Pt. VIII: The Scoop
Kim Wright appeared next on Jack's short list of appointments to make. He called the private number Sam Hanson wrote on the back of her business card. Jack knew it was an old card because Sam had told him Kim was no longer an investigative reporter with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the largest paper in Nevada.
The two agreed to meet for an early dinner at a place called the Cipriani Restaurant. Jack had never been in the place but when Kim said "turn left on Flamingo and look for the lighthouse on the left" he did recall driving by on numerous occasions.
"Meet me in the parking lot please, Mr. Davis, about 6:00 PM," Kim requested. "I understand you have a black Mercedes convertible. I’m driving a dark blue Miata."
Spotting the Miata, Jack parked next to her. "I love your car!" Kim blurted out as she got out of her own convertible and admired his. "You simply must take me for a ride sometime. Wish I could afford one like yours. Perhaps one day."
Kim was a stunning young multi-racial woman. They stood outside chatting, in no hurry to enter the restaurant. "Mr. Davis," Kim began, "I already know quite a bit about you. I do my homework. As Mr. Hanson probably told you I was an investigative reporter with the Review-Journal until I resigned six months ago. And quit staring at me. I know what you are trying to figure out. My mother's name was Tran Thi Kim Hong; Vietnamese. I heard you were there. She died in an automobile accident when I was eight. My father is black; Jesse Wright, a retired Army officer. He brought my mother to the states in 1970 and I was born in 1972."
"Yes, Kim, I was wondering. Do you speak Vietnamese at all?"
"No, after my mother died I really didn't have much association with any Vietnamese. Just a matter of circumstance I guess. I do feel somewhat guilty about that. She didn't have much family, a few distant relatives who remained in Vietnam. Hey, I speak French fluently, is that good enough for you?"
"Sure it is. Well, go on with your story, Kim. And call me Jack."
"I did my undergraduate work at Notre Dame. I point that out because of something I will tell you about later. I did my masters at Indiana. Obviously you can tell I'm no relation to Donny Wright, the basketball coach, but I love that man. I'm currently close to completing my Ph.D. at Indiana in Mass Communication with a required minor in Journalism. All I have left is the doctoral dissertation and an oral exam defending it. Which is one reason why I want to talk to you."
"Kim, let's go for a ride unless you are starving." He handed her the keys. "You drive. Any fan of Donny Wright is OK in my book. I'm rather fond of the guy myself. Did you ever talk to him?"
They got in the Mercedes with Kim behind the wheel and she deftly handled the manual transmission as she pulled out and shifted from first to second gear. "I have talked to Coach Wright quite a bit. He likes me for some reason. I think he trusts me. And you can trust me, Jack, but I'll let you make up your own mind about that. I joke with Coach that I should do my doctoral dissertation on the media's treatment of him. But no, I'm doing it on the media's treatment of female killers. And I'm planning on turning my dissertation into a book."
Kim began to talk about her research on the subject of female killers. "I'm principally interested in serial killers but this local case of the murder of Ted Binion is fascinating. Everybody in Vegas talks about it all the time and I'm sure you, being a friend of Mr. Hanson, know quite a bit about it. But I think, Jack, your Lilith murders just might top that one. I know about the murders of Dr. Masterson and Miyuki Huang here in Vegas. Why do you thing I selected the Cipriani Restaurant? Yes, the food and the atmosphere is superb. But I like the name of the place. Jack, I talked to Sammy Cipriani, owner of the Fox Club in Phoenix. He told me all about your talk and the murder of Dr. Moroski there. But let's talk about the Binion case first," Kim insisted as she continued to drive no place in particular, just enjoying the Mercedes.
"I have been following the case rather closely," Jack said. It's what everybody who lives in Vegas talks about. That and Sam has been running various theories by me of late. He is not personally involved in the investigation but his friends are."
"I have my own sources at the Review-Journal," Kim interrupted. "You tell me what you know and I'll tell you what I know. Deal?"
"OK. Binion was found dead in September 1998 in his home. At first it was thought to an accidental drug overdose, some type of prescription medicine for stress. An empty bottle of the pills was found beside the body. No suicide note was found and there were no signs of a struggle or trauma to the body. Accidental death seemed like the first best guess.
"Binion had a rather sordid past. Former heroin addict with rather well publicized ties to organized crime. He owned Binion's Horseshoe, a gaming establishment, until his gaming license was suspended a year and a half before his death. His sister became the owner of the Horseshoe after some legal wrangling.
"Two days after Binion's body was found a very interesting incident occurred in Pahrump, Nevada. Does Pahrump have any special significance for you, Kim, other that in connection with the Binion case?"
"No, not really," Kim replied as she shook her head looking somewhat puzzled.
"Pahrump is where our Lilith first made an appearance some five months ago. She actually spoke to some friends of mine, an old man named Joshua, a young girl named Rachael and an Indian named Nathaniel."
"Tell me! Tell me about it, Jack, please?" Kim begged.
"Not yet. You are the one who wanted to talk about the Binion case first. Two days after Binion died Rick Tabish and two other men were caught digging up Binion's millions in silver bars in Pahrump. Then police began to delve into the relationship between this Tabish and the late Mr. Binion's girlfriend, Sandra Murphy.
"Murphy, who is more than half Binion's age, is the one who found his body. The initial toxicology report completed almost two weeks after the death indicated plenty of Xanax and heroin in his body but did not conclude that is what killed him.
"A month after the death Binion's estate put up a $25,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension and conviction of any persons involved in his death. This despite the fact that no concrete evidence of foul play had yet surfaced. But rumors were flying hot and heavy regarding the relationship of Sandra Murphy and Rick Tabish. Other rumors surfaced such as Binion was forced to eat heroin or was tricked into smoking a much more potent grade of heroin than usual.
"A Private Investigator who is an old acquaintance of mine, Tom Dillard, then became involved. He is a former Las Vegas homicide detective. Once he began feeding the police information the stuff really started to hit the fan. One thing you have to understand, Kim, the police are bureaucrats. They are so caught up in proper procedures and paperwork. They do not have the time or resources to investigate as thoroughly as does a Private Investigator.
"Dilliard obtained Sandra Murphy's cell phone records and determined Tabish called her eight minutes before she called the police to report Binion's death. Many other phone calls between the two were also documented.
"Binion's property then became the leading issue. The estate claimed Sandra Murphy made off with his money, silver certificates and much else. She invoked her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination and refused to answer questions regarding the matter in court.
"Finally, nine months after the death of Ted Binion, Sandra Murphy and Rick Tabish were arrested and charged with murder and other crimes. The next day others were arrested for involvement in a related kidnapping plot and attempting to pilfer Binion's millions in silver buried in Pahrump.
"The case really broke when a friend of Tabish's, Kurt Gratzer, began talking. He told investigators Tabish tried to recruit him to shoot Binion and he told of Binion's comments about possibly causing Binion to overdose. Gratzer of course was granted immunity.
"Sandra Murphy was released on $300,000 bail a couple weeks after the arrest. Tabish remains in jail. A week after Murphy was released she filed a $2 million lawsuit against Binion's estate. For services rendered and an agreement between her and Binion that he would financially support her for those services.
"The preliminary hearing for Murphy and Tabish began before a Justice of the Peace in mid-August. One interesting revelation was an expert witness, a respected doctor, testified on behalf of the estate that Binion suffocated rather than overdosed. Another interesting twist was the maid Mary who said Sandra had some thumbcuffs she said she planned to lend to a friend to get some money paid back. The thumbcuffs of course became an issue so considerable testimony and speculation in the hearing. Then the star witness Gratzer started vacillating and disputing his prior statements and lost his credibility. Very strange goings on.
"About 30 witnesses testified over two weeks at this hearing making all kinds of contradictory statements and it was all on live television. What a show, 'eh? As you know the hearing resulted in Sandra Murphy and Rick Tabish ordered to stand trial for murder and four others were charged with various other crimes. The standard for burden of proof at a preliminary hearing is 'slight or marginal evidence' as opposed to 'beyond a resonable doubt' for conviction at trial. They all were arraigned in District Court a few days later and all plead innocent.
"A week later Sandra Murphy petitioned the court to be tried separately from Rick Tabish and to be tried three separate times for each of the three charges she faces. That request was denied and Murphy and Tabish will be tried together tentatively beginning in March with proceedings to last an estimated three months. There have been many other sideshow developments such as the P.I., Tom Dilliard, suing the Las Vegas Tribune for defamation. This is like the neverending story and no doubt many other scintillating details will surface before and during the trial."
