Judge Denies New Trial for Killers of Gambling Figure
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LAS VEGAS — A judge has denied convicted killers Sandra Murphy and Rick Tabish a new trial.
Judge Joseph Bonaventure said Friday that he could find no evidence that supported defense claims of misconduct by jurors and prosecutors.
“A defendant is entitled to a fair trial, not a perfect one,” he said.
After a seven-week trial in May, jurors convicted the lovers of killing gambling figure Ted Binion and stealing a fortune in silver from him in September 1998. The jury recommended that the two spend life in prison with a possibility of parole after 20 years.
The judge’s ruling came three weeks after an evidentiary hearing in which defense attorneys, citing several procedural issues, made their bid for a new trial.
Murphy, 28, and Tabish, 35, are scheduled to be sentenced Friday.
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