Murphy loses bid to have felony conviction reheard

CARSON CITY -- The state Supreme Court has refused to reconsider its decision upholding Sandy Murphy's conviction on charges of trying to steal $7 million in silver from the late Las Vegas casino executive Ted Binion's underground vault.

Without giving a reason for their decision, justices voted 4-3 on Tuesday against reconsidering their March decision that upheld conspiracy, burglary and larceny charges against Murphy. She received a one-year to five-year term for the offenses, and has served her time.

Besides the Supreme Court rejection, Murphy was turned down in April by District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez in Las Vegas when she sought a new trial.

"Justice wasn't served this morning," said Murphy, a California resident. She said she wanted to clear her name.

Murphy, 36, and her one-time lover Rick Tabish gained widespread notoriety on Sept. 17, 1998, when Binion, her live-in boyfriend, was found dead in his Las Vegas home.

Authorities initially suspected that Binion had died of a drug overdose. But two days later, sheriff's deputies caught Tabish, 43, and two other men digging up Binion's silver stash near Pahrump.

Tabish and Murphy were convicted in 2000 of murdering Binion in a conspiracy to steal his silver and prevent him from cutting Murphy out of his will. They each received sentences requiring them to spend at least 22 years in prison, but those convictions were overturned in 2003 by the Supreme Court.

A second jury in 2004 acquitted them of the murder charges, but upheld the charges in connection with the silver theft.

Tabish remains behind bars at the Southern Desert Correctional Center in connection with the silver theft charges.

Chief Justice Mark Gibbons, Bill Maupin, Ron Parraguirre and Michael Douglas voted against reconsidering Murphy's case. Justices Michael Cherry, Jim Hardesty and Nancy Saitta voted for reconsideration, but added, "Our votes would not change the ultimate outcome of this appeal."