Murphy’s attorney claims new evidence in Binion case

Erica D. Johnson

Thursday, Dec. 5, 2002 | 9:27 a.m.

Attorneys defending convicted killer Sandy Murphy will have evidence within days that they say could help overturn her conviction.

District Judge Joseph Bonaventure on Wednesday ordered prosecutors to hand over the palm prints of slain casino figure Ted Binion within five days.

They must also give defense attorneys photographs of a scar on Binion's chest that prosecutors say was caused by his shirt button when Murphy suffocated him.

Murphy -- Binion's girlfriend -- and co-defendant Rick Tabish are serving life sentences after being convicted in Binion's 1998 murder.

Murphy is being held at the Southern Nevada Women's Correctional Facility in North Las Vegas. She did not attend Wednesday's hearing.

Defense attorney Herb Sachs said the palm prints will indicate that jurors looked at photographs of only one of Binion's hands, not both as prosecutors alleged.

If only one hand appears in the picture, he said, Binion couldn't have been bound by metal handcuffs, as prosecutors claim.

In addition, a doctor who examined enlarged photos of the chest scar said the scar was caused not by a button but by a skin disease such as cancer. This would mean that Binion wasn't suffocated, Sachs said.

"Their entire theory is that he was suffocated on his chest and he was restrained with metal handcuffs," he said.

Sachs said the evidence would show "prosecutorial misconduct."

But Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger, the district attorney-elect, said even the defense's experts during the trial said the mark on Binion's chest came from a button.

"They had a million-dollar dream team in this courtroom," he said. "They had their own experts, their own doctors and a team of investigators. They all said it was a button mark. Now, at the 11th hour some doctor comes up and says all those experts don't know what skin cancer looks like."

Roger said the jury had all of the facts during the trial and made a fair decision.

"There was an abundance of evidence in this case," he said. "Jurors had the benefit of 130 witnesses and numerous experts. They are the triers of fact."

Sachs said the issue of the button mark initially went unnoticed because the prosecution's expert looked at the photograph with a magnifying glass, while his original expert looked at the photo with the naked eye, Sachs said.

The doctor who now alleges the mark didn't come from a button did not testify at the trial.

Sachs plans to give the photos and the prints to other experts, who will further investigate his claims, he said.

"This is enough to reopen the investigation," he said. "If this proves what we think it will, we'll ask Bonaventure for a dismissal. My client is still sitting in jail. If this shows she's innocent, why should she sit in jail that much longer?"

Sachs said he also plans to send the prints and the photographs to the state Supreme Court, though it probably won't affect the court's decision, he said.

Bonaventure's ruling came a week after Murphy lost her fight to prevent the sale of Binion's home. District Judge Michael Cherry approved the sale of the house to local investor Patrick Haddad, who offered $750,000 for the home.

The money from the sale will be put into a blocked, interest-bearing account until the Supreme Court rules on Murphy's appeal.

Bonaventure made the ruling on the palm print despite his earlier ruling that all motions regarding Murphy would be stayed pending the Supreme Court's decision, which is expected within the next month or two.

He said he was granting Sachs' motion because the high court could find it helpful.