Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2003 | 9:46 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Sandy Murphy, whose conviction in the slaying of Las Vegas casino executive Ted Binion was overturned, will have to take her request for bail to District Judge Joseph Bonaventure.
The state Supreme Court has rejected a motion by her attorney, Herb Sachs, which argues that Murphy is constitutionally entitled to bail pending her new trial, leaving the decision with Bonaventure.
In the motion, Sachs says new evidence will "pull the legs" out of the prosecution's case that she was involved in Binion's murder.
The Clark County District Attorney's Office oppose the motion for bail, saying Murphy was a "danger to the community." Deputy District Attorney Robert Daskas said Murphy tried to influence the testimony of a potential witness before the first trial.
Daskas said witness Linda Carrol complained she was intimidated by Murphy and her co-defendant Rick Tabish. Murphy did not abide by the terms of her house arrest in Las Vegas pending trial, he argued.
Sachs, in his motion for bail, said the Nevada Constitution holds that all persons are entitled to bail unless they are charged with a capital offense or "murder punishable by life imprisonment without the possibility of parole when the proof is evident or the presumption great."
He said Murphy is not facing the death penalty or life in prison without parole. She was sentenced to 22 years to life after her first conviction. He said there is no existence of proof or presumption in this case.
"There is newly discovered evidence that, we contend, pulls the legs out from the state's claim that Ted Binion died as a result of Burkeing. Highly competent forensic experts have now opined that the so-called button marks on Mr. Binion's chest are nothing of the sort."
Burkeing is a type of suffocation.
"Since the existence of those button marks was a crucial basis for Dr. Michael Baden's expert opinion that Mr. Binion had been burked. The new evidence renders the state's case far, far weaker than it was originally, especially since Dr. Baden is not an expert regarding dermatological conditions," Sachs said.
But the district attorney's office said Murphy is a far greater risk of fleeing this time if she was allowed bail. It noted Bonaventure denied bail pending appeal and the Supreme Court previously denied bail.
The Supreme Court, in its denial order Aug 12, said, "We conclude that Murphy has failed to demonstrate that the question of bail cannot be fairly resolved in the first instance," meaning it's up to Judge Bonaventure.
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