Defense steps up attack on suffocation theory

Wednesday, May 3, 2000 | 11:15 a.m.

The battle of experts took center stage today in the Ted Binion murder trial, when the defense's star witness, well-known Pittsburgh pathologist Cyril Wecht, took the stand to contradict the prosecution's chief medical witness.

Wecht, who has conducted about 14,000 autopsies in his 43 years as a pathologist in Pennsylvania, testified that he did not find pinpoint-sized ruptured blood vessels under Binion's eyelids.

His good friend and fellow well-known pathologist, Dr. Michael Baden, appearing for the prosecution, concluded earlier in the trial that the burst vessels were the result of suffocation.

Wecht said he believes the redness in Binion's eyes occurred after Binion's death.

Pointing to blown-up autopsy photos of Binion's face, Wecht testified that the ruptured vessels under Binion's eyelids were linear in fashion, not circular, which he said rebuts Baden's suffocation theory.

Wecht, director of laboratory services for St. Francis Central Hospital in Pittsburgh, also said discoloration around Binion's mouth and nose was not the result of being smothered to death as Baden claimed. He said the discoloration could have been the result of shaving or could have occurred after Binion's death.

Two small marks on Binion's chest also could have occurred during attempts to revive Binion and were not the result of pressure being exerted on his body by his accused killers -- Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish -- Wecht testified.

The veteran Pittsburgh pathologist has given defense lawyers John Momot and Louis Palazzo a 17-page report that concludes Binion died of "a combined heroin and Xanax overdose" as part of a planned suicide.

His theory of how the 55-year-old Binion died put him in direct conflict with Baden, who like Wecht has a national reputation.

Baden, director of forensic sciences for the New York State Police, testified earlier in the trial that Binion was fed drugs and then suffocated by Murphy and Tabish. Prosecutors have built their circumstantial case around Baden's testimony.

Murphy, a 28-year-old onetime topless dancer, and Tabish, her 35-year-old lover, are standing trial in the courtroom of District Judge Joseph Bonaventure on charges of killing Binion Sept. 17, 1998, and stealing his valuables.

The trial, now in its sixth week, has been carried live on local and national cable. Within the last week, as the defense began to present its case, the courtroom has attracted a capacity crowd of onlookers, many from outside Las Vegas.

Baden -- who has hosted the HBO series, "Autopsy," and written the book, "Unnatural Death: Confessions of a Medical Examiner" -- testified that Binion died by the smothering method known as "Burkeing" in which pressure is put on the victim's chest and his nose and mouth are covered.

Baden's conclusions were partially at odds with the prosecution's other key medical expert, Clark County Chief Medical examiner Lary Simms, who performed the autopsy on Binion's body.

Prior to Baden's testimony Simms said on the witness stand that he believed Binion died of a forced overdose of heroin and Xanax. Simms agreed with Baden that Binion was the victim of a homicide.

On Monday, the defense presented another veteran pathologist, 83-year-old Robert Bucklin, who testified it was premature to call Binion's death a homicide. He said he did not believe Binion was suffocated.

Wecht today led the defense a step further in challenging Baden's conclusions.

"I do not find any evidence to support the contention that he was suffocated," Wecht wrote in his report. "I believe that Mr. Binion initially inhaled heroin smoke, as he had in the past, and this led to thoughts of suicide."

Both Wecht and Baden, who have been close friends for more than three decades, have made a handsome living consulting on such high-profile cases as the O.J. Simpson murder trial and the JonBenet Ramsey homicide investigation.

Wecht, a former Allegheny County coroner in Pittsburgh, co-authored a revealing book on the death of JonBenet, and he appeared on the Fox network's controversial "Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction" broadcast in 1995.

He also wrote the book, "Grave Secrets," which shed new light on the Simpson case and the death of Vincent Foster, a close friend and aide to President Clinton. Baden wrote a foreward for that book.

Wecht also has been involved in Pennsylvania politics. He once ran for the U.S. Senate, and he served as an Allegheny County commissioner.

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