Dr. Norton Roitman testified that Ted Binion's drug addition opened himself up to suicidal impulses at any time. (Court TV)

By Laura Barandes
Court TV

A psychiatrist with 25 years of experience treating addiction testified Wednesday that Ted Binion, a long-time heroin addict, could have become suicidal at any time.

"The potential for a suicidal impulse" is always present when a person is addicted to drugs, said Dr. Norton Roitman. Under the influence of a powerful narcotic like heroin, continued the doctor, it is possible "to go from euphoric to despondent," within a matter of minutes.

Read the Profile of Ted Binion (Court TV)

Roitman's testimony is crucial to the defense because the prosecution put on multiple witnesses who said Binion seemed happy and was talking about the future in the days leading up to his death on Sept. 17, 1998.

The state claims that Sandy Murphy, Binion's live-in girlfriend, and her lover, Rick Tabish, killed the casino mogul to steal his money and free Murphy from an allegedly abusive relationship with him. According to prosecutors, the pair forced a potent mixture of heroin and Xanax down Binion's throat and then suffocated him when the gardener arrived at the house unexpectedly.

Both sides have put on a bevy of medical experts, almost all of whom disagree on exactly how Binion died. Jurors have heard theories of undetermined death, homicidal suffocation, and suicide by overdose. The defense contends that Binion was not murdered, that he instead succumbed to his long standing drug habit either accidentally or in a deliberate act of suicide. However, defense attorneys only need to create enough reasonable doubt as to the method of Binion's death to win an acquittal.

Roitman supported the defense theory that suicide could be a reasonable conclusion based on Binion's long-standing drug addiction and other stressors in his life. With an addict, "If they're happy it's just a mask, or they're very high," testified Roitman, addressing state testimony that Binion seemed happy before he died.

"Drugs make people happy," said Roitman. "Some drug addicts act miserable, some act like party animals."

Roitman also testified that addicts who experience "recent loss, rejection, loss in status," can be even more prone to "concealed suicidal ideation." This opinion fits with the defense theory because Binion had in fact suffered a great loss in status.

Binion's gaming license had been permanently revoked by the Nevada's Casino Gaming Control Board in March 1998, just months before his death. Friends and family agree that the Horseshoe casino, the Binion family business, was Ted Binion's life. As a child, he was exposed to poker chips just as often as potato chips, and gaming was fed to him with his mother's milk.

Binion's attorney, testifying for the state, said Binion was upbeat despite the loss of his license, and was committed to fighting the decision in court. But the lawyer also testified that Binion was constantly enmeshed in litigation with his siblings over their inheritance.

According to Roitman, even if Binion seemed to be handling the negative events of his life well, his continued dependence on heroin belied the happiness he wore on the outside.

Binion did reportedly try to kick the habit several times, often by procuring Xanax from his next door neighbor, a doctor, to help with withdrawal symptoms.

However, listening to a drug addict who says he can treat himself, "would be like agreeing to buy the Brooklyn Bridge," said Roitman. The craving for the drug requires medical supervision because "it overcomes the person's value system."

That compromised value system, the defense has argued, is evidenced by Binion's physical abuse of Sandy Murphy and Doris Binion, his ex-wife. Mrs. Binion testified that her ex-husband once beat her severely when they were married because he suspected she was having an affair. Murphy's step-mother testified she saw her daughter with a black eye, a fat lip, bruises and Binion admitted to her that he beat his young girlfriend. Meanwhile, Binion was constantly "befriending" women he met at Cheetah's, the same topless bar where he met Murphy.

The deterioration of personal relationships is a common feature of drug addicts, Roitman testified. "Their identity fuses with the use of the drug itself," said Roitman. "The relationship with the significant other becomes a three-way relationship" because the drug "becomes like a lover."

Roitman also stressed that there is no one face of drug addiction. Prosecutors have attacked the possibility of suicide by putting on witnesses who claim that Binion was a happy person who was able to function well in everyday life. He was a wealthy man often surrounded by beautiful women.

However, Roitman testified that just because Binion was a millionaire, living in a beautiful home with every material thing he could ever want, does not mean that he was not a slave to a drug. Mrs. Binion testified that her ex-husband spent nearly $1 million on his heroin habit during their marriage.

"[Addicts] can look like a doctor, a plumber...sometimes they manage their addiction, we never know...money doesn't say anything," Roitman testified.

In addition, said Roitman, even psychiatrists are not always able to see suicidal intentions in their patients. The defense used this testimony to undermine the usefulness of state witness testimony that Binion never displayed thoughts of suicide in their presence.

The prosecution has also placed great emphasis on the fact that Binion used heroin by "chasing the dragon." In this method, the user spreads the tar heroin on a piece of foil, heats it from underneath, and then inhales the fumes that rise. Prosecutors contend that "chasing the dragon" is the safest way to use heroin; it is difficult to overdose because a large portion of the drug escapes into the air.

Yet, Roitman disagreed with prosecutors on cross-examination that the method of use was of significance to Binion's heroin addiction. "There's a difference between doing it and not doing it — there's not a big difference between how it's done," said Roitman.

"Opiate use is basically Russian Roulette," Roitman testified. Adding Xanax to the equation only increases the possibility that latent suicidal thoughts will surface. "Xanax reduces the barrier against impulses to do things you wouldn't normally do."

Roitman concluded his testimony by stating that, had Binion sought help from a psychiatrist like himself, he might still be alive.