Gardener describes unusual events

Thursday, Aug. 19, 1999 | 11:23 a.m.

Now two days behind schedule because of a courthouse power failure, the preliminary hearing in the murder of Ted Binion was to resume today with much ground to make up before its scheduled Aug. 27 conclusion.

Before the lights went out Wednesday, Binion's longtime gardener, Thomas Loveday, spent two hours on the witness stand testifying about strange occurrences at the gambling figure's 2408 Palomino Lane home while he tended to his lawn the day Binion died.

The televised hearing, conducted by Justice of the Peace Jennifer Togliatti with limited lighting and no air conditioning, was cut short after Loveday's testimony about 1 p.m. when the courthouse's auxiliary generator failed.

Doug Bradford, director of public communications for Clark County, said this morning that power was restored about 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Togliatti, he said, was planning a full day's work from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

"Everything should be up and running this morning," Bradford said.

Binion's housekeeper, Mary Montoya-Gascoigne, who was to testify Wednesday, was expected to take the stand Friday, as prosecutors focus on the events surrounding the ex-Horseshoe Club executive's Sept. 17 murder.

His 27-year-old girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, and her 34-year-old reported lover, Montana contractor Rick Tabish, are charged in his murder. Four others are facing related charges.

Chief Medical Examiner Lary Simms and other pathologists, including Dr. Michael Baden, who served as a forensic expert in the death of John Belushi and the murder trial of O.J. Simpson, are among those expected to testify today.

Baden, director of the Forensic Sciences Unit for the New York State Police, was hired by Binion's $30 million estate to evaluate the medical evidence compiled by Simms. Baden arrived in Las Vegas earlier this week.

Simms, who performed an autopsy on Binion, found lethal levels of heroin and the prescription sedative Xanax in Binion's stomach.

Both Simms and homicide detectives believe Binion's body was moved after he was forced to drink a fatal cocktail of heroin and Xanax. They also believe his killers staged the death scene in the southeast den of Binion's home, where his body was found.

Loveday, who didn't learn of Binion's death until he saw it on television, spent much of his time on the witness stand Wednesday using a blown-up floor plan of the 6,000-square-foot home that prosecutors presented in court to point the unusual things he noticed.

Simms has concluded Binion most likely died between 5:30 a.m. and 10 a.m.

Loveday, under questioning from Deputy District Attorney David Wall, said he arrived at Binion's ranch-style home to cut his grass about 9 a.m. and noticed Binion's white Ford pickup in the circular driveway.

He said he later saw Murphy's black Mercedes sports coupe under a carport on the east side of the home, far away from her usual west side parking spot.

In the back yard, Binion's two dogs, Princess and Pig, didn't appear normal, he said. Both had their heads down, and Princess was pawing at the French doors leading to the kitchen.

Loveday testified that he noticed the curtains to the living room were closed for the first time in his more than 10 years of working at the house. Part of the southeast den, he said, can be seen from the living room windows.

"That caught me by surprise," he said.

Loveday said his suspicions intensified when Montoya-Gascoigne never showed up for work at her usual 10 a.m. time. The housekeeper was expected to testify Friday that Murphy had asked her not to come to the house that morning because Binion wasn't feeling well.

Eventually, Loveday said, he began checking the doors and looking into the windows around the house to see if the house was secure.

Both Binion's and Murphy's bedrooms appeared "immaculate" with their beds made and carpets freshly vacuumed, he said.

Loveday said he wondered how the house looked so clean in the absence of Montoya-Gascoigne.

Defense lawyers Bill Terry and Steve Wolfson suggested during cross-examination that Murphy might have arrived at the home in her Mercedes shortly after Loveday. But Loveday said that couldn't have happened without him seeing her come into the driveway.

At one point, Terry attempted to show that Murphy had spurned a romantic interest from Loveday.

"Ever ask Ms. Murphy to go out on a date?" Terry asked.

"No," Loveday replied.

Later, when questioned again by Wall, Loveday said it appeared that Murphy was mouthing some words to him from the defense table during his testimony. But he said he couldn't make out the words.

Montoya-Gascoigne was expected today to shed light on the collapse of Binion's relationship with Murphy prior to his death.

She also was to testify about physical evidence -- such as a fresh stain on Binion's bed and another one on the carpet where his body was found -- that prosecutors have linked to his murder.

The housekeeper has provided homicide detectives with a long list of coins, cash and jewelry missing from Binion's home. Murphy and Tabish are charged with stealing valuables, including a $300,000 collection of rare coins and currency.