Lonnie "Ted" Binion had too much money and a habit that was bound to catch up with him. He was a casino mogul, the heir to the legendary Horseshoe fortune, and a man who lived with a foot in two different worlds—the glitzy high-stakes boardrooms of Las Vegas and the gritty, dangerous underworld of drug addiction. When he was found dead on the floor of his Palomino Lane estate in September 1998, the initial scene looked like a textbook overdose. Case closed? Not even close.
The question of who killed Ted Binion became a national obsession, transforming from a simple tragic accident into a twisted tale of buried silver, a stripper-turned-girlfriend, and a secret lover with a shady past. It’s been decades, but if you walk into any old-school Vegas dive bar and bring up the Binion name, you'll still get an earful of theories. Some people are convinced the jury got it right the first time. Others think the state’s case was a pile of circumstantial garbage.
The Crime Scene That Didn't Fit
On September 17, 1998, Sandy Murphy, Binion’s 26-year-old girlfriend, called 911. She was hysterical. She told the operator that Ted wasn't breathing. When the police arrived, they found Binion lying on a mattress in his den. There was a bottle of Xanax nearby. To the naked eye, it looked like a man who had finally pushed his luck too far with a "heroin cocktail."
But something felt off to the investigators.
First, there were the marks. Binion had small bruises on his chest and wrists. Then there was the "button-down" nature of his death. Ted was an experienced drug user. People who knew him said he was meticulous about his intake. They didn't buy that he’d just accidentally swallow a lethal dose of Xanax on top of everything else. More importantly, Ted’s brother, Jack Binion, didn't buy it. He hired private investigators to dig deeper, and that's when the silver started to disappear.
The Pahrump Ore Vault
Just two days after Ted died, a man named Rick Tabish was caught in the middle of the night in Pahrump, Nevada. He wasn't just hanging out. He was using heavy machinery to dig up a massive underground vault filled with $7 million worth of silver bars and coins that belonged to Ted Binion.
Tabish claimed he was "protecting" the silver per Ted's instructions. The police had a different theory. They figured out pretty quickly that Tabish and Sandy Murphy were having a secret affair. Suddenly, the "accidental overdose" started looking like a cold-blooded hit motivated by greed.
The Trial That Captivated America
When the state finally charged Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish with murder, it was the "Trial of the Century" for the state of Nevada. The prosecution's narrative was simple: Sandy and Rick wanted the money, and Ted was in the way. They argued that the duo had "burked" Binion—a method of killing where one person sits on the victim's chest while another covers their mouth and nose, causing suffocation while leaving minimal marks.
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The Chief Medical Examiner at the time, Lary Simms, was a focal point. The toxicology reports showed a lethal mix of heroin and Xanax. However, the prosecution leaned heavily on the idea that the drugs were forced down his throat or administered to incapacitate him before the suffocation.
The Evidence Against the Duo
- The Affair: Cell phone records and witness testimony proved Sandy and Rick were more than just friends.
- The Silver: The midnight excavation in Pahrump was the "smoking gun" of motive.
- The Change in the Will: Just before he died, Ted reportedly told his lawyer to cut Sandy out of the will. "Take her out," he allegedly said. "If she's not here when you get this, take her out."
- The Marks: Forensic experts argued the bruises on Ted's body were consistent with a struggle.
In 2000, the jury believed the story. They found Murphy and Tabish guilty of murder. It felt like the end of the road. But in Las Vegas, the house doesn't always win on the first flip of the card.
The Reversal and the 2004 Retrial
Honestly, the legal drama that followed was almost as wild as the murder itself. The Nevada Supreme Court eventually overturned the convictions. Why? They ruled that the judge had made several errors, including how the jury was instructed and how certain testimonies were handled.
In 2004, the pair went back to court. This time, the defense was ready. They hammered away at the forensic evidence. They brought in world-renowned pathologist Michael Baden, who testified that the levels of drugs in Binion's system were consistent with a self-administered overdose. He argued that the bruises could have happened during a fall or even during failed resuscitation attempts.
The defense's main argument was that Ted Binion was a man in a downward spiral. He had lost his gaming license. He was depressed. He was heavily addicted to "black tar" heroin. In their eyes, there was no murder—only a tragic end to a troubled life.
The second jury agreed. They acquitted Murphy and Tabish of the murder charges, though they still found them guilty of charges related to the silver theft.
So, Who Really Killed Ted Binion?
If you ask the state of Nevada today, the case is technically closed because of the acquittals. But the debate over who killed Ted Binion is far from over in the court of public opinion. You've basically got three main camps of thought here.
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Theory 1: Sandy and Rick Got Away With Murder
This is the "Occam's Razor" crowd. They believe the simplest explanation is the right one. You have a wealthy man, a younger girlfriend, a secret lover, and millions of dollars in silver buried in the desert. The timing of the Pahrump heist is just too suspicious to ignore. Proponents of this theory believe the 2004 jury was simply swayed by high-priced defense experts and that the original verdict was the correct one.
Theory 2: It Was a Tragic Overdose
This theory suggests Ted Binion was his own worst enemy. His life was falling apart. He had been banned from his own family's casino. He was smoking heroin daily. To people in this camp, the idea of a complex murder plot involving "burking" is a reach. They see a man who took too many pills, fell down, and died. The silver theft? That was just Rick Tabish being an opportunist who saw a chance to grab a dead man’s treasure.
Theory 3: The "Vegas Mob" or Business Rivals
A much smaller, more conspiratorial group thinks the killers weren't Sandy or Rick at all. Ted Binion had enemies. You don't run a casino for decades without making some. This theory posits that Ted was taken out by professional hits or people he owed money to, and Sandy and Rick were just convenient scapegoats because of their messy personal lives. However, there has never been any concrete evidence to support this.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Case
Many people think Sandy Murphy walked away with millions. She didn't. Most of the Binion estate went to his daughter, Bonnie Binion. Sandy ended up moving away and largely disappearing from the public eye.
Another misconception is that the "burking" theory was proven. It wasn't. It was a forensic hypothesis used to explain why a man would die of suffocation with drugs in his system. While it's a real medical phenomenon, it's incredibly difficult to prove without clear physical evidence, which was lacking in Ted’s case.
The silver itself? Most of it was recovered. That famous vault in Pahrump became a symbol of the greed surrounding the case, but the actual treasure didn't end up in the hands of the "killers."
Why the Case Still Matters in 2026
The Binion murder mystery isn't just a true crime story; it’s the story of the end of "Old Vegas." Ted Binion was one of the last of the cowboy casino owners. His death signaled a shift from the era of family-run, rough-and-tumble gambling halls to the corporate, sanitized mega-resorts we see on the Strip today.
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It also remains a cautionary tale about the legal system. How can two different juries look at the same set of facts and reach completely opposite conclusions about a murder? It shows how much "truth" in a courtroom depends on the skill of the lawyers and the testimony of expert witnesses who often disagree with each other.
The Forensic Reality
We have to look at the science. Toxicology in the late 90s was good, but our understanding of how drug interactions affect different bodies has evolved. Even today, forensic pathologists look at the Binion case as a "gray area" death.
- Xanax (Alprazolam): A benzodiazepine that can severely depress the central nervous system.
- Heroin: An opioid that slows breathing.
- The Cocktail: Combining these two is often fatal.
The question was never what killed him (the drugs), but how those drugs got into his system and if someone helped him stop breathing.
How to Dig Deeper into the Binion Mystery
If you're fascinated by the case and want to see the evidence for yourself, there are a few ways to go about it.
- Read the Court Transcripts: If you can get your hands on the 2000 and 2004 trial records, the back-and-forth between the experts is a masterclass in forensic debate.
- Visit the Horseshoe (Now Binion’s): While the family no longer owns it, the casino in downtown Las Vegas still holds the spirit of that era. You can see the history on the walls.
- Watch the Documentaries: Several "American Justice" and "48 Hours" episodes covered this in real-time. Watching the interviews with a young Sandy Murphy provides a lot of context for her public perception at the time.
Actionable Takeaways for True Crime Enthusiasts
When analyzing cold cases or controversial acquittals like this one, keep these points in mind to avoid being swayed by sensationalism:
- Check the Motive vs. Evidence: Motive (the silver and the affair) makes for a great story, but evidence (the bruises and toxicology) is what decides a trial.
- Consider the Burden of Proof: In the first trial, the prosecution convinced the jury "beyond a reasonable doubt." In the second, the defense created enough doubt. That "doubt" is the most powerful tool in a courtroom.
- Look at the Secondary Crimes: Often, the "lesser" charges tell the truth. Even though they weren't convicted of murder the second time, the conviction for the silver theft proves that Tabish and Murphy were, at the very least, acting dishonestly the moment Ted died.
Ted Binion’s death remains one of the most polarizing chapters in Nevada history. Whether he was a victim of a calculated murder or a victim of his own lifestyle, the shadow of Palomino Lane still hangs over the legacy of the Binion family. We may never have a definitive, universally accepted answer, but the evidence left behind tells a story of a man who lived fast and died in a web of his own making.