Judge delays call on release of Binion tape

Friday, July 30, 1999 | 11:09 a.m.

District Judge Michael Cherry today delayed a decision on whether to release a copy of a videotape of Ted Binion's home taken the day after his Sept. 17 murder.

The tape, which was requested by the Sun, surfaced during Binion's estate case. But it now has become key evidence in a murder investigation.

Cherry put off today's hearing until Aug. 13 so lawyers for one of Binion's accused killers, his girlfriend Sandy Murphy, could have time to voice their opposition to the tape's release.

The Sun, which has viewed the videotape, reported Wednesday that the tape appears to show Murphy pocketing several items, including a glass, during a tour of Binion's home the day after his slaying.

Prosecutors have been studying the tape since it was obtained with a subpoena last week from Binion's $30 million estate, and there are suspicions the glass may have had something to do with the former casino executive's slaying.

An autopsy report obtained by the Sun shows Binion had 40 milliliters of a gray-brown fluid, identified has a mixture of heroin and the prescription sedative Xanax, in his stomach.

Police have theorized that Binion was forced to drink a fatal cocktail of the two drugs.

Cherry today also again refused to allow Murphy back into Binion's 2408 Palomino Lane home. The judge said he was reluctant to give Murphy possession of the home while the criminal charges against her are pending.

On the videotape, Murphy seems to take the glass, which looked like a long-stemmed goblet, from a counter-top in the kitchen.

She also appears to pocket a piece of paper from a desk in Binion's bedroom and a computer disk from a drawer in her bathroom.

The tape was made at the request of Murphy's civil lawyer, William Knudson, the afternoon of Sept. 18 in anticipation of a court battle over the Palomino Lane home.

The video camera reportedly was provided by Murphy's murder co-defendant, Montana contractor Rick Tabish, who left the house prior to the taping.

Present with Murphy during the taping, which was done by Knudson, were James J. Brown, a Binion estate lawyer, Murphy's mother and two of Murphy's friends.

At the time of the videotaping, Murphy, who had lived with Binion for four years, was not charged in his slaying.

In December, she was awarded the $900,000 Palomino Lane home, its contents and $300,000 in cash against the objections of Binion's estate, which contended she was cut out of the gambling figure's will the day before his death. The estate is appealing the court decision.