Judge rules on use of panties as evidence

If the missing panties Sandy Murphy wore to jail last month ever turn up, prosecutors will have to inform District Judge Joseph Bonaventure before they conduct any evidentiary tests on them.

That was the word today from the judge during a 10-minute televised hearing.

Murphy's lawyer, John Momot, had requested the order to protect the interests of his client, who is charged in the September 1998 slaying of her boyfriend, gambling figure, Ted Binion.

Momot told Bonaventure today he had a filed a motion seeking to prohibit the use of the black panties against the 27-year-old one-time topless dancer out of an "abundance of caution."

Before ruling from the bench Bonaventure praised Momot's actions, saying it took some "retrospective" on his part before filing the motion, which has been the subject of much courthouse and media humor.

"I commend Mr. Momot for his representation of his client and his diligence," Bonaventure said.

When given a chance to address the issue in court today, Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger declined.

"We have no desire to add to this matter any further," said Roger, who has publicly called Momot's motion a waste of Bonaventure's time.

Murphy, wearing a black pantsuit, looked solemn during the brief hearing.

Bonaventure had agreed to conduct the hearing after Momot in his Nov. 2 motion sought the return of the underwear that turned up missing when Murphy was released from the Clark County Detention Center on Oct. 28.

Murphy, charged with her reported lover, Rick Tabish, in Binion's slaying, was jailed for a week last month for violating the terms of her house arrest.

Late last week, Murphy gave an on-camera interview to John Miller, a correspondent for "ABC's 20/20" news magazine show. The network tentatively plans to air her first-ever television interview during a 20/20 segment on the Binion murder next month.

In the interview, Murphy again denied killing Binion and repeated her contention that she loved the former casino executive. Murphy, who was living with Binion at the time of his death, also said she feels besieged by the media attention she's getting.

A reporter for KTNV Channel 13 sat in on the interview and was allowed to ask a couple of questions. The station planned to air Murphy's responses on its evening newscast tonight.

The interview was granted ABC on the condition the network correspondent not ask Murphy any questions about the specifics of her case. Momot was present during the interview.

In his motion, meanwhile, Momot had accused detention center officials of "illegally seizing" his client's panties, a charge officials denied.

He said last week that today's hearing wouldn't have been necessary had prosecutors given him assurances that they wouldn't use the panties as evidence against his client.

Roger, the lead prosecutor in the case, was unwilling to make that commitment.

In his written response to Momot's motion, Roger said authorities do not have Murphy's panties and would never conduct any scientific tests on the underwear without a court order.

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