Famed expert Baden testifies

Tuesday, April 18, 2000 | 11:24 a.m.

Prosecutors today called their star witness, famed New York pathologist Michael Baden, to the stand in the Ted Binion murder case to testify about fresh bruises and abrasions found on the wealthy gambling figure's body after his death.

Baden, director of forensic sciences for the New York State Police, testified as he reviewed photos of the 55-year-old Binion's body showing the injuries on his chest, back and wrists.

He said he believed most of the damage to Binion's body occurred prior to his Sept. 17, 1998, death.

Baden, who has worked on the O.J. Simpson and JonBenet Ramsey cases, said he also found ruptured blood vessels under Binion's eyelids, which he has previously testified was the result of being suffocated.

Baden took the witness stand, as prosecutors moved into the heart of their case in the third week of testimony in the trial of Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish on charges of killing Binion.

Under questioning from Chief Deputy District Attorney David Wall, Baden said he was asked to become involved in the Binion murder probe last March by Tom Dillard, a private investigator for Binion's $55 million estate.

The well-known forensic expert said he ultimately reviewed the results of the Binion autopsy conducted by Lary Simms, Clark County's chief medical examiner, prior to testifying at last August's preliminary hearing for Murphy and Tabish.

At the hearing, Baden stunned those in the courtroom when he testified nearly a year after Binion's slaying that the former casino executive did not die of a drug overdose.

The veteran pathologist, who has conducted more than 20,000 autopsies during his 40-year career, said Binion was suffocated by a 19th century method called "burking," in which the killer sits on the chest of the victim and covers the victims nose and mouth.

Baden's testimony contradicted Simms, who concluded the wealthy gambling figure died of lethal doses of heroin and the prescription sedative Xanax.

Prosecutors contend that Binion's killers pumped him with the drugs at his Las Vegas home and then suffocated him after his gardener, Thomas Loveday, showed up for work.

Simms, who had joined the Clark County coroner's office just a couple weeks before Binion's death, stuck to his overdose theory during more than four hours on the witness stand Monday.

He agreed with Baden, however, that Binion was the victim of a homicide and could not have taken all of the drugs himself.

The defense maintains that Binion died of a self-induced overdose, and it plans to call another well-known pathologist, Dr. Cyril Wecht, to the witness stand to support its case.

Murphy's lawyer, John Momot, has retained James Shellow, a prominent criminal defense attorney from Milwaukee, to cross-examine Baden. Shellow, who has tried cases in Las Vegas before, has extensive experience in questioning medical experts.

Simms testified that Binion died between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., about six to eight hours before Murphy, his live-in girlfriend, reported his death at 3:55 p.m.

Witnesses have placed Murphy's black Mercedes at the 2408 Palomino Lane home from 11 p.m. the night before until 1 p.m. on Sept. 17. Murphy answered a 12:04 p.m. phone call on Sept. 17 from Binion's real estate agent, Barbara Brown. During the call she said Binion was "out of it" and that she had a big mess to clean up in the bathroom.

Simms described how his autopsy found less than two ounces of a gray-brown fluid of heroin and Xanax in his stomach.

He said it was unlikely that much heroin could have wound up in Binion's stomach from injecting or smoking heroin. Binion was known to "chase the dragon" or inhale the fumes of heroin after heating it on tin foil.

Questioned by Wall, Simms described a series of fresh bruises and abrasions on Binion's back, chest and wrists that appeared to have occurred before his death.

He said he saw vascular congestion under Binion's eyelids that could have been the result of trauma or his body lying face down for a period of time.

Baden has attributed the redness in Binion's eyes to blood vessels bursting because of his suffocation.

Discoloration that Simms found around Binion's nose and mouth also occurred when he was smothered to death, Baden said.

Simms said the discoloration likely was the result of those areas coming in contact with a chemical irritant or gastric contents.

During cross-examination, defense lawyers attempted to show that Binion could have died from voluntarily taking a mixture of heroin and Xanax.

The day before his death, Binion had obtained 12 balloons of heroin and a prescription for a bottle of Xanax.

Defense attorneys also attempted to show that Simms concluded Binion was a homicide victim amid pressure from the politically connected Binion family.

Jeff German is the Sun's senior investigative reporter. He can be reached at (702) 259-4067 or by e-mail at german@lasvegassun.com