LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: While it can be said that high-profile murder investigations usually have plenty of detectives working on the evidence and suspects, sometimes, the high status of the victim can make it difficult to catch the killer.
Such was the case in the mysterious death of casino tycoon Ted Binion. As he was a major businessman in the ever-awake city of Las Vegas, with many eyes on him, the case didn't exactly seem unsolvable at first. Until it proved to be.
Binion was killed in 1998 but who the killer was is unknown. Even Binion's cause of death remains a mystery. NBC's true crime show 'Dateline' will rerun the episode about his case, which has been a cold case for two decades. It is set to air this Friday, August 11, 2023, at 8 p.m. ET.
Who was Ted Binion?
Lonnie Theodore Binion, or Ted Binion, took over the Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel in Las Vegas as the next in line after Benny Binion, his father. Benny got involved in several tax evasion charges which took away his gaming license and also the ownership of the casino. His sons, including Ted, were quick to take over.
Ted even became a popular Las Vegas figure as the beloved manager of the evening hours at the casino. He had the typical life of a spoiled, rich young man who indulged in partying into the late hours each day and was involved romantically with multiple women at the same time.
At one point, he was also married and shared a daughter with his wife. But his promiscuous lifestyle affected their relationship and the woman left him.
But Ted had a similar trajectory in his life as his father Benny. He got involved in substance abuse to the point that it threatened his career and his gaming license was eventually revoked.
This further affected him mentally and he got even more drug-addled as an addict feeding his habit.
Who killed Ted Binion?
Ted was found dead in 1998 by the woman he had cheated on his wife with: Sandy Murphy. She worked for a topless cocktail club and was having an affair with the casino magnate.
The dead body was discovered in his Vegas penthouse, close to more or less empty bottles of pills. It was later found through an autopsy that he had died through a fatal combination of Xanax and heroin.
His death was chalked up to suicide as he had been largely depressed and mentally unwell ever since his license was revoked and he had to relinquish his hold on the family's casino.
Later, his case was reopened as officials suspected that his consumption of heroin was unconventional and it seemed that he was forced to consume it by someone else. Further investigation revealed that Sandy Murphy was allegedly cheating on Ted with a friend of his, Rick Tabish.
Tabish was also involved in the burial of Ted's famous silver treasure as he owned a truck company. Binion had had a 12-foot-deep vault built on the desert floor on a piece of property he owned in Pahrump, 60 miles (97 km) west of Las Vegas. The concrete bunker contained six tons of silver bullion, Horseshoe Casino chips, paper currency, and more than 100,000 rare coins. Only two people who had the combination to the vault were Binion and Tabish.
Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish were suspected and charged with Ted's murder, receiving over 20 years in prison each.
But the Nevada Supreme Court, in July 2003, ordered a retrial after determining that the the jury had been swayed while arriving at the verdict. In the new trial, both Murphy and Tabish were relieved of Ted's murder charges but were convicted of smaller crimes that gave them a shorter imprisonment period.
