By Laura Barandes
Court TV

Prosecutors began to wind down their case Wednesday with testimony about the affair between Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish. A print analyst also bolstered the prosecution's theory that Murphy climbed into the house through her bathroom window after Ted Binion kicked her out.

Murphy, Binion's live-in girlfriend, and Tabish are accused of killing Binion in his home Sept. 17, 1998 to steal his money and free Murphy from an allegedly abusive relationship with the casino mogul.

Police crime scene analyst Maria Thomas, who gave testimony earlier in the case, showed the jury photographs of a gift bag with roses and a book inside, "Love, The Course They Forgot to Teach You in School." She testified she captured this and other evidence on Feb. 14, 1999 as police executed a search warrant on a Las Vegas apartment believed to belong to Tabish.

By the time she arrived at 7:05 a.m., said Thomas, several homicide detectives had already been inside the residence to secure the scene. Thomas testified that she saw Murphy, dressed in "cowprint pajamas and a peach robe," and Tabish, wearing a t-shirt and shorts and with "disheveled hair," in the apartment.

The defense has complained that the search warrant was purposely executed at that early hour — and the press was tipped off by investigators — so as to make the couple look as guilty as possible in local newspapers.

Thomas said she also found men's and women's clothing in a closet, a "money clip in the shape of a horseshoe with the name 'Ted' engraved on it," several watches and a shirt with Tabish's monogram on the sleeve. The defense already stipulated in opening statements to the fact that Tabish and Murphy were having an affair behind Binion's back. However, the prosecution has presented extensive testimony regarding the relationship, perhaps intending to show more motive for murder.

The other motive, according to prosecutors, was money. They have painted Murphy, who was nearly 30 years younger than 55-year-old Binion, as a gold-digger whose love for the millionaire applied mostly to his wealth.

Ronald Faiss, who worked for Binion at the Horseshoe casino for 30 years, testified that Murphy called him after Binion died. She complained, said Faiss, that she was having a difficult time finding out who was the beneficiary of Binion's $700,000 life insurance policy.

Faiss testified that Binion had called him early in 1998, saying "he was going to change the beneficiary to Sandy Murphy." Faiss said he ordered the change of beneficiary forms from the insurance company, gave them to Binion's secretary, Kathy Rose, and never heard about it again. He said he related this information to Murphy.

She called him back a second time, said Faiss, and told him to expect a call from the insurance company. "'Ron you gotta tell them you were supposed to change the beneficiary on the insurance policy,'" Faiss said Murphy told him. "Please tell them that." Faiss said he would, but the company representative who called him explained that only Binion could make the change and that he never sent in any new forms.

Faiss testified that he never heard from Murphy, whom he admitted disliking, again. Murphy's attorney, John Momot, had few questions for Faiss, except to elicit the fact that the witness had no way of knowing if Rose ever gave the papers to Binion. Momot also implied that Murphy needed the money for attorney's fees.

In addition to presenting damaging testimony regarding Murphy's focus on money, prosecutors also called a fingerprint expert to the stand. Edward Guenther testified that fingerprints found on the exterior of Murphy's bathroom window belonged to her. Previous witnesses have testified that a white chair was sitting on the lawn, just below that open window, the day Binion died. Prosecutors claim that Binion kicked Murphy out of the house, and she snuck back in to kill him.

Guenther admitted under cross-examination that there was no way of telling how old the prints were and that he was given all the evidence from investigators at the scene. He also said that he only looked for matches to people on a list from the prosecution.

Guenther testified that he found no prints on the empty Xanax bottle found next to Binion's body.