Murphy professes love for Binion

Wednesday, May 24, 2000 | 11:28 a.m.

Sandy Murphy took the witness stand today with tears streaming down her face to profess her love for the man she was convicted of killing.

In dramatic and stunning testimony, Murphy told the 12 jurors who will decide whether to send her to prison for life that she was "sorry that I walked out the door on Sept. 17, 1998, and left him alone ... when Teddy needed me most."

Murphy and her lover, Rick Tabish, were convicted Friday by the same jurors of killing Binion on Sept. 17, 1998, and stealing his valuables.

Tabish appeared to be choked up as Murphy credited him for standing by her. Binion's 19-year-old daughter, Bonnie, seemed to give Murphy an icy stare.

Murphy, in her emotional five-minute statement, said she was sorry she never took the witness stand during the seven-week murder trial. She acknowledged it was a mistake.

"I loved Teddy with all my heart, and I know he loved me just as much," Murphy told the jurors. "You may have taken away my freedom ... but you can never take away the love we had for each other."

Murphy followed her stepmother, Sandra Murphy, to the witness stand.

The older Murphy testified that her daughter was raped twice -- once as a teenager and then again a year before she came to Las Vegas and moved in with Binion.

In emotional testimony in the penalty phase of the Binion murder trial, the stepmother, Sandra Murphy, wept uncontrollably while explaining the rapes and begging the 12 jurors to be lenient in deciding her stepdaughter's fate in Binion's slaying.

Murphy cried from the defense table throughout her stepmother's dramatic testimony. Other family members in the gallery shed tears, as well.

"My daughter is a wonderful, loving, caring, bright individual," a sobbing Mrs. Murphy told the jurors before stepping off the witness stand. "She is the best ever, and I want you all to know that."

Mrs. Murphy, who lives in Bellflower, Calif., said her stepdaughter was never the same after the first rape, which occurred when she was 14 years old in junior high school in California.

The second rape, she said, took place in a strawberry field just off a freeway in California in early 1994 after her car had broken down.

A year later, Murphy met the 55 year-old Binion and moved in with him.

Murphy's mother said her stepdaughter never was the same after the rapes. She said she used to have nightmares after the first sexual assault and that her grades in school went down, as well.

The stepmother was among a string of emotional witnesses close to Murphy who made tearful appeals this morning to the jurors who convicted her on Friday. The witnesses were questioned by Murphy's lawyer, John Momot.

Murphy, a 28-year-old former topless dancer, and Tabish, a 35-year-old married Montana contractor, were found guilty Friday of killing Binion and stealing his valuables following a lengthy trial in the courtroom of District Judge Joseph Bonaventure.

Murphy's first cousin, Susan Wallace, described Murphy as a "good person" with a "good heart."

"It hurts to know little Sandy is going to be in prison," Wallace said. "I'm going to miss her so much."

Murphy's mother and other relatives, including her aunt, Lois Field, all said Murphy lived a normal active childhood. They recalled that she was a campfire girl, a terrific athlete and a member of the student council.

A neighbor, Rose Orozco, testified that a teenaged Murphy once saved her life when she was drowning.

As of this morning, Tabish had told his lawyer that he also wanted to exercise his right to give an unsworn statement to the jurors who will decide his fate on first-degree murder charge.

According to the rules of criminal procedure, the defendants on the witness stand can discuss any remorse they have over Binion's death, plead for leniency and talk about their plans for the future.

Anything beyond that would subject them to cross-examination from prosecutors.

After Murphy read her statement this morning, prosecutors declined to cross-examine her.

Chief Deputy District Attorneys David Roger and David Wall have asked the jurors to put Murphy and Tabish behind bars for life without the possibility of parole. Momot and Tabish's lawyer, Louis Palazzo, are seeking life with parole after 20 years.

Bonaventure will include the jury's recommendation on the first degree murder charge in his final sentence on the remaining lesser charges against the defendants in about six weeks.

On Tuesday, prosecutors presented a dozen witness pointing out character flaws in both defendants.

The most compelling witness was Bonnie Binion, who broke down on the stand several times while reminiscing about life as a child with her slain father.

She described the colorful casino executive as a brilliant and caring man who took care of her when she was sick and taught her how to play poker and fish.

"Most kids get a kiss when they leave for school in the morning," she said.

Then she burst into tears and added: "But I couldn't leave the room without a hug and a kiss."

Several of the jurors smiled and looked on with interest, as she showed them childhood photos of her and Binion.

The younger Binion also cried when she told the jurors about a poem her father loved to read her when she was a child.

With tears streaming down her face, she recalled the last line he often recited: "I love you so much that it makes the angels in heaven jealous."

In the courtroom gallery, members of the Binion family, including Bonnie's mother, Doris, and aunt, Brenda Michael, also shed tears as she testified.

Doris Binion comforted her daughter in the first row after her testimony while Bonaventure prepared to dismiss the jurors for the day.

Several of the jurors, who appeared to be moved by Bonnie's dramatic testimony, glanced toward her in the first row as Bonaventure read them the panel members final instructions.

Momot declined to cross-examine her.

Prosecutors ended up not calling other Binion family members to the witness stand.

One longtime Binion family friend, however, did take the witness stand.

Joe Gonzaque testified that Binion told him in July 1997 that Murphy had pulled a large knife on him.

Gonzaque turned over the weapon, which he described as a "ninja fighting knife," to prosecutors, who presented it as evidence to the jurors. The knife sported sharp spikes on its black handle and a large curved blade.

Prosecutors also presented evidence that Murphy once was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol, as well as with a suspended license.

State gaming agent Stan White testified that he investigated a 1996 scheme by Murphy to circumvent a house arrest term stemming from those charges.

A series of assaults committed by Tabish in 1985 and 1987 in Montana also was brought out by prosecutors.

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