True CSI - High Rollers (Ted Binion Murder Documentary)

of

murder

, those jurors, the overwhelming majority of them, will think, hey, this guy wouldn't be here, accused of

murder

. , if they didn't have a case. (jazz music) Any time there is adultery or cheating, that will be an important factor in the jury's consideration, even if it has no direct relevance to the application of the

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issues of the case. - Another forensic pathologist presents a radical new theory to the jury. -I think they had a main witness, his name was Dr. Michael Baden. - Dr. Michael Baden is a forensic superstar. -That he did not want to be influenced by other people's opinions. -His theory makes a complicated legal case even more complicated. -My opinion is that he died from suffocation due to suffocation. (dramatic music) - The process is known as "burking." It owes its name to a famous Scottish serial killer who suffocated his victims by sitting on their chests. -He keeps pressing, keeps pressing, keeps blocking, keeps blocking. - Why are you shaking? - It's okay, Teddy.

I think it's over now. (eerie music) - Some pathologists, including you, have described asphyxiation as perhaps the perfect crime. - I wouldn't say that it is a perfect crime, it is one of the most difficult diagnoses to make in autopsies. -Baden says the mark on Binion's chest is from one of the buttons on his shirt. (dramatic music) Baden's experience moves the jury. But there is another twist. -And the opinions that he arrived at in this case were opinions that he arrived at... -Shella went on to portray Baden as a hired gun, noting that he was initially hired by the Binion family, not the prosecutor's office. . - The opinions that I reached were the opinions that I reached the day before testifying at the preliminary hearing, and at that time I had come here, at the request of the family, yes. -Then it's pathologist Cyril Wecht's turn.

He totally disagrees with Baden. - I simply find no basis for such a diagnosis in this case. Take morphine, take Xanax, take Valium and you get three drugs that depress the brain and you have a synergistic effect. - Wecht also asks: "What do Sandy and Rick know about Berking?" - "Boy, if you sit on the chest, "and I'll cover your nose, and I'll cover your mouth, "and we'll stop you from breathing and all that." And by the way, there was no evidence of strangulation, no marks on the neck, no soft tissues under the skin of the neck, etc.

You know, again, 99 out of 100 doctors don't know what berking is, and 95 out of 100 pathologists who don't do forensic pathology know what berking is, and 999, no, 999,999 out of a million forensic pathologists have never done it. . used berking as a diagnosis. I'm still looking for the last case that was recorded as Berking, anywhere in the world. - Wecht says Ted's scraped lip is a razor burn, plain and simple. - My opinion that this case represented a homicide was based on the fact that the collective evidence, that is, the physical evidence on the body, along with the investigative evidence, many inconsistencies at the scene and in the follow-up investigations, They indicated that other people may have had something to do with Mr.

Binion's death. - In other words, Ellen believes that Rick and Sandy killed Ted. Wecht does not. - You will have six, eight, 10 forensic scientists, like in the Binion case, important people, forensic pathologists, toxicologists, etc., but these 12 jurors, most of whom did not go to university, most of whom I never even saw a physical chemistry lab, let alone looked under a microscope, or saw a corpse and dissected it, but they'll figure it out, they'll figure it out. It's ridiculous! - Less than two months after the trial began, the jurors return with their verdict. - We, the jury in the case mentioned above, find the defendant, Richard Bennett Tabish, as follows.

Count seven, murder with use of a deadly weapon, guilty of first degree murder. We, the jury in the case titled above, find the defendant, Sandra Renee Murphy, as follows, count seven, murder with use of a deadly weapon, guilty of murder in the first degree. - I remember it, but I don't know if I could ever describe it. Because at the same time, it disheartened me to think that anyone who knew us as a couple would ever think that I would hurt someone I loved. - Each one receives 20 years. But there has been a major legal mistake, one that will open old wounds and free Sandy Murphy.

California surfer Sandy Murphy is going through some tough times. Convinced of a murder that she says she did not commit. - I was in prison for four and a half years. I spent the first six months in solitary confinement. I received a 30 minute phone call in the morning and a shower, I was escorted back to my cell, and a 30 minute phone call and a shower later that night, Monday to Friday, locked up Friday to Monday, during my first six months. And finally they sent me to the state penitentiary for women in Nevada. - It's not about passing or failing... - Alan Dershowitz is one of the most famous defense lawyers in the world.

He defends the underdog. And he believes Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish were wrongfully convicted. - I loved Teddy with all my heart and I know he loved me just as much. I regret the day I walked out that door on September 17th and left him there alone. I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me most. - I absolutely and unequivocally did not kill Ted Binion. Digging up the silver was the worst decision of my life. I got caught up in the world of Ted Binion. (jazz music) - Dershowitz says the Binion case is unique because prosecutors presented two forensic stories.

Perhaps Binion was asphyxiated, or perhaps he was forced to overdose. You can't have it both ways. - Yes Yes. Cut Sandy out of her will, if she doesn't kill me tonight. Then there is the testimony of Ted Binion's lawyer. Total rumor of a dead man. - Well, if I end up dead, you'll know what happened. (catchy music) - In October 2004, Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish get a new trial and a second chance. - Well, I think the truth spoke for itself in my second trial, and I was vindicated for all the right reasons, thanks to medical science, and I think it was easy to detect an indiscretion that became the catalyst for my downfall, and It was eventually rectified, and we are where we are today.

But of course, my relationship with Rick Tabish was the catalyst, it was the beginning of the end, and I am grateful for science, because that is what got me to where we are today and to my new freedom. - Mr. Tabish, Ms. Murphy, I would like you to stand up and face the jury. - We, the jury, in the case mentioned above, find the defendant, Richard Bennett Tabish, as follows. First count, conspiracy to commit murder or robbery, we find the defendant not guilty. We, the jury, in the case titled above, find the defendant, Sandra Renee Murphy, as follows.

First count, conspiracy to commit murder or robbery, we find the defendant not guilty. - Don't worry. Everyone shut up. - Both are found not guilty of murder, but guilty of stealing Ted Binion's money. Sandy Murphy is appealing that decision. (applauding) Today, after four and a half years of hardship, Sandy Murphy is free. - I feel relief for having made things clear, for having given me a second chance. - Sandy Murphy is free, free from the legal shadow of Ted Binion's death. - So although at some point, from time to time I feel a little resentful, I am grateful at the same time for the respect that they gave me a greater sense of self, and I was able to achieve what I did, and I don't.

I don't know if I ever thought I would be able to fight and survive all of this, knowing who I was at such a young age at the time of Teddy's death, compared to the woman I am now. - Rick Tabish is on parole in 2008. (jazz music) Did they? Unless one of them confesses, no one will know for sure. (jazz music) (dramatic music)