Friday, October 08, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Witness in Binion slaying trial faces Montana charges

Recent arraignment includes accusations of domestic violence, probation violations

Kurt Gratzer was granted immunity for his testimony in the first Ted Binion slaying trial of Rick Tabish and Sandy Murphy. Photo by Gary Thompson.

Kurt Gratzer, a key witness in the Ted Binion murder trial, is facing new felony charges in Montana, according to attorneys' comments in court Thursday.

Gratzer was recently arraigned in Missoula County, Mont., on felony domestic violence and probation violations, according to attorneys Anna Ling and Shari Greenburger, who represent slaying suspect Rick Tabish in the Binion case.

Further details on the new charges against Gratzer were not available Thursday. A clerk for the court system in Missoula said computer records show a case was filed against Gratzer in District Court there, but a prosecutor assigned to the case could not be reached for comment.

The Missoula County Sheriff's Department had no information on the case Thursday.

Binion was found dead in his Las Vegas home in 1998, and authorities have accused his live-in girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, and Tabish, of murder.

Murphy and Tabish were convicted of murder and robbery in 2000, but the convictions were overturned on appeal. A retrial of the defendants is set to start Monday.

During the first trial, Gratzer testified that Tabish tried to hire him to kill Binion less than a month before Binion died. Gratzer was granted immunity.

But recently, Gratzer alleged that prosecutors told him to suppress evidence about his belief that Murphy is innocent.

When asked in a courthouse hallway whether he thought Tabish was involved, Gratzer said: "I don't know."

Prosecutors have said the accusations of evidence suppression are false, and Gratzer's credibility has always been in question. Just two days after he testified in the first trial, he was arrested on domestic battery charges in Las Vegas.

Gratzer also has been at the center of witness tampering accusations this year. According to authorities, two individuals associated with Murphy's defense, William Fuller and John Prendeville, previously paid approximately $35,000 in legal fees for Gratzer in what authorities claim was an attempt to influence Gratzer's testimony.

Neither man has been charged with any wrongdoing.

It was unclear Thursday if Gratzer's new charges would affect the upcoming trial, in which Gratzer is listed as a potential witness.

Word of the new charges against Gratzer unfolded during a pretrial hearing Thursday morning.

During the hearing, District Judge Joseph Bonaventure declined a request by defense attorneys to prevent the jury from hearing evidence about a romantic affair between Tabish and Murphy.