LAS VEGAS — Greed and lust led secret lovers Sandra Murphy and Richard Tabish to conspire to kill Murphy's millionaire boyfriend Ted Binion, prosecutors said during closing arguments Thursday.

"The answer as to 'whodunit' is an easy one," prosecutor Christopher Lalli said.

Countering the defense's contention that Binion died from an accidental heroin and Xanax overdose, Lalli pointed to medical evidence suggesting that Binion's body was moved and even injured after his death.

He also argued that the casino tycoon expired between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. while Murphy was home, even though she did not call 911 until about 4 p.m.

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Murphy, 32, sat quietly at the defense table. Tabish, 39, appeared to be glaring at Lalli, at times shaking his head and smiling incredulously as the prosecutor held forth on the allegedly murderous couple's actions before and after Binion's demise.

Jurors sat up in their seats and appeared to be taking notes during Lalli's two-hour argument.

On Sept. 17, 1998, emergency medical technicians found Binion lying on a mat on the floor of his den, with a blanket up to his chest and an empty prescription bottle of Xanax at his side. Crime-scene analysts were unable to find a single fingerprint on the pill bottle.

Detectives found heroin paraphernalia in his den bathroom. Binion's drug dealer testified during the six-week trial that the millionaire purchased 12 balloons of black-tar heroin the night before his death.

Expert witnesses, however, have disagreed on whether the amount of drugs found in Binion's body was enough to kill him. Prosecutors believe the couple forced Binion to ingest the drugs and then suffocated him to death.

Lalli showed jurors a series of photographs Thursday depicting the lividity on Binion's body, indicating he was dead hours before paramedics arrived; a red injury mark on his knee that a medical examiner testified occurred postmortem; abrasions on his wrists that may have been from restraints; and two red, button-sized lesions on his chest that one expert theorized were pressure marks from the buttons on his shirt pushing against his skin as he was being suffocated to death.

Lalli spoke of the strange "coincidences" that could only point to premeditated murder.

For instance, Binion's maid testified that Murphy called her that morning and instructed her not to come to work, he said. The maid also said that Binion never slept on the floor of the den.

A gardener who was working in the yard when the couple allegedly murdered Binion said all the drapes in the home had been shut tight, and the dogs were locked out of the house and acting strangely.

Lalli reminded jurors of the testimony of real-estate agent Barbara Brown, who called Binion's home at noon to discuss a scheduled meeting. Murphy allegedly told Brown that Binion was "out cold" from a heroin binge, persuaded the concerned realtor not to come over, and then said she didn't think Binion would make the meeting.

"How right she was," Lalli said.

The prosecutor also drew attention to the pattern of phone calls between the couple. Cellphone records indicate that Murphy called Tabish up to 31 times a day in September.

"There were only three days in that month where she did not place a single call to him," Lalli said, noting that two of them were the days the couple was holed up together at luxury hotels in Los Angeles "The only other day was on Sept. 17, the day Ted Binion was murdered."

Timing also played a role in their motivations, Lalli said. While Binion and Murphy had a cohabitation agreement that provided for Murphy if they split up, on July 9, the tycoon placed his live-in girlfriend in his will, giving her the home and $300,000 in the event of his death.

"At that point, she's better off with Ted dead than alive," Lalli said.

He also noted that Tabish had serious financial troubles and a $1.2 million tax lien over his head. "The IRS is actively pursuing him. Tabish was hanging on by a very thin thread."

With the co-defendants' arrest photos projected side-by-side on a screen, Lalli concluded his closing arguments by noting that it was a picture of "two people engulfed with greed and blinded by the shallow lust they have for one another."

Tabish's defense attorney is expected to give his closing arguments after lunch. Murphy's attorney will give closings on Friday followed by the state's rebuttal.

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