Murphy loses bid for retrial in theft

Sandy Murphy's request for a new trial was denied Wednesday, but that doesn't mean she is giving up.

Murphy, who was convicted and later acquitted of murdering former Las Vegas casino executive Ted Binion, wants to overturn felony convictions that stem from the theft of Binion's $7 million silver stash. She already has completed her prison sentence for her role in the theft.

In a telephone interview Wednesday from California, Murphy said she would appeal the ruling by District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez, who denied her motion for a new trial, to the Nevada Supreme Court.

"Justice wasn't served this morning," Murphy said.

Last month, the state's high court ruled against Murphy on an appeal that was based on a claim of insufficient evidence. Her motion before Gonzalez was based on "newly discovered evidence."

Murphy was living with Binion, her boyfriend, in September 1998 when the gaming heir was found dead in his Las Vegas home. Authorities initially suspected that Binion had succumbed to a drug overdose.

But two days after Binion died, authorities caught Murphy's secret lover, Rick Tabish, and two other men digging up Binion's silver fortune at an underground vault in Pahrump.

Authorities charged Murphy and Tabish with murder, alleging the pair suffocated Binion. Like Murphy, Tabish was convicted and later acquitted of the murder charge.

Murphy's motion for a new theft trial contained what the document described as new evidence suggesting that Wade Lieseke, sheriff of Nye County at the time, had given Tabish permission to enter Binion's vault and remove silver.

Lieseke, who lost his bid for re-election in 2002, has denied that he authorized Tabish to take the silver. And officials with the Clark County district attorney's office have said they found no evidence suggesting that Lieseke was involved with the theft.

Nevertheless, Assistant District Attorney Christopher Lalli told Gonzalez on Wednesday, "This is not newly discovered. Period. End of story. We're out of here."

The prosecutor also accused Murphy's representatives of trying to mislead Gonzalez, who was not the trial judge.

Attorney Michael Cristalli originally filed Murphy's motion for a new trial in November 2006, but several other attorneys have worked on it since then.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.