The new trial of former stripper Sandy Murphy and her boyfriend Rick Tabish for the 1998 murder of casino heir Ted Binion started today. Murphy and Tabish were convicted in 2000, but were able to win a new trial after the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that a an extortion charge against Tabish should have been tried separately and may have unfairly prejudiced the jury.
Binion, a drug addict, was found with a large quantity of heroin and xanax in his stomach. Prosecutors allege that Murphy and Tabish forced the concoction down Binion's throat and before "burking" him in order to obtain a portion of Binion's estimated $55 million estate and other loot. Murphy moved in with Binion shortly after he met her dancing at Cheetah's, a Vegas strip club. The burking scene is described in detail in James McManus's book
Positively Fifth Street, a must-read despite the lack of masochists crawling out of trunks.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/10/15/ga....ap/index.html
