By Lisa Sweetingham Court TV
LAS VEGAS Jurors in the trial of secret lovers accused of murdering millionaire Ted Binion marked a third day of deliberations by reviewing the testimony of a fingerprint expert whose findings appeared to discredit the defense theory that Binion died of an accidental overdose. It was the panel's only request since they began deliberating Friday afternoon. But there was still no verdict by day's end, and the five women and seven men are set to return to court Tuesday morning to begin a fourth day of deliberations. On Sept. 17, 1998, paramedics found 55-year-old Ted Binion, heir to Binion's Horseshoe Casino, lying dead on the floor in the den of the Las Vegas home he shared for 3 1/2 years with his girlfriend, now murder defendant, Sandra Murphy. Murphy, 32, and her former lover Richard Tabish, 39, are accused of killing Binion and trying to make the longtime heroin addict's death look like a suicide in a conspiracy to steal his millions in silver and valuables. They admit to having an affair but maintain they had nothing to do with Binion's death, which was initially determined by a medical examiner to be the result of a heroin overdose.
Investigators found an empty prescription bottle of Xanax, three Bic lighters and a pack of Vantage cigarettes near Binion's body. Heroin paraphernalia was found in the bathroom. During their deliberations Saturday, jurors asked to review the testimony of latent prints expert Edward Guenther, who examined evidence found near Binion at the time of his death, and their request was granted Monday. Guenther, who works for Las Vegas Metro Police, testified that he used several processes to lift prints from the empty prescription Xanax bottle but was unable to find a single trace. Guenther said that the bottle's nonporous surface made it a good candidate for print analysis, but there was nothing, not even the small ridge details usually present. He agreed with prosecutors that it would be possible for someone to eliminate the prints by wiping them off. He also stated that no prints were found on the lighters or cigarette pack. Several jurors took notes during this portion of Guenther's readback, including the foreperson, a woman who works for the county and appears to be in her late 40s. Previous witnesses, including Binion's daughter, have testified that Binion's rare coin collection, and thousands of dollars in cash and silver coins from a safe in the garage, were missing from the home after Binion's death. Prosecutors found what appeared to be a list, in Murphy's handwriting, of silver and coins. Jurors also listened to Guenther's testimony stating that he found several prints, belonging to Murphy and Tabish, on that list. Jurors began deliberating Friday afternoon and worked all day Saturday and Monday. Murphy and Tabish are charged with six counts, including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, burglary, robbery, conspiracy to commit burglary and/or robbery, and grand larceny. In 2000, a jury found the pair guilty after eight days of deliberations, but the convictions were overturned on appeal in 2003. They now face 20 years to life in prison if convicted. |