According to prosecutor David Roger, Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish "did it for greed, they did it for lust, they did it for money...These two people betrayed Ted Binion...[they] stole everything Ted Binion had, including his life."

By Laura Barandes
Court TV

Prosecutor David Roger spent an exhausting Monday outlining all the state's evidence and testimony in his closing argument. He asked jurors to ignore attacks on the character of Ted Binion, and find Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish guilty of multiple crimes, including the premeditated murder of the Las Vegas millionaire.

"I suppose the inference that the defense wants you to draw was that Ted Binion wasn't worth your time as a jury and you shouldn't find the defendants guilty of murder," said Roger. The defense has painted Binion as an abusive drug addict who gave his ex-wife and live-in girlfriend black eyes and bloody lips.

Read Verdict Form for Rick Tabish

"Ladies and gentlemen, Ted Binion, for whatever he was, [he] was entitled to the same rights as these defendants here in court," said Roger.

Sandy Murphy, Binion's live-in girlfriend, and Rick Tabish, her lover, are accused of killing Binion to steal his money and free Murphy from her relationship with him.

Roger outlined the theory of death for the jury, a theory that has been muddled by a long line of medical experts. Many of the experts, even ones on the same side of the case, disagree on the manner and cause of Binion's death. By the time both sides rested, jurors had heard that Binion's death was the result of homicidal suffocation, suicide by overdose and "undetermined."

"It is the state of Nevada's theory," said Roger, "that Ted Binion was given a cocktail by his killers," that included a potent mixture of heroin — Binion's drug of choice — and the prescription drug Xanax. Prosecutors backed away from the contention that the drugs were forced down Binion's throat, perhaps due to the lack of trauma to Binion's throat area. Instead, said Roger, the defendants most likely slipped the drugs into Binion's drink surreptitiously and waited for them to take effect.

Then, according to the prosecution, there was "a major 'oops' — [they] called off the maid — but forgot the gardener." Binion's maid, Maria Montonya-Gascoigne, testified that Murphy told her to go home early the day before Binion's death and then called her the next morning saying she should not come in to work at all.

Prosecutors argue that the unexpected arrival of Binion's gardener, Tom Loveday, caused Murphy and Tabish to expedite Binion's death to avoid discovery. They suffocated him, said Roger, by holding a hand or pillow over the millionaire's mouth and sitting on his chest to keep his lungs deflated.

Read Verdict Form for Sandy Murphy

Roger also attacked the defense theory that Binion, a long-time drug addict who was in constant litigation with his siblings over money, could have been suicidal. In March 1998, Nevada's Casino Gaming Control board also permanently revoked Binion's prized gaming license, citing continued drug use and association with reputed mobsters.

However, Roger insisted that all the people who interacted with Binion in the days leading up to his death noticed no signs of despair or suicidal thoughts. All of these people "knew him better than Dr. Roitman, or Dr. Wecht or Dr. Snyder," said Roger, citing several defense medical experts. "Ted Binion was planning for the future."

In addition, Roger asked jurors not to allow the dark picture of Binion's personal and business life, painted by the defense, to affect their verdict. Binion's ex-wife testified that he beat her severely after suspecting she was having an affair. According to Doris Binion, when she left because of the drugs and the violence, he also threatened to shoot himself if she did not return.

Roger downplayed this threat of suicide by saying it was just Binion's way to get his wife to come back. "The only time he spoke of suicide was when he was manipulating [her] to come home."

Sandy Murphy's step-mother also testified that she once arrived at the Palomino house to find Murphy with a black eye, a fat lip and bruises. Mrs. Murphy said Binion admitted to the abuse and never even got out of bed when she spoke to him.

Roger said that the defense would not have attacked Binion's character if he did truly die at his own hand. "If he committed suicide," said Roger, "then why talk about what a rotten person Ted Binion was? If he committed an accidental overdose, then why commit this character assassination and ask his former wife about how rotten he was, asking the maid if she has seen domestic violence?"

Rick Tabish is charged with 11 counts, including the premeditated murder of Ted Binion. (Court TV)

What is important, said Roger, is that "Ted Binion was a human being," a father and a brother, "and that's all that matters."

According to the prosecution, Murphy and Tabish "did it for greed, they did it for lust, they did it for money...These two people betrayed Ted Binion...[they] stole everything Ted Binion had, including his life."

Prosecutors also argued that Tabish was guilty of kidnapping and torturing Las Vegas businessman Leo Casey, forcing him to sign over his share in the Jean Sand Pit. But with Casey, prosecutors were once again forced to deal with a not-so-likeable victim.

"It is the state's position that the motive for the murder of Ted Binion was...to get money for the Jean sandpit," said Roger.

The defense has claimed that Casey was embezzling money from the company for which Tabish worked. The prosecution admitted as much in their closing argument.

Casey would buy equipment wholesale and then sell it to his own company at a higher price, pocketing the difference. "It was fraud," admitted Roger.

"For greed, for their own benefit," said Roger, "[Tabish and Casey's partner] took the law into their own hands," threatening to kill Casey until he agreed to sign a confession to embezzlement and handed over his share of the company. Casey said that Tabish beat him with a phone book, stuck a knife under his fingernails and threatened to bury him alive. In light of defense testimony that Casey had no marks on him that day, Roger suggested that a phonebook would not necessarily leave bruises.

Sandy Murphy is charged with six counts, included grand larceny and first-degree murder. (Court TV)

In the end, jurors stayed awake long enough to watch a full-day multimedia presentation of the state's case. Both alleged victims, Binion and Casey, were no angels. One was a millionaire drug addict who like to split his time between casinos and strip clubs and tried to manipulate people by offering and withdrawing a place in his will. The other is a shady businessman who fails to file tax returns and is himself a defendant in several civil litigations for fraudulent business practices.

Prosecutors do have plenty of motive for Tabish and Murphy — lust and 46,000 pounds of silver buried in the Nevada desert go a long way. However, they do not have experts who can agree on how Binion died, nor can they positively put the defendants in the house at the time of Binion's death. The link between the Casey charges and the Binion charges is also precarious.

And all the defense needs is reasonable doubt. Attorneys for Tabish and Murphy will begin closing arguments Tuesday.

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