An Irish American woman and her male accomplice have been found guilty in a Las Vegas court of murdering the woman's multi-millionaire boyfriend. In a case that attracted strong media interest, Sandra Murphy and Rick Tabish were accused of killing a casino owner, Ted Binion, and of trying to steal his secret cache of silver bullion.
The trial lasted more than a month and it took more than a week for a jury to reach their verdict. Together, Sandra Murphy and Rick Tabish faced a total of 17 charges relating to the killing of Ted Binion, a member of one of the most prominent casino families in Las Vegas. He met Murphy at a strip club and they lived together until September of 1998 when he died of a heroin overdose. It looked like an accident but prosecutors say it was murder. Defence lawyers said Murphy was set up by the Binion family.
The two will face possible life imprisonment when they are sentenced next week. There was no obvious emotion on Sandra Murphy's face as she was found guilty on all five counts counts against her. She had supporters in this courtroom last night including Kerryman Bill Fuller. The reclusive Irish millionaire hotelier had provided Murphy with hundreds of thousands of dollars to help with her legal bills.
