Prosecutor says he might not oppose change of venue request

Robert Macy

Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2000 | 8:55 a.m.

Lead prosecutor David Roger said Tuesday the state may not oppose a defense motion that the murder trial of Sandra Murphy and Rick Tabish - one of Las Vegas' most notorious cases - be moved to some other Nevada city.

Ms. Murphy and Tabish are accused of killing Ted Binion, a member of a famous casino clan, at his Las Vegas home Sept. 17, 1998.

Attorneys for Murphy and Tabish filed 40 motions Monday, including one calling for a change of venue.

The two are scheduled to go to trial March 13.

Roger, the chief deputy district attorney, said he was giving "serious consideration" to allowing that motion to go uncontested, based on pretrial publicity. The defense argues that Ms. Murphy and Tabish would not be able to receive a fair trial because of intense media coverage.

John Momot, the attorney for Ms. Murphy, and Louis Palazzo, who represents Tabish, have complained about the media attention.

Roger said that while complaining about the publicity, the defendants have sought exposure.

Ms. Murphy has appeared on the television network show "20/20," in "Gentleman's Quarterly" magazine and has been interviewed on local TV while Tabish has done jailhouse interviews, Roger said.

Other motions include one asking that the 200 expected witnesses be sequestered. The trial is expected to last two to three months.

The venue motion would not be considered until a jury pool was selected. It would be up to state District Judge Joseph Bonaventure to decide the issue. The question would not be whether prospective jurors had heard of the case, but rather whether they could be unbiased.