48 Hours - Buried Secrets of Las Vegas

Episode Date: September 16, 2024

In 1998, gaming tycoon Ted Binion, was found dead in his Las Vegas home. Paranoid about his wealth, he stashed millions of dollars worth of silver in a hidden vault in Pahrump, Nevada. Prior to his death, he became involved with Sandy Murphy, and it was she who told police in September 1998 that she had found him dead of an apparent drug overdose. However Binion’s sister, Becky Binion Behnen, insisted to police that this was no drug overdose and demanded an investigation. “48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant reports. This classic "48 Hours" episode last aired on 9/18/2010. Watch all-new episodes of “48 Hours” on Saturdays, and stream on demand on Paramount+. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial, and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. I'm Erin Moriarty of 48 Hours, and of all the cases I've covered, this is the one that troubles me most. A bizarre and maddening tale involving an eyewitness account that doesn't quite make sense. A sister testifying against a brother. A lack of physical evidence. Crosley Green has lived more than half his life behind bars for a crime he says he didn't commit. Listen to Murder in the Orange Grove, the troubled case against Crosley Green, early and ad-free on Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. I have been trying to sell this house for years.

But there's a problem. People think it's haunted. That's because a very powerful man died here. His name was Ted Binion. Teddy Binion is legendary in Las Vegas. My name is Glenn Pewitt, and I'm a true crime writer. I'm sitting in the newsroom. 419, dead body call, came across the scanner. Binion home, it's a big story.

Oh, my God, I'm in an emergency. My husband's not breathing. I need someone to come over here. Sandy calls 911, says, I found Teddy dead. He took me to the living room and then, oh, I'm sorry to tell you, but he's dead. Early on, it was presented as a simple drug overdose. But it didn't take long for the suspicions to start swirling. At the time, Sandy was 23.

Ted would have been like 51. start swirling. At the time, Sandy was 23, Ted would have been like 51. Sandy Murphy is a hot woman. I mean, she is good looking. Do you despise her? Despise, yes. Why? She had a part in the demise of my brother. Teddy was one of the most gifted casino operators you will ever meet. Ladies and gentlemen, Clay Fulton! Binion's had the reputation of being the place to gamble.

Teddy loved to party. He loved to drink. He loved to do drugs. And he loved guns, and he loved money. He lived the Las Vegas lifestyle. We all know he loved women. When Ted told me he had put Sandy in his will, I was just shocked. Why was your brother killed? To get the money, the greed.

From $7 million to $14 million worth of silver. Teddy wanted the money in his sight. He wanted to know where it was. The rumor is that we do have a treasure here. A treasure buried somewhere on this property? Yes. Teddy was a man who went to great lengths to hide his money. Treasure chest?

Who knows? The only way to find out is to get a shovel. It's a mystery. Then you have this sexy woman, drugs, an affair, lots of money. I don't believe that we will ever truly know what happened to Ted. It's easily the biggest mystery in Las Vegas history. Buried Secrets of Las Vegas I'm doing good. I'm running out of time. If you were standing in front of a group of people who had never met you before, how would you describe yourself?

I would just say, hi, my name's Sandy, and I'm in Laguna, and I'm an art dealer. Come see me. I'm in Laguna, and I'm an art dealer. Come see me. It's Sandy Murphy's wedding day, with all the trappings of Orange County, California privilege. But Sandy's route to a walk down the aisle has been as twisted as anyone could imagine. How would you describe the life that you have led? Well, it wasn't an easy one, that's for sure. She grew up in Southern California, the adored only daughter of a hardworking family.

Sandy was always a natural competitor. I went to high school, and I played, I think, three sports my freshman year. Sandy worked for a local car dealer, all the while looking for the bet of a lifetime. Have you always had a sense of adventure? Oh, yeah. That sense of adventure brought Sandy to Las Vegas. I was 21, and I had never been on a vacation away from my parents. She's got a great personality. She's sweet as can be.

Glenn Puett, a former Vegas newspaper man turned true crime author, would come to know all about Sandy's soon to be legendary Vegas jaunt. When you sit and talk to her, her eyes will melt you. Those eyes first lit up the strip when Sandy and a girlfriend hit town in 1995 with a wad of cash and visions of a good time. For the trip, I just brought, like, whatever my budget was. I think it was, like, $15,000 at the time. What do you do with it?

Well, we went to go gamble. And we lost it all, like, in the first hour. And what were you playing? Blackjack. Sandy was busted and desperate for cash to last for the rest of the trip. That's when the girlfriend she was traveling with suggested they try selling some of the custom lingerie she made. Together they headed over to one of Sin City's most famous strip clubs. We just went in and asked the bouncer if we

could sell all of our lingerie and if it was okay if I put it on and modeled it. What were you wearing? I was wearing the Dallas Cowboy outfit. A sexy little outfit? Yeah, it was really cute. And that's how I met Ted. Ted, just a first name. That's all Sandy knew about the memorable man she met that night at Cheetah's, a man who couldn't take his eyes off her. Then he became more flirtatious throughout the night.

And, you know, Ted's the kind of guy that's, like, larger than life. And when he's in the room, you just want to be close to him. Were you attracted to this big personality man? Oh, definitely. He was very sexy. Ted wasn't just a sexy guy with a big personality. He was Ted Binion, and this was the family business, the legendary Horseshoe, one of the most famous casinos in the world. Ted was Vegas royalty, the son of one of this town's original icons, Benny Binion.

You could call Benny Mr. Las Vegas, except for the fact that Wayne Newton! Wayne, you are Mr. Las Vegas. Thank you. No one has more Vegas in his DNA than Wayne Newton, the singer, actor, and icon who grew up with everyone from Sinatra to Elvis. But long before Wayne sang Dunca Shane, Benny was already a notorious outlaw and Vegas pioneer. Benny Binion's place was right across the street

from where I spent five years at the Fremont Hotel. And Benny Binion was a legend then. They say you know everything about Las Vegas there is to know. No, I don't think so. Legendary enough to make it onto CBS News back in 1981. Yeah, I never did own no stock. I don't own nothing I don't control. It all began in Texas, where Benny controlled the largest illegal gambling operation in Dallas. He had a serious reputation even then. Nicknamed Cowboy, Benny admitted killing

two men himself. I hear about that organized crime but I don't really know a damn thing about it. In 1946 the Dallas District Attorney vowed to shut him down. Benny stuffed a suitcase with two million dollars and headed to what was In 1946, the Dallas District Attorney vowed to shut him down. Benny stuffed a suitcase with $2 million and headed to what was then a sleepy desert town, Las Vegas. The founding fathers of Las Vegas, Benny Binion certainly headed up that group. It was a paradise of legal gambling, and Benny became king. It wasn't a matter that you didn't cross Benny Binion. It was a matter that it never crossed your mind to cross Benny Binion.

Benny built a gold mine, Binion's Horseshoe. He invented the World Series of Poker. His casino's trademark? Two dollar stakes, free booze, and no-limit betting. That's my father. The legendary... Benny Binion. For Becky Binion-Bainon... Ted, myself.

Her brothers Ted and Jack... Ted was a nice-looking kid. And her sisters Barbara and Brenda... There's a lot of us at the ranch. It was a life of splendor, action, and outlaws. It's the life that they make movies about, absolutely. That was the extraordinary bit of Americana, the one-of-a-kind story that Ted Binion was part of. Fast forward to 1996 and that fateful night at Cheetah's.

As Sandy Murphy danced for Benny Binion's millionaire son, she had no idea she'd just hit the jackpot. I was from California. I was completely clueless. Because, she claims, she knew nothing about the legacy of Benny Binion's son, Ted, the mysterious man she was dancing for. And I take it Teddy liked your dance? Oh, he did. So where did the relationship go from Cheetah's?

He was very persistent and extremely, like, relentless. We just started dating every single day. Sandy, the girl who'd come to Vegas for a week, was soon living at Ted's beautiful home with its huge rambling backyard just minutes off the strip. He just said he liked me because I was different. But for Sandy, at least, it wasn't quite love at first sight. No, it was lust at first sight. And when did it turn into love for you? Probably about six months into the relationship. And what was it about Ted that you loved?

I just loved his carefree spirit, and he was a very nice person. Of course she loved Ted's wallet. She didn't love Ted. No, there was no love that she had for Ted. Did you sense it right away? Of course. I mean, he was 50-something years old. She was a 23-year-old girl. What would she see in a 50-something-year-old man except his bankroll? But there was something else Sandy would soon discover about Ted,

something even more powerful than his multimillion-dollar bankroll. He was a hardcore heroin addict. He just would get high every day, all day long. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert, to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military, and when they do, the NCIS gets involved.

From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty, her specialty representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marcia Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases.

And this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. This is the house that Ted Binion built. This is 2908 Palomino Lane, and this is a very interesting property. Christine Lefkowitz is a Vegas real estate agent. We are offering at the 1.8 million.

It's a tough sell in today's market and you've got to be creative, especially when a house has a history like this one. The rumor is that we do have a treasure here. A treasure buried somewhere on this property? Yes. Well, we always had cash, because we always, you know, would spend cash. When Sandy moved in with Ted, she started living a life with all the perks of Vegas royalty. A new Mercedes, diamond jewelry. Spending account, champagne. Did you fall in love with Ted because of who he was, or did you fall in love with his money? Well, I just fell in love with a guy,

and all the stuff came after. Money. She sees money. Ted's sister, Becky Bainan, says Sandy was a calculating gold digger and made no bones about it. She'd say things to me like, I wouldn't be with any old man unless he was rich She'd say that yeah, so I I didn't know I would never pass that along to Ted. Oh Ted knew but Ted liked that she was young did he have some charisma like your father had yeah Knew where every dollar was where every dollar was going, but he wasn't his father His father was a pioneer. Teddy was trying to live that legacy.

The truth is, Ted never came close, because along with his brilliance as a casino manager came a far darker side, his association with known gangsters, and his deadly addiction. That was heroin. And what would he do? He would smoke it. His favorite kind was the black tar heroin. Unlike most addicts, Ted had a nearly unlimited bankroll, and he could afford to chase the dragon,

a wasteful method of smoking heroin involving squares of foil like this. So he would actually take a lighter and hold a flame underneath the foil. And the heroin smokes then. Well, it just comes right up in his face. More than heroin would soon go up in smoke, as Ted's addiction became known to the authorities. They'd investigate, and in 1998, the Nevada State Gaming Commission revoked Ted's casino license. Ted was now barred from the floor of the horseshoe,

and the whole town knew he couldn't go into his father's casino, says Mr. Las Vegas. You couldn't have done anything possibly short of killing a child or molesting a nun that would have carried the frowns and the uh-oh. Ted stepped up his heroin use, and the fairy tale on Palomino Lane seemed to come to an end for Sandy. He just became a guy I didn't really know, like a stranger. So why didn't you leave? I don't know. It's a weird thing when you love someone and they're having a hard time. Ted's life became a closed and shadowy world.

But a new person was allowed to gain entry. This man, Rick Tabish. Just became good friends with the guy. Who Ted Binion met in a most unusual place. Teddy met Rick Tabish at a urinal. He was relieving himself, looked over and there was Rick Tabish. The two men shared an interest in Montana, where Rick grew up and Ted spent summers at a family ranch.

He took me to his ranch, invited me over to his house. But Tabish, a smooth-talking businessman, was in fact a convicted felon with a record for theft. Teddy started giving them jobs, you know, odd jobs, here and there, to do things for him. What kind of things did Rick do for Ted? Well, for example, he's the one who built the vault. The vault for Ted Binion Silver.

Depending who you ask, Ted had between $7 to $14 million worth of silver bars and coins stacked up at his father's casino. The Binion family still owned the horseshoe, but Ted was banned there since he'd lost his gaming license. So he decided to move his silver here to the sleepy desert town with the unlikely name of Pahrump, Nevada, where Rick Tabish helped him build a bizarre underground vault in an empty lot Ted owned

between a Burger King and a casino. How many people knew the combination to that vault in Pahrump? Two people. And who were those two? Rick Tavish and Ted Benya. When he took the silver from the casino, I called my sister and I said,

"'If you and Jack let him take the silver from this casino, you're gonna get him killed. And who would kill him? I never said who would kill him. But I had strong feelings about Sandy. I didn't know that much about Rick at the time. But I did not trust this girl. But apparently, Teddy did,

to the point where he wrote Sandy into his will. You know, to put her in his will was insane, just absolutely insane. Did you think it was inviting something? Yes, I did. Then, on September 17, 1998, at 3.55 p.m., a call came in to a 911 operator in Las Vegas. That hysterical voice was Sandy Murphy's. Moments before, she claims, she'd found Ted Binion on the floor, cold as ice and surrounded by drug paraphernalia. Like, it kind of rolled him over, you know,

and I just, like, started to panic because he wasn't breathing. Across town at the Horseshoe, Becky got word that something happened to her brother. I heard that the coroner's office was in front of Ted's house. So I called the coroner's office.

And then they told me, yes, Ted is dead. By all initial appearances, it seemed like an open and shut case. Suicide or accidental death of a lifelong addict by lethal overdose. But Ted's sister, Becky, had other ideas. She pressed the cops for further investigation and told the press this wasn't an overdose. And I asked them, please consider this a homicide to prove an otherwise.

Two days later, a series of bizarre events in the desert 60 miles from Las Vegas blew the case wide open. In death, as in life, Teddy was a Vegas headliner. He was Ted Binion. Las Vegas Police Lieutenant Wayne Peterson led the investigation. This is the den that Teddy Binion was found in. Where was his body, do you know? It was right about here in the middle of the floor. A bottle was annexed next to it.

Peterson already knew all about Ted and his bad habits. It looked like a drug overdose. his bad habits. It looked like a drug overdose. And certainly with Teddy's reputation, that was no surprise to me or the sergeant at the scene. But none of that appeared to lessen the shock for Ted's sister, Becky. Very sad, very devastating.

Or his friend, Rick Tabish. I'm real surprised. This is a real tragedy. It all left Sandy Murphy hysterical. Or his friend, Rick Tabish. I'm real surprised. This is a real tragedy. It all left Sandy Murphy hysterical. And I, like, didn't really believe it. I just said, no, he's just on drugs. Like, he needs to go to the hospital. She had been wheeled out on a gurney and put into an ambulance, screaming. and put into an ambulance, screaming.

But even after she was rushed to the hospital, questions began to arise about Sandy's sincerity. Nurses described your crying as theatrical, that you were actually saying the words, boo-hoo, boo-hoo, while you were crying, and they felt it was fake. Well, I just think that's mean talk. Just reinforced my thoughts.

Which were? That she had something to do with the death of my brother. It didn't take long for the suspicions to start swirling, and they were swirling big time within a matter of about 48 hours. Swirling into a tornado. Category 5. And the unlikely epicenter of that tornado? Not in Las Vegas, but here in the desert town of Pahrump, where Ted had Rick Tabish build

that underground vault to store his millions of dollars worth of silver. What Rick Tabish did next made one thing certain. This case was about to explode. This was all vacant field. It was just sagebrush. Nye County Police Lieutenant Ed Howard, out on patrol, spotted a large tractor digging in the cold night earth. Right away I knew something was wrong because nobody digs up a vault at 2 o'clock in the morning.

Right where Ted Binion's secret vault sheltered some $7 million in silver. I'm thinking somebody's stealing the money. It was just one day after Ted Binion had been found dead. And who had turned up in Pahrump? Turns out to be Rick Tabish. And he goes, is there a problem? Oh, yeah, a big one.

Because along with a tractor, Tabish and two sidekicks had a truck. My partner looked inside the truck and looked at me and said, there's a load of silver in there. They know I had a relationship with Ted. Tabish calmly informed police it was all okay, that Ted had told him, if he ever died,

to get the silver for his daughter Bonnie. He goes, I'm just doing a favor for the family. And I go, really? Does the family know you're doing them this favor? And he goes, well, no, I was going to call them. I go, of course, of course you were. Rick Tabish was arrested and charged with grand larceny. But there was another surprise. The person who bailed him out was Sandy Murphy.

That sent the story into the stratosphere. Front page news. Oh, front page news every day. While Rick was caught by cops leading a dig for Ted Silver, Sandy was conducting a manic video inventory of Ted's valuables at Palomino Lake. Her attorney videotaped it all. Music in there. I got another pistol in there. I bet they forgot about that one because they weren't smart enough to look. There you go. I had taken a bunch of his pills, and I just was really upset, you know?

I'm going to take my Vargas and my Luther Gunther, and I've already taken my other piece of art that was in here. Your focus at that moment seemed to be more on possessions rather than Ted. Maybe I could have behaved better, but that's how I behaved, and that's the way I dealt with it at the time. Oh, we're taking this for certainty. You mean, is this gold digger video, in your opinion? Absolutely.

Sandy, protecting Ted's estate, or protecting a secret relationship? They called each other all the time. Did Sandy and Rick Tabish have an affair? Yes, they did. They went to Beverly Hills. Well, I only had sex with him the one time at the Peninsula Hotel. Prior to Ted's death, had you and Rick Tabish talked about a life together?

No. A life without Ted? No, we never had that kind of relationship. But Ted, suspecting Sandy was two-timing him, was ready to cut his losses. He totally had it with her. The relationship was over. It was over. And according to Becky, the day before he died, Ted told his lawyer to take Sandy out of his will. He said, if I'm dead tomorrow, you'll know who did it. Me and Sandy Murphy. And the next day?

Next day, he is dead. Vegas cops had a motive. Now, they needed evidence. Ted was buried, cowboy boots atop his coffin. Police searched for the piles of cash he'd hidden in the basement, ceiling, every nook of the mysterious, rumor-filled house. How much money do you think he might have had at the house? Oh, my God. A lot.

Are we talking about $2 million, $3 million? I'd say more than that. Millions in cash and a valuable rare coin collection. Everything was gone. It was all gone. Police zeroed in on the events of the day Ted Binion died. Casual events that seemed out of place. So what room is this?

This was the living room. Starting with the positioning of a simple set of curtains. Here, these drapes were closed, and according to the landscaper, these drapes were never closed. And he said that these were shut. These were shut. He couldn't see inside the house that day. Cops still believed Xanax and heroin killed Ted Binion.

But was it an accident? This was more than just a simple drug overdose. Remember, Ted had smoked his heroin, Chase the Dragon, Was it an accident? This was more than just a simple drug overdose. Remember, Ted had smoked his heroin, Chase the Dragon, to play it safe. He was careful. He knew that it was a dangerous drug. The evidence would be in the autopsy.

When the Vegas coroner examined Ted Binion, heroin and Xanax wouldn't only be found in his bloodstream. This large amount of heroin was found in Teddy's stomach. That would be a waste of good heroin for him to eat or drink. Heroin. Cops now believe Ted was force-fed a lethal cocktail of heroin and Xanax. With that evidence and mounting pressure from the Binion family,

Ted's death was classified as a homicide. They were responsible for his death. Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish. Yes. Why was your brother killed? The money, the greed, the greed factor. And on June 24th, 1999, Rick Tabish and Sandy Murphy were arrested and charged with the murder of Ted Binion. Would you ever be able to kill Ted for money?

No. Are you a killer, Sandy? No. You called me and told me you were going to help him. You never came. You didn't care about him when he was sick. Las Vegas' trial of the century was set to start. Jurors, some of them in tears. It's hard to believe you couldn't make this stuff up.

As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? Did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, early and ad-free on Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand,

lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still a virgin. It just happens to all of them. I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two years, I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with.

In the Pitcairn trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique lonely pacific island to the brink of extinction listen to the pit can trials exclusively on Wondery Plus join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app apple podcasts or Spotify what was it like for you to be arrested for the murder of Ted Binion? At first I kind of thought it just was so ridiculous that it was just a joke. But the charges were deadly serious. Murder in the first degree for the killing of casino mogul Ted Binion.

Still, Sandy Murphy didn't quite seem to get it, flirting openly with her co-defendant and lover, Rick Tabish. The overwhelming sentiment in Las Vegas was they're guilty and someone needs to pay. Sin City was outraged and transfixed by the audacious couple as the curtains opened on the trial of the century. Did you love your father? Very much. Plenty of witnesses questioned Sandy's character, including Bonnie Binion, Ted's daughter.

Do you think Sandy Murphy was jealous of your relationship with your dad? I think it's very possible. She called me a bitch. Key testimony came from two unlikely witnesses, starting with a Vegas manicurist. Did Ms. Murphy make any comments about Ted Binion's future? He wasn't going to be around. Deanna Perry testified that as she polished Sandy's nails, she casually mentioned that her rich boyfriend, Ted,

would soon be dead of an overdose. Did she tell you when he was going to die of a drug overdose? Within three weeks. Ma'am, I'm telling the truth, and that's the best I can do. But this man told a tale of premeditated murder and a planned heist. Kurt Gratzer testified his childhood friend Rick Tabish asked him to kill Ted

and promised there would be a big payday for all. Did he tell you where that money was going to come from? A sale of proceeds from the silver. Did he tell you that there were any other items that he was interested in? Diamonds, cash, coin collections. The diamonds and cash rumored to be hidden in Ted's house and backyard still hadn't been recovered.

Prosecutors then focused on the suspicious way Ted died. How many heroin deaths are you aware of using the method you've described as chasing the dragon? It almost doesn't occur. World-famous forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Bodden didn't believe an overdose killed Teddy. My opinion is he died of asphyxia by suffocation. of asphyxia by suffocation. Not just any kind of suffocation, said Bodden, but a rare method of murder dating back to 19th century England.

That's specifically called burking. I'll show you how they burped. Burking, like Boris Karloff did in this film, The Body Snatcher. Suffocating an already intoxicated person, leaving minimal evidence. But Bodden said Ted's burking was botched. He pointed to these circular marks on his chest.

Which in my opinion matches up to the buttons on the shirt. There is no data whatsoever. The defense was weak and was never able to undermine Bodden's Birkin theory. And neither Sandy Murphy nor Rick Tabish took the stand. After eight days of deliberations, jurors, some of them in tears, delivered their verdicts. All of Vegas was watching on live television. verdicts. All of Vegas was watching on live television. Find the defendant Richard Bennett Tabish guilty of murder of the first degree. We the jury find the defendant Sandra Renee Murphy as follows guilty of murder of the first degree. As Vegas cheered both faced life in prison.

Both cheered, both faced life in prison. But even with her freedom stripped away, Sandy Murphy bet on another long shot. She's sitting in a Nevada prison, most likely for the rest of her life. Is the story over? No, she writes me a letter, a handwritten letter. I read this letter and I say to myself, this woman's innocent. Sandy hit the jackpot again.

Look at the facts. Look at the evidence. Alan Dershowitz, the legendary lawyer who defended celebrity clients like O.J. Simpson, now agreed to spearhead her appeal. It seemed to me that the great Dr. Button started with his conclusion like OJ Simpson, now agreed to spearhead her appeal. It seemed to me that the great Dr. Votten started with his conclusion and reached the Birkin as a theory of justifying his conclusion, and the evidence just didn't support it.

Remarkably, the Nevada Supreme Court agreed with Dershowitz's arguments and overturned the convictions of Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish. I explained to her that she was going to get a new trial. I said, you're all in on this one. This is it. Four years after her first trial, Sandy was back in court, this time with hotshot Vegas defense attorney Michael Cristalli.

Sandy didn't kill Ted. Ted killed Ted. And Tabish also drew a winning hand, hiring wild man San Francisco lawyer Tony Serra. There's a reasonable doubt that there's been a homicide. It's a reasonable doubt. The defense suggested key witnesses had been bought off. Madam, you've been paid, yes? Yes.

Manicurist Deanna Perry was quickly compromised when she admitted receiving $20,000 from Ted Binion's estate after her testimony in the first trial. The estate called it a reward for information. My question is, do you see the irony in that, yes or no? I don't know. I wouldn't expect you to. Good. And this time around, Kurt Gratzer told the court Rick Tabish was only kidding about offering him cash to kill Ted. He said he wanted to kill him, but he wanted me to do it. And he started laughing. You just said that button had to be up against your skin. The defense took apart pathologist Michael Bodden's Birkin theory.

They'd say the marks on Ted's body weren't from buttons being pressed onto his chest, but were nothing more than a simple skin condition. On top of that, the world-famous doctor had never even examined Ted's body and mostly relied on photographs. You'd like to look at the buttons, you'd like to measure the buttons, wouldn't you? Yes. Okay. Your fantasy theory goes out the window, doesn't it?

No. Defense lawyers would have an amazing nine medical experts of their own testify that Bodden's Birkin theory was dead wrong. And they have rejected as absurd the Baden theory of Birkin. Sarah took center stage and delivered a performance they are still talking about in Vegas. Mr. Ted Binion was a demigod. Hail Caesar. We will find an assailant. The head must be brought forth

and placed on the stick by dusk. Somewhere out there off the strip, you could almost hear Benny Binion rolling over in his grave as the second jury got busy. Knowing that they could take that freedom away from you all over again after I had just done five years in the penitentiary. So that's the scary part. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge? Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly?

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in Guatemala? From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans, discover the surprising stories of the most viral products. Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're going to dominate your next dinner party. So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or

wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just the best idea yet. Has the jury arrived at a verdict? Yes, we have. November 2004. More than six years after casino owner Ted Binion's mysterious death and two trials of the century, Sandy Murphy

and Rick Tabish were about to learn their fate. All right, Ms. Foreperson, please read the verdicts aloud. The anticipation and fear made Sandy sick. Count one, conspiracy to commit murder and or robbery. We find the defendant not guilty. Not guilty. Once convicted murderers, both now vindicated. I couldn't wait to walk out back into the free world. For Ted's sister, Becky, the verdict made her sick as well. There's never any closure. I don't get my brother back.

But it wasn't a complete victory. The jury did find the two guilty of stealing Ted Binion's buried silver from that vault in Pahrump. Because of his previous record, Tabish remains in prison. But with credit for the more than three years she served on the first conviction, Sandy was soon leaving Las Vegas. Now, finally home again in California, Sandy has put her life back together. If it wasn't for Sandy, I mean,

this wouldn't even be happening. Marrying a successful art dealer last spring. It was the fairytale wedding she never had with Ted. It was the fairytale wedding she never had with Ted. The once notorious Sandy Murphy is now Mrs. Kevin Puropan. Are you happy? Oh, I'm very happy. Just to be able to get in my car and just drive a mile away,

I don't think I would appreciate it as much as I do now if I didn't have these experiences. And whatever happened to Ted Binion's treasure? His daughter got most of the silver from the vault, I wouldn't appreciate it as much as I do now if I didn't have these experiences. And whatever happened to Ted Binion's treasure? His daughter got most of the silver from the vault out in Pahrump. Ironically, a sizable amount remains unclaimed in the courthouse. Did you ever see Raiders of the Lost Ark?

I did. Remember that scene at the end when they're in that huge warehouse, government warehouse? Yes. That's sort of like here, isn't it? Yes, it is. It's much like that. Evidence custodian Rainey Williams... Yeah, I told you it was heavy.

Jeez, jeez. ...dusts off a small fraction of Ted Binion's treasure. So Ted Binion's coin collection. Yes. People have been trying to find where all the rest of his coin collection is. Yeah, there's lots of rumors about that. Rumors about unaccounted for millions. Realtor Christine Lefkowitz thinks she knows where it might be.

Well, if you look over here, there's a strange mound in the front yard. Yeah, but if you look at the backyard, which we're going to go there in a minute, you'd see a couple more spots like this. With the current owner's permission, we decided to do some treasure hunting ourselves. We hired ground-penetrating radar technician Jared Lampe. If Ted did have something buried here, I think we'll find it. He spent hours combing across a section of the dead millionaire's backyard we found uh some anomalies here that were about six inches from the surface listen treasure chest who knows the only way to find out is to get a shovel as the sun went down

we began our treasure hunt all right right, Christine, you ready? I am ready. But all we found was fool's gold. I think our box may have been a rock. Then our crew began to dig at a second location. But the deeper we dig, the more frustrated we become. Based on your experience, should we call this?

I think we should call this one. It's over. There's no treasure. No treasure. In Vegas, the old guard still wonders, what really happened? Mr. Las Vegas spoke for the town. Do you believe someone got away with murder in this case?

I do believe, yes, that someone did get away with murder. However, Ted's demise might have been contributed to immensely by Ted himself. And as for Sandy, she feels Vegas always had her pegged wrong. And she is vindicated. I felt that this little girl was mightier than they were because I had something that they didn't have going for them, and that was the truth. Sandy Murphy with a new, confident voice. I don't think that there's any winners in this ordeal.

A little older, a little wiser. Lucky to be where I am today, that's for sure. With a story for the ages. Not looking back. In 2010, Rick Tabish was released on parole after more than 10 years in prison. Paramount Podcasts. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.