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Tabish and Murphy Found Guilty of Murdering Casino Heir Ted Binion

A jury Friday convicted Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish of killing wealthy gambling figure Ted Binion on Sept. 17, 1998.

The 12 jurors, nine women and three men, also found Murphy and Tabish guilty of stealing Binion's valuables after his death, including his $6 million silver fortune in Pahrump.

Tabish also was convicted in the July 28, 1998, torture scheme against Las Vegas businessman Leo Casey two months before Binion's death.

Tabish was found guilty of 11 felony counts and Murphy six counts. Both defendants face a penalty as harsh as life in prison without the possibility of parole. First-degree murder carries a minimum sentence of 20 years.

District Judge Joseph Bonaventure set a 9:30 a.m. Tuesday penalty hearing for both defendants. The jury will hear evidence and then make a recommendation on a penalty to Bonaventure.

Tabish hung his head when the jury foreman, a retired aerospace engineer, read the guilty verdict involving one of the murder charges.

Tabish's parents were sitting in the audience. His father, Frank Tabish, shook his head as the verdicts were read. His mother, Lanni Tabish, broke into tears.

There were tears throughout the courtroom, including from one of the jurors.

Four of the jurors walked into court wearing sunglasses, an indication they did not want the defendants to see their eyes. The tears and sunglasses did not escape the notice of defense attorneys Louis Palazzo and John Momot.

"In 25 years (of practicing law), I've never seen a juror wear sunglasses," Momot said during a press conference after the verdict.

"I feel there is a problem here. I've never seen a jury crying. We're going to look into it."

Murphy showed no emotion as the verdicts were read. Prior to the jury entering the courtroom, she smiled and talked to her attorney, Momot.

"She expected an acquittal on all counts. She's in shock. She's very disappointed," Momot said.

"There's no homicide here."

Tabish's attorney Palazzo too wasn't expecting the verdict.

"I'm just shocked that we had this verdict rendered. I've never seen this kind of verdict on this kind of case.

"My knees kind of buckled when I heard the verdicts," Palazzo said.

After the penalty phase of the trial, sentencing will follow in about 45 days. Both defense attorneys said they were considering appeals and would be meeting with the defendants over the weekend.

Momot said a decision on whether Murphy would testify during the penalty phase too would be made over the weekend.

In closing arguments, prosecutors told the 12 jurors that Murphy and Tabish forced Binion to drink a lethal cocktail of Xanax on the morning of Sept. 17, 1998, and then suffocated him to speed up his death after his gardener showed up to mow his lawn.

Then, prosecutors charged, the two lovers looted his Las Vegas home and its safe of all of its valuables, including his $300,000 collection of antique coins and currency, and conspired to steal his $6 million silver fortune that was buried in an underground vault in Pahrump.

Chief Deputy District Attorneys David Roger and David Wall told the jurors that Binion was the victim of a "classic murder" plot. Murphy and Tabish, they said, killed the wealthy gambling figure because of their "lust" for each other and their "greed" over his millions.

Roger and Wall said the killers also arrogantly left their signature in their crimes, a lone silver dollar on the floor of the Pahrump vault and a single dime in the middle of the safe at Binion's 2408 Palomino Lane home. A Halloween decoration with the letters "R.I.P." also was left above the front entrance to the home. Halloween was six weeks away at the time.

While plotting Binion's demise, the defendants weaved a tale of deception that prosecutors said continued during nine-month homicide investigation with manipulation of witnesses. During the seven-week trial, prosecutors said, Murphy and Tabish tried to blame Binion's death on everyone but themselves.

The case pitted the politically connected family of the eccentric, drug-addicted casino man against two little-known Las Vegas outsiders.

There was Murphy, a 28-year-old transplanted Southern Californian with a reputation for being a gold digger who met Binion while dancing topless at a local adult nightclub. And there was Tabish, a 35-year-old married contractor and convicted felon who came from a prominent family in Missoula, Montana.

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