LAS VEGAS — A forensic pathologist who autopsied the body of casino heir Ted Binion testified Monday that he found evidence of trauma on Binion's body and "pressure injuries" on his chest.

Prosecutors believe the injuries point to the dying man's struggle with his live-in girlfriend, Sandra Murphy, and her secret lover, Rick Tabish.

The pair are on trial for allegedly murdering the 55-year-old tycoon and trying to make it look like a drug overdose in an alleged plot to steal his millions in silver buried in the desert.

Four years ago, a jury found Murphy and Tabish guilty of murder, burglary and grand larceny, among other charges. An appeals court overturned the convictions in 2003, paving the way for their retrial.

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Murphy and Tabish admit they were having an affair, but deny any involvement in Binion's death.

Clark County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Lary Simms originally ruled that Binion's Sept. 17, 1998, death was due to an overdose of heroin and Xanax. But after an intense investigation by the Binion family, Simms amended the "manner of death" to a homicide.

Simms told jurors Monday that the bruises he found on Binion's back likely occurred "less than 18 hours and up to as early as the time of death."

Jurors saw several autopsy photos depicting abrasions on Binion's wrists and his left knee, as well as a picture that showed two small "superficial erosions" on Binion's chest that appeared red and blistered.

Prosecutors allege that Murphy, 32, and Tabish, 39, forced the drugs down Binion's throat and that the marks were from the buttons on his shirt pressing against his body as they suffocated him. The defense has posited that the marks on Binion's chest were lesions due to a skin condition. Unfortunately, Simms may have not given jurors a definitive answer, as he stated that he was not able to give a conclusive medical opinion either way.

Signs of murder?

Simms did testify, however, that the markings appeared to change slightly after Binion's death, and conditions such as skin cancer and dermatitis are fixed upon death and do not usually change.

But he also noted that there was no evidence of trauma to Binion's lips, cheeks, throat, vocal chords, trachea or larynx — areas where, the defense contends, there should be signs of trauma if the co-defendants forced him to swallow drugs.

Prosecutor Christopher Lalli placed a photo on the projector depicting a white latex-gloved hand pulling down Binion's eyelids. Simms used it to indicate where he found vascular congestion and discoloration under Binion's eyelids, symptoms that could indicate asphyxiation, suffocation or strangulation.

Murphy averted her eyes whenever autopsy pictures were presented. Binion's sister-in-law, Phyllis, who sat in the front row near the prosecution table, also turned her head to avoid the graphic depictions.

Simms said he believed Binion died between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Sept. 17, 1998.

Binion's housekeeper previously testified that Murphy called her at 9 a.m., and asked her not to come that day because Binion wasn't feeling well. Binion's gardener testified that when he arrived at the house at 9 a.m., all the curtains were drawn for the first time in his 10 years of weekly visits.

Prosecutors allege that Murphy and Tabish killed Binion and then pillaged his home of valuables and cash over the next few hours. Police later found Tabish and two assistants attempting to dig up a vault on Binion's Pahrump ranch, which contained about $7 million in silver and rare coins.

Tabish claims he was following his dead friend's wishes to preserve the treasure for his daughter, Bonnie Binion, in the case of his death.

Unusual methods

On cross-examination, Simms said he determined Binion's manner of death to be homicide based not on autopsy findings, but on police reports and discussions with law enforcement officials.

He admitted that investigators never told him that Binion purchased 12 balloons filled with Mexican black tar heroin the night before his demise.

Previous witnesses testified that Binion never swallowed or injected heroin. Instead, he preferred to "chase the dragon," or inhale the smoke. Prosecutors assert that the two micrograms of heroin byproduct found in his stomach indicate he had ingested it, a method they say the longtime heroin addict had never used.

But Simms stated during cross-examination that two micrograms — an amount invisible to the naked eye — might be consistent with particles of the drug being inadvertently swallowed while inhaling the smoke or ingesting Xanax.

Fire Capt. Steven Reincke, the first paramedic on the scene, resumed his testimony from Friday.

Reincke said he arrived at Binion's Palamino Lane home at 3:57 p.m., two minutes after Murphy placed a frantic 911 call to report that her "husband" wasn't breathing.

According to Reincke, Binion's jaw was already beginning to show signs of rigor mortis when he arrived, and he believed the casino heir had been dead at least two hours or more.

Murphy was so upset, Reincke said, that he called a trauma intervention official to the scene to aid the mourning girlfriend.

Medical testimony from noted forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, who took the stand for about 30 minutes at the end of the day, is expected to dominate the majority of Tuesday's proceedings.

Baden testified in the original trial that he believed that Binion was killed by a method called "burking"— in which one assailant covers the victim's mouth while a second one keeps the victim's chest deflated by sitting on it.

Murphy and Tabish face 20 years to life in prison if convicted.