Testimony continues in bid for new trial

Lisa Snedeker

Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2000 | 8:58 a.m.

The jury foreman and a bailiff contradicted each other Monday as they testified about an unusual letter from the jury in the Ted Binion murder case.

Their testimony and that of other jurors and a jailhouse snitch came as defense attorneys presented evidence in a bid to win a new trial for lovers Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish. The two were convicted in May of killing gambling figure Ted Binion and stealing his silver fortune in September 1998.

They were granted a hearing after their attorneys filed motions alleging juror misconduct, ineffective legal representation and improprieties by the prosecution.

Jury foreman Artie Spears testified Monday that at the end of the third day of jury deliberations, the bailiff told Spears the judge wanted a status report.

"Hank (the bailiff) said the judge would want a status update in the morning," said Spears, adding that as a result he wrote a letter and after showing it to the other jurors had the bailiff deliver it to the judge.

At the time, the communication from the jury, highly unusual in trials, surprised legal experts, who wondered what motivated the jurors to write it. Bonaventure called attorney's together and shared its contents.

The defense alleges that jurors felt pressured to make a decision, but the majority of the jurors said they went over all the evidence in the eight days they deliberated.

Bailiff Hank Pyla, however, denied asking Spears anything about the deliberations.

"I just said he looked tired," he said.

Pyla also testified that Spears only requested partial copies of the jury instructions for all 12 jurors, never a full set.

In their arguments accusing jurors of misconduct, defense attorneys have contended that the jury relied on partial instructions and a timeline made up by Spears as well as other unofficial documents rather than the judge's official instructions.

Other jurors testified Monday that the partial instructions were used only as a reference. Juror Joan Sanders was the only juror to testify that the other jurors relied heavily on the partial instructions.

Defense attorneys also spent Monday trying to determine if a juror had forbidden outside contact by using a handheld computer.

They also explored whether any of the jurors signed a book deal before the end of the trial. All the jurors denied the allegation.

The defense suffered a blow when alleged jailhouse informant David Gomez again invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to testify. Gomez earlier used his protection against self-incrimination at a pretrial hearing about allegations that Prosecutor David Roger and Clark County Detention Center officials planted him in Tabish's cell to steal confidential papers.

After hearing arguments, District Judge Joseph Bonaventure refused to hear testimony from a defense investigator who alleged Gomez provided the investigator with new information concerning the alleged plot.

"I cannot in good conscience accept Mr. Gomez' testimony," the judge said. "I don't want anything to do with Mr. Gomez."

Murphy, 28, Binion's live-in girlfriend, and Tabish, 35, who became her lover, were convicted by the same jurors now being questioned.

Prosecutors believe the pair forced Binion, 55, to ingest lethal amounts of heroin and the sedative Xanax before smothering him, while the defense contends the known drug user died of an overdose.

The jury recommended the pair spend life in prison with parole possible after 20 years.

The hearing resumes Tuesday. Final testimony and closing arguments are expected Wednesday.