Binion’s Killers Sentenced to Near-Maximum Terms

A Las Vegas judge sent a con man and a young topless dancer to prison Friday for the murder of casino heir Lonnie “Ted” Binion, ending the most publicized criminal case in the city’s history.

Rick Tabish and Sandra Murphy received slightly less than the maximum terms from District Judge Joseph Bonaventure, but both must spend about a quarter-century of potential life terms in prison before they will be eligible for parole.

Tabish, 35, will not have a chance to be freed until he is 62, said David Roger, chief deputy district attorney for Clark County. The long-time girlfriend of the murder victim, Murphy, 28, will not be eligible for parole until she is 52.

A jury had already determined that the two should serve a minimum of 20 years behind bars. Bonaventure tacked on additional time for conspiracy and other offenses, including a plot by the secret lovers to loot some $8 million in silver from Binion’s underground vault.

Tabish received more time because he also was convicted of assault and extortion against a businessman in an attempt to gain control of a construction sand pit in the desert.

Both Tabish and Murphy insisted they were innocent, with Murphy tearfully telling Bonaventure: “I loved Teddy very much, and we shared a lot of happy times together. I would never hurt him.”

But Bonaventure appeared unmoved.

“It is the court’s hope that, after your period of incarceration, you will awaken from your ‘Alice in Wonderland’ dream state,” Bonaventure said to Murphy, adding: “Your involvement in these crimes is horrific and strikes at the very core of trust between significant others.”

Las Vegas has been captivated by the case for nearly two years, since an apparently frantic Murphy called 911 on Sept. 17, 1998, to say that Binion had stopped breathing, inside the home the two shared west of the Strip.

The death at first appeared to be the inevitable demise of the hard-living Binion, whose father founded the Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas’ downtown. Ted Binion’s heroin addiction was almost as well known as his friendships with mobsters and his affinity for strippers.

But a second autopsy by prosecutors found that Binion’s death had not been a self-administered overdose, as the coroner had found, but a suffocation and forced drugging.

Lawyers for Tabish and Murphy said Friday they will continue to pursue appeals. The defendants insisted in their remarks to the judge that they had remained loyal to Binion, he as a friend and she as a live-in partner.

Frequently depicted in the media as a fast-living gold digger, Murphy said she actually wanted nothing more than to be a homemaker for Binion and to spend time with him riding horseback, fishing and tending a garden.

Gone for Friday’s sentencing were the tailored suits and stylish hair that Murphy had worn through much of the case. Dressed in jail-house blues, her hair pulled back, her arms shackled to her sides, Murphy appeared pale and gaunt.

Before being led out of court, she blew a kiss toward Tabish.

Bonaventure ended the session by saying that it was time for the Binion family, which still operates the Horseshoe Casino, to try to heal.

“It’s also hoped that the Las Vegas community will find a sense of closure,” Bonaventure said, “and return to more important matters that affect this great community.”