Murphy’s lawyer asks U.S. attorney to release Binion case information

Jace Radke

Friday, April 30, 2004 | 11:05 a.m.

A motion filed this morning in federal court demands that the FBI and federal prosecutors turn over any information that a prison inmate may have given the government that could clear Sandy Murphy of charges that she killed Ted Binion.

The motion relies on a letter sent in January to the defense attorneys for Murphy and Rick Tabish, who is also charged in the murder, by a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles.

The two paragraph letter from Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Young states, "During the course of an unrelated investigation, the United States has learned of potentially exculpatory information relating to your clients and their alleged role in the murder of Ted Binion.

"Specifically, the government has learned that an individual, Avery Church, has previously stated that he had personal knowledge that your clients did not participate in the murder of Mr. Binion."

The letter goes on to state that Church, who is an inmate at the High Desert State Prison near Indian Springs, may have tape recorded statements that could contain exculpatory evidence for Tabish and Murphy.

The motion, filed by Murphy's attorney Michael Cristalli, asks for any reports, documents, tape recordings or information that the Justice Department might have that is exculpatory or could lead to exculpatory evidence in the case.

Tabish and Murphy are accused of the September 1998 murder of Ted Binion, 55. The member of the family that owned Binion's Horseshoe was found dead in the Las Vegas home he shared with Murphy.

Tabish and Murphy were originally convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in prison, but their convictions were overturned by the Nevada Supreme Court. A new trial is scheduled for Oct. 13, according to the motion.

The Clark County district attorney's office has maintained that Tabish and Murphy, who had an affair, killed Binion as part of a conspiracy to steal his silver and assets, while lawyers for Tabish and Murphy have argued that Binion died of a drug overdose.

District Attorney David Roger, who prosecuted Murphy and Tabish in 2000, called the defense's federal motion an attempt to distract potential jurors in the October retrial from the true facts of the case.

"This is is old news that absolutely has no bearing on the guilt or innocence of these two defendants," Roger said. "These two defendants will never admit that Ted Binion was murdered because if they did so they would be placing themselves right in the crosshairs of another conviction.

"Sandy Murphy was at the house at the time of Ted Binion's death, and there was very compelling evidence that Rick Tabish was there, too."

Roger said evidence obtained by investigators also showed that Murphy and Tabish are "the only two people who stole all of Ted Binion's belongings."

Tabish was arrested with two other men in Pahrump less than 36 hours after Binion's death as Tabish was digging up Binion's $6 million silver trove from an underground vault.

In the motion, Cristalli says that it has always been the position of the defense that Binion died of an accidental overdose of drugs after being supplied lethal doses of Xanex and 12 balloons of heroin the night before he died.

"The defense would be ineffective and constitutional due process would be denied Sandra Murphy in her criminal trial if all the pertinent and discoverable facts known to the federal government were not made available for her defense," the motion states.

The motion also alleges that Church was removed from prison on Sept. 15, 2003, by the FBI and taken to Los Angeles where he was questioned.

Murphy and Tabish's attorneys have asked the government for any transcripts regarding Church's interviews, but Young, in a Jan. 26, 2004, letter refused to turn over anything.

"At this time, I have not identified any legal basis for your discovery requests, and therefore, to the extent that the United States has any of the documents you identified, they will not not be produced."

Lawyers for Tabish have yet to file their own demand for the letter or join Murphy's motion.

Church is serving a sentence of five years to life for attempted murder, robbery and kidnapping, in connection with a case involving the beating and torturing of a man in southeast Las Vegas.

Roger said he was miffed that the Los Angeles federal prosecutor didn't bother to notify Binion prosecutors here that he had uncovered evidence he felt was exculpatory to Murphy and Tabish.

"It is very disturbing that a prosecutor who has evidence that he believes will clear a person convicted of murder would not inform the district attorney about that information," he said.