KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasBinion Trial: Testimony in Question Will Be Allowed
Was it a murder motivated by a greedy girlfriend and her secret lover or was it simply a drug overdose by a known drug addict? Watch unedited portions of the opening statements in the Ted Binion murder trial. More>>
(Oct. 18) -- There's more controversy in the Ted Binion murder trial. One witness, whose testimony was in question, will be allowed to testify Tuesday.
Rick Tabish's defense attorney tried to get the charges dismissed against his client by saying the government improperly influenced a witness. The motion claimed a correctional officer from Montana was offered a position with Metro Police that would pay nearly double what he was making at the time. He came forward after he did not get the job, and said the position was only offered to influence his testimony.
Monday night, defense attorneys admitted they did not meet the burden of proof for a mistrial, and the judge denied the motion.
You can watch the Binion trial on our sister station Las Vegas One on Cox Cable channel 19.
(Oct. 14) -- It was a busy day in the Binion murder trial. First, there was opening statements. Then, the first witness took the stand. It was Binion's ex-wife, Doris Binion.
Opening statements began Thursday morning at the Clark County courthouse and the prosecution had time to call one witness to the stand. Doris Binion described how Ted smoked heroin by using placing the drug on a piece of foil and using a flame to create smoke that he could inhale.
She got emotional when she recalled how her ex-husband would smoke heroin during the 20 years he engaged in the habit. Doris Binion was the first witness to take the stand for the state as a way to show that Ted Binion's drug use would not have killed him because Binion never ingested the drug in a dangerous manner, according to the prosecution.
Prosecutor Christopher Lalli told the jurors that the defendants forced chemicals down Binion to make it look like an overdose. Instead he says it was a case of greed, betrayal and murder.
The state contends that Binion was given a lethal dose of Heroin and Xanex by his live-in girlfriend Sandy Murphy and her former lover Rick Tabish.
The state says the motive was money. But the defense said in opening statements that Murphy and Tabish had no motive to kill Binion, and that he died of an accidental overdose.
The prosecution is expected to call its second witness to the stand Friday morning.
Our sister station, Las Vegas One, will provide live coverage on Cox Cable channel 19 starting Thursday at 8:30 a.m. with opening statements.
A jury has been seated in the Ted Binion murder trial. Potential jurors had to answer lots of questions before any decisions were made. Our sister station, Las Vegas One, will provide live coverage on Cox Cable channel 19 starting Thursday at 8:30 a.m. with opening statements. More>>
