Wednesday, Oct. 21, 1998 | 11:04 a.m.
Homicide detectives remain baffled by the manner in which Ted Binion died despite growing suspicions about the activities of those around him before and after his Sept. 17 death.
"We can show motive and opportunity, but the problem we have is we can't show the means by which death occurred," Homicide Lt. Wayne Petersen said late Tuesday.
Petersen's comments followed revelations in District Court Tuesday that the 55-year-old Binion had instructed his lawyer, James J. Brown, to cut his girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, out of his will the day before he died.
Brown said in court papers that Binion had personally instructed him to remove Murphy from his will.
Binion had added Murphy to the will July 9, awarding her $300,000 and his Palomino Lane home and its contents after his death.
But the day before he died, Brown said, Binion told him he didn't want Murphy inheriting any of his multimillion-dollar estate.
"Decedent intended by his directions to James J. Brown that decedent's daughter, Bonnie Leigh Binion, take all of decedent's estate and that Sandra Murphy receive nothing from decedent's estate," Brown said in his court papers.
Brown never had time to change the will, but he contends in his petition that Binion's words are legally binding.
Murphy's lawyer, David Chesnoff said today that he intends to fight Brown's effort to cut his client out of her inheritance.
"I guess Mr. Brown's now a witness, not a lawyer," Chesnoff said. "The position we take is that Teddy loved and lived with this woman and intended for her to receive a portion of his estate, and we will litigate that if necessary. There's a very large estate here and Sandy is not asking for more than Teddy intended her to have."
Chesnoff also downplayed concerns some might have about 26-year-old Murphy.
"As far as I'm concerned," he said, "there are no suspicious circumstances relating to Sandy Murphy. The man loved her and lived with her."
Petersen, meanwhile, confirmed police were conducting forensic tests on a section of stained carpet found near Binion's body.
Metro crime-scene analysts removed the carpet last week when homicide detectives returned to Binion's home with Flud and the county pathologist who performed the autopsy on Binion.
Besides seeking a change in his will on the day before he died, Binion also hired veteran private detective Don Dibble to follow Murphy.
"This certainly is another in a string of suspicious circumstances surrounding Mr. Binion's death," Petersen said.
Some of the other unusual occurrences:
* Police called to Binion's home by Murphy on Sept. 17 found his body lying on top of a sleeping bag in his den next to an empty bottle of the prescription sedative, Xanax.
* A toxicology report found that there were lethal of levels of both heroin and Xanax in his system, something that has disturbed homicide detectives and Clark County Coroner Ron Flud, who has refused to call his death a suicide or accident.
* Binion friend, Rick Tabish, a Montana contractor, was arrested in Pahrump while removing $4 million in buried silver belonging to Binion less than 36 hours after the longtime gaming figure's death.
* Nye County sheriff's deputies investigating the alleged theft found evidence of a possible romantic relationship between Tabish and Murphy.
* The Binion family has been told that Tabish and Murphy were observed together at a posh Beverly Hills hotel the weekend before Binion died.
* Binion's 2408 Palomino Lane home was cleaned out of cash and valuables, including a rare coin and currency collection, after his death, Binion's lawyers said.
* A recorder attached to video cameras mounted around Binion's home wasn't working the day Binion died, leaving authorities with no permanent record of those coming in and out of his home that day.
* Binion's housekeeper was told by Murphy not to come to work on the morning of Sept. 17.
* A real estate agent talked to a distressed Murphy on the telephone about 12:30 p.m the day Binion died. Police were called to Binion's house about 3:55 p.m.
All of Binion's friends, associates and family members interviewed by the SUN have indicated Binion was not in a mood to kill himself.
Though Binion had a heroin addiction and occasionally would use Xanax to get himself off of the street drug, his friends insisted he never would have taken fatal doses of both drugs by himself.
Homicide detectives have stepped up the investigation into his death despite finding no evidence of foul play at his home.
And Binion's estate has offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in his death.
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