Saturday, November 13, 2004
Contractor denies role in Las Vegas millionaire's killing
By CHRISTINA ALMEIDA, Associated Press Writer
(Updated Saturday, November 13, 2004, 5:03 AM)
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'user_data:ibox' -->LAS VEGAS (AP) - A former stripper's secret lover turned to jurors and declared without hesitation that he had nothing to do with the death of a one-time casino executive for a piece of a million-dollar estate and a fortune in buried silver.
"Absolutely, unequivocally not," Rick Tabish said Friday, as he locked eyes with several members of the jury. "I did not kill Ted Binion."
The dramatic opening to nearly five hours of testimony Friday was a departure from the first murder trial in which defense attorneys did not put Tabish on the witness stand.
Tabish and Binion's live-in girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, are being retried after the Nevada Supreme Court tossed out their 2000 murder convictions on appeal.
Hoping to counter prosecution claims that Tabish, a 39-year-old Montana contractor, was an ambitious schemer out to steal Binion's millions, defense lawyer J. Tony Serra tried to humanize his client. Serra first asked him questions about his childhood in Montana and the many businesses he owned and operated. Tabish testified about the friendship he formed with Binion, whom he described as eccentric and occasionally paranoid. Tabish also talked about the romance that blossomed with Murphy, 32, as Binion battled alcohol and heroin.
"Sandy was really guarded with me," Tabish said, adding that she was wary because people frequently tried to get money from Binion. "Sandy and I didn't hit it off very well in the beginning."
But over time their relationship changed, Tabish said.
"I became close to her. I had my problems, and she had hers," Tabish said. "We had each other."
Tabish said he and Binion became fast friends after meeting in 1998 and he later helped Binion with a number of projects, including building an underground vault to hold Binion's estimated $8 million fortune in silver bars and coins.
Tabish also detailed Binion's self-destruction in the months before his death in September 1998. He said Binion was distraught after losing his gambling license and began using heroin again.
"He felt like he let his dad (legendary casino owner Benny Binion) down," Tabish said. "He was in a rut."
Tabish said he was not at Binion's home on the day the gambler was found dead with a bottle of antidepressants by his side. Forensic specialists have testified for the defense that Binion's death was an accidental overdose.
Prosecutors contend Tabish and Murphy forced Binion to ingest lethal levels of heroin and Xanax before suffocating him.
Tabish said Binion had ordered him to dig up silver from the underground vault if Binion died to keep the fortune out of Binion's ex-wife's control and to ensure it was safeguarded for Binion's daughter.
To make sure no one thought he was stealing the silver, Tabish said he called the sheriff and told him about his plans.
"It wasn't any secret," Tabish said. "I was not out there trying to steal the silver."
Prosecutors contend Tabish was trying to pre-empt suspicion and planned to split the money with Murphy.
Tabish was expected to return to the stand Monday. Closing arguments were expected to begin sometime next week, with the jury beginning deliberations soon after.
Although Murphy is free on bail, Tabish remains in prison, serving two consecutive sentences of 1 1/2 to 10 years for extortion. That charge was part of the first trial and was partly the reason the pair's convictions were overturned.
Justices determined the extortion charges should have been the subject of a separate trial and said evidence in that case unfairly prejudiced the jury against Murphy.
If convicted a second time, the pair face a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.
By CHRISTINA ALMEIDA, Associated Press Writer
(Updated Saturday, November 13, 2004, 5:03 AM)
E-mail This Article
Printer-Friendly Format
Receive the Daily Bulletin
Subscribe to Print
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'user_data:ibox' -->LAS VEGAS (AP) - A former stripper's secret lover turned to jurors and declared without hesitation that he had nothing to do with the death of a one-time casino executive for a piece of a million-dollar estate and a fortune in buried silver.
"Absolutely, unequivocally not," Rick Tabish said Friday, as he locked eyes with several members of the jury. "I did not kill Ted Binion."
The dramatic opening to nearly five hours of testimony Friday was a departure from the first murder trial in which defense attorneys did not put Tabish on the witness stand.
Tabish and Binion's live-in girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, are being retried after the Nevada Supreme Court tossed out their 2000 murder convictions on appeal.
Hoping to counter prosecution claims that Tabish, a 39-year-old Montana contractor, was an ambitious schemer out to steal Binion's millions, defense lawyer J. Tony Serra tried to humanize his client. Serra first asked him questions about his childhood in Montana and the many businesses he owned and operated. Tabish testified about the friendship he formed with Binion, whom he described as eccentric and occasionally paranoid. Tabish also talked about the romance that blossomed with Murphy, 32, as Binion battled alcohol and heroin.
"Sandy was really guarded with me," Tabish said, adding that she was wary because people frequently tried to get money from Binion. "Sandy and I didn't hit it off very well in the beginning."
But over time their relationship changed, Tabish said.
"I became close to her. I had my problems, and she had hers," Tabish said. "We had each other."
Tabish said he and Binion became fast friends after meeting in 1998 and he later helped Binion with a number of projects, including building an underground vault to hold Binion's estimated $8 million fortune in silver bars and coins.
Tabish also detailed Binion's self-destruction in the months before his death in September 1998. He said Binion was distraught after losing his gambling license and began using heroin again.
"He felt like he let his dad (legendary casino owner Benny Binion) down," Tabish said. "He was in a rut."
Tabish said he was not at Binion's home on the day the gambler was found dead with a bottle of antidepressants by his side. Forensic specialists have testified for the defense that Binion's death was an accidental overdose.
Prosecutors contend Tabish and Murphy forced Binion to ingest lethal levels of heroin and Xanax before suffocating him.
Tabish said Binion had ordered him to dig up silver from the underground vault if Binion died to keep the fortune out of Binion's ex-wife's control and to ensure it was safeguarded for Binion's daughter.
To make sure no one thought he was stealing the silver, Tabish said he called the sheriff and told him about his plans.
"It wasn't any secret," Tabish said. "I was not out there trying to steal the silver."
Prosecutors contend Tabish was trying to pre-empt suspicion and planned to split the money with Murphy.
Tabish was expected to return to the stand Monday. Closing arguments were expected to begin sometime next week, with the jury beginning deliberations soon after.
Although Murphy is free on bail, Tabish remains in prison, serving two consecutive sentences of 1 1/2 to 10 years for extortion. That charge was part of the first trial and was partly the reason the pair's convictions were overturned.
Justices determined the extortion charges should have been the subject of a separate trial and said evidence in that case unfairly prejudiced the jury against Murphy.
If convicted a second time, the pair face a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.
