal symptoms.

She testified that Murphy had once truly loved Binion, and that it was only after his return to heroin dependency in March 1998 that she began an affair with Tabish.

Cropp also described Murphy as a neat-freak who "wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty" by cleaning the house. When prosecutor David Roger dubiously asked if Murphy would help Cropp scrub toilets, he seemed caught off-guard by her response.

"Yes," answered Cropp, supporting the defense's portrayal of Murphy as a dedicated caregiver to Binion and his home.

Prosecutors made sure to show that Cropp, whose testimony alleged that Murphy wanted her to lie, bore no kind of grudge against her friend. They had her read a Valentine's Day card she sent to Murphy in 1999, in which she writes, "You are one of the four dearest people to me and I love you."