Behnen is confident jury will reach fair decision

Ted Binion's sister said today she's pleased the jurors in his murder case have been thoroughly reviewing the evidence.

"From the first time I saw them, I could tell they were extremely conscientious," Becky Behnen told the Sun. "It was 110 degrees in the courtroom, and they sat there and didn't move and hung on every word."

The 12 jurors today entered their seventh day of deliberations over the fate of Binion's girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, and her lover, Rick Tabish, who are standing trial on charges of killing the wealthy gambling figure and stealing his valuables.

Behnen said that waiting for the verdict this past week has been difficult but that she feels the jurors will reach a fair decision in her brother's Sept. 17, 1998, death.

"I'm very impressed with them," she said. "There must be a great deal of pressure to be in this position. I think they know that they're going to be quizzed a lot after the verdict, and they want to show that they looked at everything."

Behnen, president of the Binion family's Horseshoe Club hotel-casino, said she believes the jurors will be prepared to answer every question they receive from lawyers and reporters after a verdict is reached.

"They're not going to embarrass themselves," she said.

Behnen, the first to publicly suspect foul play in her brother's death, said she hopes the jurors will return guilty verdicts, but she added she's prepared to accept whatever decision they make.

The jurors, who have been meeting from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. most days, went home early at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

That stirred up speculation that the panel was close to announcing its decision.

But Doug Bradford, Clark County's director of public communications, said the jurors simply had informed District Judge Joseph Bonaventure that they were tired and wanted to go home before their dinner break.

Bradford was forced to issue a news release this morning denying rumors of a noon press conference in the case.

"We're all in a holding pattern right now," Bradford said. "The only people who know what's going on in that jury room are the 12 jurors."

On Tuesday the jury's foreman, a retired aerospace engineer, sent Bonaventure an unusual letter giving him a status check on the panel's deliberations.

The foreman described the jury as a "cohesive unit," which led to speculation that the panel had the ability to reach a verdict.

"We feel we're moving in the right direction, taking the time required to give the defendants a fair and just trial by this jury," the foreman concluded in his letter.

Courthouse observers said that phrase suggested the jurors may be gearing up to convict Murphy and Tabish.

Last Thursday the foreman sent Bonaventure a note suggesting the jurors were inclined to find Tabish guilty of extortion in the alleged scheme to torture businessman Leo Casey two months before Binion's death.

Defense lawyers John Momot and Louis Palazzo have attempted to put a positive spin on the notes, saying they suggest the jury has doubts about some of the evidence prosecutors presented during the seven week trial.

Deputy District Attorneys David Roger and David Wall have refused to comment until a verdict is reached.

But prosecutors the last several days have been preparing for a penalty hearing should the jury return a verdict of first degree murder against Murphy and Tabish.

The jury could recommend to Bonaventure a sentence as harsh as life in prison without parole for both defendants.

Among those prosecutors are considering calling to the witness stand at a penalty hearing are Behnen, Binion's other sister, Brenda Michael, who lives in Texas, and his 19-year-old daughter, Bonnie.

Behnen met with prosecutors last week.

Jeff German is the Sun's senior investigative reporter. He can be reached at (702) 259-4067 or by e-mail at [email protected].

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