Two Acquitted of Casino Heir Murder
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LAS VEGAS – A former stripper and her lover were acquitted yesterday of murdering casino heir Ted Binion, who prosecutors say was drugged and suffocated in a plot to steal his fortune of buried silver.
The jury found Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish guilty of lesser charges of conspiracy to commit burglary or larceny, burglary, and grand larceny in a plot to steal a $7 million cache of silver bars and coins Binion had buried in the desert.
Defense lawyers had argued Binion, a longtime heroin addict, died of an accidental overdose.
He was found dead at his home on September 17, 1998. Murphy, 32, and Tabish, 39, each could face up to 16 years in prison.
Sentencing was scheduled for January 28.
The jury deliberated fewer than four days before acquitting the two on felony charges of murder, robbery, and conspiracy to commit murder and or robbery.
This was their second trial. Their original convictions were overturned on appeal last year by the Nevada Supreme Court, which ruled that the judge should have forced prosecutors to try an extortion case against Tabish separately.
