00:00
This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:02
Guaranteed human.
00:04
Hey, Portlandia fans.
00:05
Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen here.
00:07
The dream of the 90s is alive in podcast form.
00:10
We're launching Podlandia AO Rewatch, our brand new podcast where we revisit every episode of Portlandia together, breaking down sketches, going deep on our iconic characters, and pulling back the curtain on how it all got made.
00:22
And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life. Guest stars, collaborators, and friends, including director Jonathan Kreisel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more.
00:34
Kyle is going for it here. You fully improvised, not just words, but a song.
00:39
Well, I thought you were all going to write a song.
00:41
I remember you thinking that.
00:43
Listen to Podlandia, AAO Rewatch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:51
What's up, fam? It's sports journalist Ari Chambers. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your girl, Sam Jay. And we're the hosts of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from Together.
01:00
We're breaking down the biggest headlines, the viral moments, and the stories everyone's talking about across women's sports.
01:06
From game-changing performances to culture-shifting conversations, we'll give you our takes, our debates, and a few laughs along the way.
01:12
Because everyone watches women's sports.
01:15
Listen to Everyone Watches Women's Sports on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
01:21
This is Chelsea Handler from Dear Chelsea. Every week, the news gets worse, the world gets crazier, and Yamanika is here to tell whoever's responsible you're the problem.
01:31
Do you know I just found out who Sidney Sweeney was? If he got a bunch of women, then I should have a bunch of men. Do better or do less so I don't have to do so much. I'm Yamanika, and I'm out. Listen to You're the Problem with Yamanika on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
01:52
I'm Jake Brennan, and on the Disgraceland podcast, I explore the wild lies of rock stars and unbelievable true crime stories from music history. These are the stories you haven't heard, the kind you'll end up telling someone else.
02:07
Like the time Paul McCartney spent in a notorious prison, or the bizarre crime Lady Gaga is accused of, or that time Blondie's Debbie Harry escaped Ted Bundy. Listen to Disgraceland on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
02:24
Hello and welcome to Unexplained with me, your host, Richard McLean Smith, where each week we explore another true tale of high strangeness. If you're new here and you're a fan of expertly told, atmospheric stories about the strange and unexplained, then you've come to the right place.
02:42
And please subscribe to the show if you haven't already done so.
02:45
I'm very excited to be taking Unexplained to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year.
02:50
I'll be performing at the Space's Surgeon's Hall venue at 10.05pm every night from August 7th to the 29th, except for the 16th and 23rd. You can get tickets at thespaceuk.com forward slash shows forward slash 2026 forward slash unexplained hyphen live. For those watching on YouTube, you can find the link below.
03:14
Lastly, just a reminder that I'll be hosting a live stream on YouTube at 7pm Eastern Time or Midnight UK Time on Wednesday July 22nd, where we can all share our thoughts on this case. It'll be a general Q&A too if there's anything else you want to get into. If you can't make it on the day but still want to participate, feel free to email any questions or thoughts you might have to unexplainedpod at gmail.com and I'll endeavour to tackle them on the stream, which will be available to watch on YouTube afterwards. I'll also release it in audio form just for podcast listeners too.
03:47
With all that out the way, it's time for the third and final part of Season 9, Episode 27, Death in Vegas, The Ted Binion Mystery.
04:03
On Friday, September 18th, 1998, the day after Ted Binion died, Sandy went back to their home on Palomino Lane, only to find it being guarded by security officers under strict instructions not to let anyone in, including her, just as she had feared the night before.
04:24
The guards had been placed there by Ted's lawyer and long-time affiliate of the Binion family, James or Jim Brown, Sandy by then had checked into the Desert Inn, where she'd been joined by her stepmother, who'd flown out from California to support her.
04:41
Sandy had no option but to go back to the hotel, but returned soon after having been advised by lawyer William Knudsen, the same lawyer that she and Rick met shortly before Sandy called 911, that Brown had no right to keep her out of the house.
04:58
sandy returned to the property this time with the police in tow after confirming that sandy was indeed the legal resident they told brown to let her in there are three things worth remembering at this point one becky binion ted's sister has told the police that she thinks sandy has murdered ted two ted's will stipulates that in the event of his death And 3. Ted was well known for stashing copious amounts of cash and silver each and everywhere, including inside his home.
05:38
Whether it was with genuine intention to keep things in place until the law could play out, or it was simply out of a complete refusal to let Sandy get her hands on any of Ted's money, is not known. Either way, Jim Brown, acting on instructions from the Binion family, had security installed at the Palomino Lane premises the moment police left the property at 7.30pm, the day Ted died.
06:05
No one then, and definitely not Sandy, is thought to have got into the property before Sandy was eventually allowed back in on the afternoon of Friday the 18th, with the exception of Bonnie Binion, Ted's daughter, who was, not unreasonably, allowed to collect sentimental items such as photos of her and her father. But when Sandy was finally allowed in herself, accompanied by her stepmother, her friend Linda Carroll, and lawyer Bill Knudsen, she claimed the place had been thoroughly gone over.
06:37
Later, a security guard would apparently tell Sandy that Jim Brown had already made one trip away from the property with a truck full of items. But Brown denied this.
06:49
In any case, inside the home, drawers seemed to have been rifled through and mattresses shifted.
06:56
In the garage, Ted's safe stood open and empty.
07:00
A tin of keys had been tipped out onto the floor in front of it.
07:04
Sandy would later claim that $20,000, closer to 50 in today's money, was missing from inside of it.
07:12
Ted was also said to keep $250,000 in the boat motor in the garage. That was never accounted for.
07:20
About an hour later, as if to underscore her point, Sandy got Bill Knudsen to film her walking through every room to make clear what was missing and what was still there that she didn't want to go missing later on.
07:34
This video would come back to haunt Sandy.
07:45
After completing the viewing of her own home, Sandy and the others went back to the Desert Inn.
07:51
They had dinner at Bill Knudsen's house, then Sandy and her stepmother returned to the hotel.
07:58
Sometime after midnight, the phone in their room rang.
08:02
Sandy's stepmother answered.
08:05
As she would later claim in court, a voice on the other end asked for Sandy, and then said, Sandy, this is Nick.
08:14
I'm going to see to it that you fry, you fucking bitch.
08:19
The Nick in question was allegedly Nick Ben, Becky Binion's husband.
08:24
Was this a threat driven by a passionate belief that Sandy had actually murdered Ted, or was it simply a threat not to challenge the family over the inheritance?
08:35
Just as an aside, you may have been wondering just how on earth Becky had so seamlessly taken over the complete running of the Binion Casino, despite both her older brothers having been previously so firmly established in the business.
08:50
A lot of it seems to have something to do with her husband Nick, who by all accounts appears to have had his own colourful past not a million miles away from Becky and Ted's father, Benny.
09:01
Nick was in fact not eligible at the time for a gambling licence precisely because of this colourful past.
09:09
Many have speculated that although Becky was the licence holder and was no doubt a formidable and canny operator of her own, Nick was the real muscle behind their operation.
09:20
In any case, it was only a few hours after Nick's supposed phone call to Sandy that Sergeant Ed Howard and Deputy Sheriff Dean Pennock would spot those late-night lights shining down on a vacant lot in Pahrump, only to find Rick Tabish and two associates seemingly trying to make off with Ted Binion's silver.
09:40
A few days later, on Tuesday, September 22nd, Ted Binion was laid to rest.
09:47
Cowboy boots, spurs and a lariat were draped over the coffin, just as they had been for his father, as the sound system played the end by the doors.
09:58
At this point, even despite Rick being found digging up Ted Silver, The official position of Las Vegas homicide was unchanged. There was no evidence of foul play in Ted's death.
10:10
But Becky Binion, it seems, would not be deterred. And she sent Jim Brown to try and convince them otherwise.
10:24
This time when Jim Brown spoke to the police, he had more to add.
10:29
According to him, the night before Ted died, Ted made a phone call to Jim's home that was picked up by his wife.
10:36
Ted allegedly told her to tell Jim to take Sandy out of the will and that if she doesn't kill me tonight, if I am dead, you will know what happened.
10:47
Quite why it took Jim Brown three days after Ted's death to remember this isn't clear.
10:54
Either way, it still wasn't enough to convince the police to open a case.
10:58
They told him to come back with something more concrete.
11:02
To that end... Becky then hired Tom Dillard, a retired Las Vegas detective, and paid him $300,000 to build a case.
11:12
When the autopsy was released a few days later, it only served to bolster the police's belief.
11:18
Ted had 88 nanograms per milliliter of morphine in his blood.
11:23
The threshold at which morphine becomes lethal is 50.
11:27
His Xanax level was 270, against a lethal threshold of 122, so over twice as much needed to kill you.
11:36
There was Valium in the system too.
11:38
Each of these drugs work by suppressing the central nervous system, quieting the brain signals, and dimming the automatic functions that keep a body alive, potentially to the point of death.
11:51
the coroner returned a verdict of undetermined overdose.
11:55
What the autopsy couldn't determine, however, as Becky was quick to point out, was how that level of drugs got into Ted, a man with a deep understanding of how and how not to take drugs in the first place.
12:09
It seemed unlikely that he would accidentally overdose so significantly, And suicide, although not impossible, also seemed unlikely, considering all the plans Ted appeared to be making the day before he died.
12:24
Way over in Montana, a detective named Rick Newland was perusing the morning paper when a name popped out at him.
12:32
Rick Tabish.
12:34
Arrested after being found digging up Ted Binion Silver.
12:38
Newland had dealt with Tabish back when he was getting up to no good in Montana. When he read about Ted Binion's apparent overdose, he couldn't help but feel suspicious.
12:55
Back in Las Vegas, things were moving on several fronts at once.
12:59
On the 29th of September, charges were formally brought against the men who were caught taking Ted Silver, Rick Tabish, Michael Millot, and a man called David Mattson, who turned out to be Ted's Pahrump ranch manager.
13:14
One morning around the same time, the sun rose over Ted's ranch in Pahrump, to reveal its grounds completely riddled with holes.
13:24
No one was ever caught or identified as the culprit, but the reason was not hard to infer. The rumour had spread, and was spreading further every day, that Ted Binion had even more treasure buried out there.
13:38
Nye County Sheriff Wade Lasecki had even confirmed it on the record, saying that three weeks before his death, Ted had told him that he'd also buried gold somewhere on the property, but couldn't remember where.
13:52
Then, in October 1998, Ted's lawyer Jim Brown attempted to have his will changed. He claimed that because Ted apparently gave him an instruction to change it before he died, it was only fair to amend it.
14:07
However, his claim was thoroughly dismissed, and in December that year, Sandy Murphy was awarded her $300,000, the house, and what was left of its contents. Because, as it turned out, by then, much of Ted Silver, that wasn't buried in his vault, appeared to have gone missing.
14:27
and suspicion was beginning to fall further on Rick and Sandy, who many suspected were having an affair, due in part to the apparent love notes from Sandy that were found in Rick's suitcase when he was picked up for taking the silver from the vault. Both vehemently denied this was the case, On the 4th of January 1999, homicide detectives finally issued a search warrant for the Palomino Lane property, but found nothing of interest.
14:55
Even still, in early February, both Rick and Sandy were called to attend civil hearings about valuables missing from the Binion estate. Both pleaded the Fifth Amendment throughout.
15:08
As the police stepped up their investigation, they searched Rick's family home in Missoula and his Green Valley property in Nevada, which he was by that point sharing with Sandy, and his business offices, but they found nothing.
15:23
Sandy, meanwhile, applied in March to be allowed to return to her Palomino Lane home.
15:29
A district judge denied the request.
15:32
Though there was still the matter of what Rick was doing with Ted Silver to be legally cleared up, As far as Ted's death was concerned, that may have been the end of it.
15:42
If it weren't for Becky's private detective, Tom Dillard.
15:51
What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your girl, Sam Jay. And we're the hosts of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from Together and I Heart Women's Sports.
16:01
Because let's be real, women's sports is giving us way too much to talk about these days.
16:05
So Kelsey Finler, she became the first female solo rower to go from California to Hawaii.
16:12
My first thought is just like, what's up with the snacks? Like, what are we eating? The highlights, the rivalries, the breakout stars, the moments that take over your entire timeline.
16:21
and the conversations that start during the game and somehow keep going all week. Every week, we're breaking down the biggest stories across women's sports.
16:28
Naomi Osaka showing out. She beat Sabalenka. Shout-outs to you, Naomi.
16:33
You get the palm, Naomi. You get the palm for that. Because we're not just interested in what happened, we're interested in why everyone's talking about it. Because everyone watches women's sports. Listen to Everyone Watches Women's Sports on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
16:51
Hey, Portlandia fans.
16:52
Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen here.
16:54
You know us, or rather, you know them. Tony and Candace, Nina and Lance, Spike, and yes, the chicken.
17:01
We've played a lot of iconic characters over the years, but today we're showing up as ourselves to tell you about Podlandia, AO Rewatch, our brand new podcast today.
17:09
Each week, we'll revisit an episode of Portlandia from the very beginning, breaking down the sketches, exploring the backstories of our most iconic characters, revisiting the Portland locations you know and love, and opening up about our creative process.
17:22
How did any of this get made? Why do we think that was a good idea? We're ready to talk about it.
17:27
And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life. Guest stars, collaborators, and friends, including director Jonathan Kreisel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more.
17:39
Kyle is going for it here. You fully improvised, not just words, but a song, a melody.
17:45
Well, I thought he was going to write, I thought you were all going to write a song. I remember you thinking that.
17:50
Listen to Podlandia Ayo Rewatch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
18:02
My first guest is Paris Hilton, Shakira, Luke and Yerin, Samira and Gracie.
18:09
I'm so excited. On a bouncy bed.
18:11
Do you have surprises? Many surprises. Welcome to Sweet 305, where the group chat comes to life. What up?
18:19
It's like a way of saying, like, hello, friend. Hello, best friend. Hello, sister. What up?
18:23
Look, I've never talked to anyone. Except with my children. My children know.
18:37
You're the only person I know that loves The Yellow Starburst.
18:41
No hay alguien que te falta como que tú dices, me gustaría colaborar con esta persona.
18:48
This is Sweet 305. Listen to Sweet 305 with Lele Pons as part of my Cultura podcast network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
18:59
This is Chelsea Handler from Dear Chelsea. Every week, the news gets worse, the world gets crazier, and Yamanika is here to tell whoever's responsible you're the problem.
19:09
If you come over here to play games, I'ma check you. Okay? If you do some in the news that don't sound good, I'ma play you.
19:18
Join Yamanika Saunders as she breaks down the week's most problematic stories on her new podcast, You're the Problem with Yamanika.
19:26
Do you know I just found out who Sidney Sweeney was?
19:29
New episodes weekly every Wednesday as part of my new network, the Dear Chelsea Network.
19:34
If he got a bunch of women, then I should have a bunch of men. Do better or do less so I don't have to do so much.
19:42
So join Yamanika each episode as she answers one question. Who's the problem?
19:46
I'm Yamanika, and I'm out.
19:50
Listen to You're the Problem with Yamanika on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
20:04
Tom Dillard interviewed those who knew Rick and Sandy on whether they were seeing each other or not before Ted died, probing for a motive.
20:13
Some thought they were, but others weren't so sure.
20:17
Rick and Sandy both continued to flat out deny it.
20:21
Then Dillard unearthed something explosive.
20:25
According to phone records, on Thursday, September 17th, the day Ted died, Sandy made a one-minute phone call to Rick from inside her home at 3.47pm.
20:39
It was only seven minutes later when she called 911 to tell them that Ted wasn't breathing.
20:46
Dillard took everything he'd compiled to the Las Vegas police. With all that, and the now-growing assumption that Rick, in cahoots with Sandy, was not digging up Ted Silver to give to his daughter Bonnie, as he told the police, on the 15th of March, 1999, 18 months after Ted Binion was found dead, the Clark County coroner formally reclassified the cause of death as homicide.
21:13
Having originally found nothing suspicious about it, the coroner now believed that Binion's body had been cleaned and moved after he died and that the scene of his death had been staged.
21:26
On a bright, ordinary June morning in Henderson, a suburban community ten miles southeast of Vegas, Sandy and Rick were out shopping together.
21:36
They were just about to enter Smith's supermarket when an army of detectives moved in around them.
21:42
The pair were arrested for the murder of Ted Binion and placed in custody to await trial.
21:48
After only three weeks, Sandy was bailed out by a man called William Fuller.
21:54
Fuller at the time was described by the press as the president of the El Dorado Mining Company. In fact, he was far more impressive than that.
22:04
Fuller was an Irish immigrant, born in 1917, who, over a lifetime, established a vast empire of hotels and music venues, and was described as being the man who first brought rock music to Camden Town in London.
22:18
Fuller, who was approaching 80 at the time, put up $300,000 and offered a further $190,000 to cover Sandy's legal costs and reportedly offered $2 million to secure famed attorney Oscar Goodman to represent her.
22:36
Fuller maintained, when asked about the arrangement, that they'd simply met at a restaurant and he was just a friend. Others suspected there might have been something a little more transactional to the arrangement.
22:48
although I should say there is no evidence of that.
22:51
Oscar Goodman did take on Sandy's case at first, but was forced to drop out when he decided to stand for election to become the mayor of Las Vegas.
23:00
Sandy turned to John Momot instead, another favourite of mob figures over the years.
23:07
Sandy and Rick, who would be represented by Louis Palazzo, were to be tried side by side.
23:14
The prosecution would be led by Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger and the trial date set for March 2000. In the months that followed, the story of Ted Binion's supposed murder gained more and more prominence in the press. with one outlet calling it a classic story of love, betrayal, murder and greed.
23:35
The reports only became more and more salacious as the trial got closer, with many inevitably fixating on Sandy and Ted's age gap and her past associations with strip clubs.
23:47
Then finally, it was time for the trial to begin.
23:58
In a packed Las Vegas courtroom, presided over by Clark County District Judge Joseph Bonaventure, Sandy's lawyer John Momott gave his opening statement.
24:10
This case, he said, is not about homicide, but about heroin. This case is not about murder. This case is about money.
24:19
And, he continued, it was about what happens when the most powerful family in Nevada decides that a young woman from California isn't good enough for them. and uses every lever of influence available, including a private detective on a $300,000 retainer, and what Momot characterised as the considerable institutional weight of the Binyan name, to turn a drug overdose into a murder charge. The intent, he said, was simply to grind Sandy Murphy into the ground.
24:50
Both he and Rick's lawyer, Louis Palazzo, then made the surprising decision to acknowledge that the pair had been having an affair all along.
25:00
There's no secret about a relationship here, said Momot. It existed between Sandy and Rick. So what? She needed someone to talk to. Affection developed. That's what happens when you love your drugs more than your woman.
25:14
The only mistress Ted Binion had was heroin.
25:18
It was a brave choice.
25:20
Presumably the hope was that by stating it so openly, the defense wouldn't have to get bogged down in constantly having to deflect the accusation that the couple were an item. This way they could concentrate instead on the nitty-gritty of trying to demonstrate that, although they were an item, that didn't make them killers.
25:40
But going into the trial, Rick had already been caught red-handed taking the silver from the vault, and few, it seemed, believed that he was doing it as a favour for Ted. Now, with this added information so nakedly given up, even fewer would be inclined to believe that Rick was such a conscientious friend to Ted if he was simultaneously sleeping with Sandy behind his back.
26:03
Over seven weeks, more than 100 witnesses took to the stand and there was a lot to digest.
26:10
Ted's daughter Bonnie testified that Sandy had been mean and combative throughout the relationship and drove a wedge between them.
26:19
Paramedics and hospital staff talked about Sandy's apparent overwrought performance on the day Ted died.
26:26
One juror would also later remark, after the verdict, that all the jurors felt that when Sandy cried during the playback of her brief interview to police shortly after Ted died, her tears seemed manufactured.
26:40
And then came Tanya Kropp, whose testimony for me was in many ways the most damning.
26:54
Tanya Kropp and Sandy were meant to be friends.
26:57
In fact, Tanya was one of the first people to come to Sandy's aid the day after Ted died.
27:04
First, Tanya, who was the girlfriend of a close associate of Ted's, took a stick of dynamite to the theory that Ted might have killed himself.
27:13
The day before he died, Tanya, who Ted had just employed as his personal secretary, testified that Ted was in good spirits, and that he told her he was planning to use Xanax to help him sleep off the heroin.
27:26
This was part of what he apparently described as a strategy to wean himself off the drug, just as he had apparently told his neighbour, Dr. Lakeo.
27:36
But the most damaging thing that Tanya told the court wasn't about what Ted had said to her in the house.
27:42
It was what happened after he died.
27:46
Who wanted you to make a statement that it wasn't true?
27:51
Sandy.
27:52
What did Ms. Murphy ask you to tell Tom Dillard?
27:56
That when Rick arrived at the house that I heard him say that he had to go take care of something before Jim Brown got his hands on that too.
28:07
Tanya gave the false statements to Dillard on November 11th.
28:11
She then said that Sandy had offered to get her a new car in return.
28:15
But there was more.
28:17
Around the 23rd of September, a week after Ted died, Sandy asked Tanya to hold onto something for her.
28:25
Seven pages of handwritten notes that turned out to be a complete inventory of Ted's coin collection.
28:32
The kind of notes you might make if you were trying to get them valued.
28:37
A month or so later, Sandy asked Tanya to fax the papers to a number, which she did.
28:44
The number, it turned out, was in Montana, where Rick Tabish lived.
28:50
By then, as Tanya testified, she was growing increasingly suspicious of Sandy.
28:56
At one point, a newspaper accused Sandy and Rick of organising a secret getaway together in California the week before Ted died.
29:04
The article alleged that the couple stayed at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, in a room that came complete with a jacuzzi and two dozen roses, requested as a surprise for someone listed as Sandy's husband, who was actually Rick.
29:21
Tanya said when she asked Sandy about it directly, Sandy told her it was all lies being used to discredit her.
29:29
Only it wasn't, as the prosecution would successfully prove a short time later when they called another witness to the stand, the receptionist of the hotel.
29:40
They confirmed that Rick and Sandy had stayed there after all.
29:45
It was registered last name Tabish and first name Rick.
29:49
And what is the signature?
29:51
It says S.M. Tabish.
29:54
None of this proved Sandy was a killer, but it painted her quite clearly as duplicitous and untrustworthy, even to those who were supposedly closest to her. What else was she hiding, the jury might wonder.
30:09
But more damning than all that was the testimony from Rick Tabish's childhood friend, Kurt Grazer.
30:23
Back in 1998, Kurt Kratzer was working in a telemarketing job in Missoula when Rick apparently came to visit him on August 28th, just weeks before Ted died.
30:35
This is what he had to tell the court.
30:39
During that conversation, did you and Mr. Tavish discuss killing a man? Yes.
30:46
He told me that there was a former casino owner in Las Vegas that was backing out on him and owed him some money. I wasn't paying it, and he wanted to utilize my services to help him in killing this man.
30:59
I asked him what his name was, and he told me that I didn't need to know all that information right then, but his name was Ted.
31:07
All of this, including Tanya's testimony, was just hearsay, but it was in front of the jury now, and statements that explosive have a way of lingering in the minds of jurors.
31:19
Then Ted's former lawyer and loyal Binion family associate, Jim Brown, took to the stand.
31:26
He began by giving his version of events as they unfolded in the immediate aftermath of Ted's death.
31:33
One especially eye-opening detail was what he had to say about the safe in the garage, the one that Sandy claimed had been opened and robbed of its $20,000 contents, in the period of time between her being taken to hospital and being let back into the Palomino Lane property the following afternoon.
31:52
Brown claimed that when he arrived at Ted's home to begin inspecting the property the morning after Ted's death, the garage safe was already open and empty, implying that it had either been emptied the day Ted died, or someone, supposedly Rick or Sandy, had somehow got past his security team and robbed the house later that night.
32:15
More startling than that was what he alleged he found inside the safe. According to Brown, the safe was not entirely empty. Instead, a single dollar coin had apparently been placed very deliberately and provocatively in the middle of it.
32:32
He then said that when he subsequently went to inspect the empty vault out on that vacant lot in Pahrump, he found the exact same thing.
32:41
The vault stripped bare, except for a single silver coin placed deliberately in the centre.
32:48
The inference was clear. If Rick took the silver from the Pahrump vault, which we know he did, and left that coin, maybe he also took the silver from the Palomino safe.
33:01
Brown speculated that the coin, if indeed there had been one there at all, had been left as a calling card by someone who was expecting to make off with all of it.
33:11
In response, the defence pointed out that Brown himself had been at the property between when the police left and when Sandy was finally allowed back in, so he was equally suspect. It could have also just as easily been the Binions who cleared out the house, with Jim Brown covering for them. But since it wasn't the Binions on trial, this version of events was never put before the jury directly.
33:36
Then came the time for the prosecution to play Sandy's inventory video.
33:48
A large screen was wheeled into the middle of the courtroom and a VHS video placed into a video player. Eventually an image flickered onto the screen.
33:58
It was the inside of Ted and Sandy's home.
34:01
The jury watched enwrapped as a seemingly enraged Sandy strides through the property, demanding that William Knudsen, the man operating the camera, film all the drawers and shelves to get a clear record of everything in the house.
34:17
Sandy leads the camera into the walk-in closet in her bedroom and points out various items of jewellery, stating for the camera that they are all hers. Then, part way through, Sandy is filmed in the kitchen, moving past a central island where wine glasses have been set out. As the camera follows her, she appears to quickly take a wine glass from the counter. Then, looking as though she only then realizes she is being filmed, she seems to deliberately keep her back awkwardly turned toward the camera as she tucks the item into her bag before turning back round again.
34:54
Was she, as the prosecution speculated, picking up the glass that she'd used to mix heroin and Xanax before force-feeding it to Ted, one of their leading theories, or was she simply picking up the wine glass she'd been using to drink from the whole time she was there, and not trying to hide anything at all? Sandy's stepmother would later testify that Sandy had been drinking wine while going round the house, but the video wasn't clear, and how is anyone supposed to tell that someone moving awkwardly is doing so innocently or deliberately?
35:29
A hairdresser and manicurist were also brought in by the prosecution. Both claimed that they had treated Sandy about three weeks before Ted died.
35:38
On both occasions, despite Sandy apparently never having used them before, they each claimed that Sandy had told them that her partner Ted was going to die soon from a heroin overdose. It was another startling claim. But the fact was, everything so far had been purely anecdotal. What the prosecution needed was hard facts. Most of all, they needed to demonstrate how exactly Sandy and Rick had murdered Ted. For that, they turned to Dr. Michael Baden, one of America's most celebrated forensic pathologists.
36:15
Baden didn't believe that Ted had died from a drug overdose at all, but from a unique form of suffocation known as Birking.
36:24
The name comes from William Burke, one half of the infamous team of body snatchers, Burke and Hare, who terrorised Edinburgh in the 1820s.
36:33
Together the pair murdered at least 16 people and sold the bodies to leading anatomist of his day, Robert Knox, for medical dissection.
36:43
Burke's method was to pin victims to the ground with his body while covering their mouths and noses, leaving minimal external evidence.
36:52
According to Baden, this was precisely what had been done to Ted Binion.
37:02
What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your girl, Sam Jay. And we're the hosts of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from Together and I Heart Women's Sports.
37:12
Because let's be real, women's sports is giving us way too much to talk about these days.
37:16
So Kelsey Finler, she became the first female solo rower to go from California to Hawaii.
37:23
My first thought is just like, what's up with the snacks? Like, what are we eating? The highlights, the rivalries, the breakout stars, the moments that take over your entire timeline.
37:32
and the conversations that start during the game and somehow keep going all week. Every week, we're breaking down the biggest stories across women's sports.
37:39
Naomi Osaka showing out. She beat Sabalenka. Shout out to you, Naomi.
37:44
You get the palm, Naomi. You get the palm for that. Because we're not just interested in what happened, we're interested in why everyone's talking about it. Because everyone watches women's sports. Listen to Everyone Watches Women's Sports on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
38:02
Hey, Portlandia fans.
38:03
Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen here.
38:05
You know us, or rather, you know them. Tony and Candace, Nina and Lance, Spike, and yes, the chicken.
38:11
We've played a lot of iconic characters over the years, but today we're showing up as ourselves to tell you about Podlandia, AO Rewatch, our brand new podcast today.
38:20
Each week, we'll revisit an episode of Portlandia from the very beginning, breaking down the sketches, exploring the backstories of our most iconic characters, revisiting the Portland locations you know and love, and opening up about our creative process.
38:33
How did any of this get made? Why do we think that was a good idea? We're ready to talk about it.
38:38
And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life. Guest stars, collaborators, and friends, including director Jonathan Kreisel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more.
38:50
Kyle is going for it here. You fully improvised, not just words, but a song, a melody.
38:56
Well, I thought he was going to write, I thought you were all going to write a song. I remember you thinking that.
39:00
Listen to Podlandia Ayo Rewatch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
39:13
My first guest is Paris Hilton, Shakira, Luke and Yerin, Samira and Gracie.
39:20
I'm so excited. On a bouncy bed.
39:22
Do you have surprises? Many surprises. Welcome to Suite 305, where the group chat comes to life. What up, . It's like a way to say, hello, friend. Hello, best friend. Hello, sister. What up, . Look, I've never talked to anyone.
39:34
Except with my children. My children know.
39:48
You're the only person I know that loves a yellow starburst.
39:51
No hay alguien que te falta, como que tú dices, me gustaría colaborar con esta persona.
39:59
This is Sweet 305. Listen to Sweet 305 with Lele Pons as part of my Cultura podcast network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
40:10
This is Chelsea Handler from Dear Chelsea. Every week, the news gets worse, the world gets crazier, and Yamanika is here to tell whoever's responsible you're the problem.
40:20
If you come over here to play games, I'ma check you. Okay? If you do some in the news that don't sound good, I'ma play you.
40:29
Join Yamanika Saunders as she breaks down the week's most problematic stories on her new podcast, You're the Problem with Yamanika.
40:36
Do you know I just found out who Sydney Sweeney was?
40:40
New episodes weekly every Wednesday as part of my new network, the Dear Chelsea Network.
40:45
If he got a bunch of women, then I should have a bunch of men. Do better or do less so I don't have to do so much.
40:52
So join Yamanika each episode as she answers one question.
40:56
Who's the problem? I'm Yamanika, and I'm out.
41:00
Listen to You're the Problem with Yamanika on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
41:15
Working only from autopsy photos, Dr. Baden based his startling conclusion on a pair of circular red marks found on Ted's chest that he believed were caused by the buttons of his shirt being pressed hard into the skin by weight applied from above.
41:32
He also claimed that the underside of Ted's eyelids showed clear signs of petechia, tiny pinpoint haemorrhages that occur when someone is asphyxiated.
41:43
The paramedics had apparently not performed chest compressions or a sternum rub on Ted's body, and since Ted was also found lying face up on a mattress, it couldn't have been his own body weight that left the marks. So someone else, specifically Sandy or Rick, Baden argued, must have made them.
42:03
It was a compelling theory. It was also, the defence argued, almost entirely without physical foundation.
42:11
Dr. Cyril Wecht, another forensic pathologist of comparable reputation to Dr. Baden, speaking for the defence, looked at the same photographs and saw no petechia and no evidence of Birking. In fact, as Wecht told the court, he couldn't find a single confirmed case of Birking having occurred anywhere in the United States, or the world even, in the previous 50 years.
42:37
He also noted that Dr. Baden, who we should add was being paid handsomely by the Binions for his testimony, had based his assessment that Ted had not died from an overdose on a typographical error in a toxicology report he'd been given. The actual levels were more than enough to kill him.
42:55
It might also be worth noting that key first responder Ken Dickinson, who claimed in the trial that he didn't give a sternum rub, had actually said the complete opposite at the pre-trial hearing. When he then changed his account at the main trial, he claimed that he had simply been speaking generally before, that ordinarily he would give a sternum rub when treating an unresponsive patient, but when he found Ted, he knew it would be futile. This explanation wasn't entirely convincing. As it happened, Sandy told paramedics she had tried to revive Ted herself when she first found him, which, if that were true, might also account for the chest marks.
43:36
But let's face it, Dr. Baden's Birking theory, with its dark and atmospheric origin story, was far more compelling.
43:44
As the trial rumbled on, across town one evening in April, in a retail unit in southeast Vegas, something strange was occurring.
44:01
As a bone-white moon hung in the sky, in the back room of Las Vegas' Psychic Eye bookshop, eleven self-described psychics positioned themselves around a velvet-draped table. Thick incense smoke curled into the air as a tray of green grapes and bread were placed onto the table.
44:21
Candles were lit and placed around the food in a ceremonial circle.
44:26
At the back of the room, a three-person TV crew from Inside Edition did their best to fit it all into a wide shot.
44:34
A bell was then placed on the table too.
44:37
Owner of the bookstore, Robert Layson, explained to the crew that it would ring automatically if a spirit entered the room.
44:45
Robert took his place at the table and asked each of the apparent psychics to hold hands.
44:51
Then he began, Mr. Binion, we are calling you to come to us tonight.
44:58
A hushed silence ensued.
45:01
The seance had been set up by a woman named Jackie Gladfelter, who by day worked for an advertising consultant, but by night worked as an astrologer and so-called psychic.
45:13
Her hope was that she and the others could work together to contact Ted's spirit and ask the man himself what had happened to him.
45:21
But as the incense smoke continued to curl into the air and the psychics closed their eyes ever tighter in deep concentration, the bell refused to ring.
45:32
Leeson asked again if Ted could come through to them.
45:36
Just then, Cheryl Johnson, another self-described psychic, dressed in a neat blue suit, began to shake.
45:44
Then she shouted out suddenly, the son of a bitch was guilty.
45:49
She said afterwards that the voice had not belonged to her, but an angry presence that had entered the room.
45:56
She couldn't say if it was Ted or not.
45:58
The attendees then took a poll on how the jury would vote.
46:02
Gladfelter took a moment to commune with her invisible spirit guide before announcing the defendants were guilty but would not be convicted. Seven others agreed.
46:13
One final attempt was made to conclusively reach Ted's spirit, but the effort failed.
46:19
Then Robert Leeson was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion and began to cry.
46:25
Not knowing quite what had come over him, he apologised to the others and proceedings were swiftly brought to a close.
46:39
Back in Judge Bonaventure's courtroom, the legal proceedings continued apace, but there were some notable absences from the witness list that left their own unanswered questions.
46:50
Sheriff Wade Lasecki, the official who'd apparently acted strangely when he arrived at the vacant lot the night Rick dug up the silver, who had allegedly been offered $100,000 by Rick to look the other way, was never called to the stand.
47:06
It would later transpire that three calls had been made between Liseki and Rick Tabish earlier in the day, before Rick went to dig up the silver.
47:15
Liseki claimed they only talked about Rick picking up items that belonged to Ted, and that nothing was ever discussed about money or his silver vault.
47:25
Tom Dillard, the private detective who had effectively driven the entire investigation, was not called either, which was unusual given how central his role was in it all.
47:36
Neither Becky Binion or her husband Nick were called to testify as well.
47:42
Sandy's lawyer John Momot, for whatever reason, seemed to have made the conscious decision not to drag the family name into it.
47:50
After seven weeks of testimony, the jury began deliberating on the 10th of May 2000. There was so much to unpack, not only the various testimonies and intertwining stories, but also the wider context in which the trial was operating.
48:06
First of all was the family at the centre of it.
48:10
The Binions had allegedly been bribing officials for years, feuding internally and even plotting against each other.
48:17
Now they had employed private detectives, pressured witnesses and seemingly thrown money at the problem of Sandy from every direction.
48:27
Not only that, but so many of those involved had been shown to have lied repeatedly, whether it was Sandy and Rick about their affair, or Tanya Kropp supposedly lying to Tom Dillard on Sandy's behalf. With all that in mind, how could anyone be entirely certain of anything at all?
48:46
In the end, it took the jury eight days to reach a conclusion.
48:51
As Sandy and Rick stood with their lawyers awaiting the verdict, they seemed relaxed and optimistic.
48:57
To their mind at least, the prosecution had failed to demonstrate conclusively that they had anything to do with Ted's death.
49:05
But then the verdict came in.
49:08
Sandy and Rick were first found guilty of conspiring to steal Ted's silver, and then convicted for his murder.
49:16
Sandy was sentenced to a minimum of 22 years and forced to forfeit everything that had been awarded to her in the will.
49:23
Rick was sentenced to 25 years, but the story was far from over.
49:35
In 2002, Sandy Murphy hired Alan Dershowitz to launch an appeal.
49:41
Dershowitz argued successfully that the conviction was invalid on two grounds. The first was to do with the bizarre decision to have Rick Tabish tried for a completely different offence at the same time as he was tried for the murder of Ted Binion, Both trials took place side by side, in the same courtroom, in front of the same jury.
50:03
The other case involved the alleged extortion of an ex-business acquaintance called Leo Casey.
50:08
Dershevich argued quite fairly that the Casey trial, and whatever opinion the jury formed about Rick during it, would unfairly prejudice their opinion of him when judging him for the Binion trial. Quite rightly, the Nevada Supreme Court was forced to concur.
50:25
The second issue was that Judge Joseph Bonaventure, who presided over the Binion trial, failed to make it clear to the jury that Jim Brown's testimony, alleging that Ted had said that Sandy might kill him tonight in his apparent phone call about changing the will, was hearsay and not fact. And so a retrial was ordered.
50:46
It began in late 2004.
50:49
The jury heard the exact same information as before from the hundred or so witnesses. However, this time, Dr. Baden's Birking theory was interrogated much more thoroughly and found to be lacking credibility. And Jim Brown's story about Ted wanting to have the wheel changed the night before he died was retold minus Ted's apparent prediction that Sandy might try and kill him that night.
51:13
Unlike the first trial, Rick Tabish took the decision to take the stand this time. He insisted throughout that he was entirely innocent.
51:22
On this occasion, the jury deliberated for only four days.
51:26
On the 23rd of November 2004, Sandy and Rick were found not guilty of murder.
51:33
Because the truth was, even if they had done it, there simply wasn't enough proof beyond reasonable doubt.
51:41
However, the charge of attempted theft of Ted Silver was upheld.
51:46
Sandy was given credit for the four years she'd already served and walked free. Despite the verdict being overturned, she never received any of what was promised in Ted's will.
51:56
She has since relocated back to California and maintains her innocence to this day.
52:02
Rick served out his remaining sentence and was released in 2010.
52:07
He has since built a career in cryptocurrency mining and recently oversaw construction of a nearly $2 billion data centre in North Dakota.
52:23
After the first trial, when Ted's family finally got hold of Ted's silver, a significant chunk of it was said to be missing.
52:32
A collection of rare Carson City minted silver dollars, apparently worth between 10 and 15 million on their own, twice as much by today's standards, had vanished. Interestingly, the missing coins were never connected to Sandy or Rick at the trial, which raises its own questions.
52:51
After being confiscated from Rick, the silver had passed through the hands of the Nye County Sheriff's Department, who had it laid out at a parking lot on State Route 160 for the jury to see, before transferring it to the DA's office to be stored as evidence.
53:07
Nye County was also, around this time, home to a public administrator named Robert Dyer and his wife Jeanette, the deputy public administrator, both of whom were subsequently indicted and banned from office for mishandling the estates of deceased citizens.
53:25
They claimed the charges against them had been fabricated by Sheriff Liseki of all people.
53:31
Niseki, for his part, when challenged on what his colleagues had said about him the night Rick Tabish was caught digging up the silver, claimed that the men who accused him of appearing to be hiding something were supporters of his opponent in an upcoming sheriff election and had simply been trying to smear him.
53:49
What was left of Ted Silver was sold in 2001 for $3.3 million. His Palomino Lane house and Pahrump Ranch were sold for over $7 million, with his daughter Bonnie Binion said to have been the sole beneficiary of his wealth.
54:07
In 2004, Benny Binion's Horseshoe Club was sold to Harrah's Entertainment Group for a reported $1.5 billion, and though the original Binion's Casino still remains as part of the Fremont Street experience, it's a far cry from the establishment it once was.
54:26
As for Ted Binion, whether he was murdered, or simply lost a battle he'd been fighting for 12 years, or maybe even committed suicide, which is another possibility, that remains to this day unexplained.
54:41
Many believe that Ted, who was famous for stashing money anywhere and everywhere, buried a lot more than was ever found.
54:50
Nye County Sheriff Liseki for one thought so, and it wasn't just silver, there was gold too apparently.
54:57
And it is said to remain out there still, somewhere in the desert, just waiting to be discovered.
55:09
Thank you as ever for listening. Unexplained is an AV Club Productions podcast created by Richard McLean Smith. All other elements of the podcast, including the music, are also produced by me, Richard McLean Smith. Unexplained the book and audiobook is now available to buy worldwide. You can purchase from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones and other bookstores. Please subscribe to and rate the show wherever you get your podcasts and feel free to get in touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show.
55:42
Perhaps you have an explanation or a story of your own you'd like to share. You can find out more at unexplainedpodcast.com and reach us online through X and Blue Sky at Unexplained Pod and Facebook at facebook.com forward slash unexplainedpodcast.
56:19
Hey, Portlandia fans.
56:20
Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen here.
56:22
The dream of the 90s is alive in podcast form.
56:25
We're launching Podlandia AO Rewatch, our brand new podcast where we revisit every episode of Portlandia together, breaking down sketches, going deep on our iconic characters, and pulling back the curtain on how it all got made.
56:37
And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life. Guest stars, collaborators, and friends, including director Jonathan Kreisel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more.
56:49
Kyle is going for it here. You fully improvised, not just words, but a song.
56:54
Well, I thought you were all going to write a song.
56:56
I remember you thinking that. Listen to Podlandia, AAO Rewatch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
57:06
What's up, fam? It's sports journalist Ari Chambers. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your girl, Sam Jay. And we're the hosts of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from Together.
57:16
We're breaking down the biggest headlines, the viral moments, and the stories everyone's talking about across women's sports.
57:21
From game-changing performances to culture-shifting conversations, we'll give you our takes, our debates, and a few laughs along the way.
57:27
Because everyone watches women's sports.
57:30
Listen to Everyone Watches Women's Sports on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
57:36
This is Chelsea Handler from Dear Chelsea. Every week, the news gets worse, the world gets crazier, and Yamanika is here to tell whoever's responsible you're the problem.
57:46
Do you know I just found out who Sidney Sweeney was? If he got a bunch of women, then I should have a bunch of men. Do better or do less so I don't have to do so much. I'm Yamanika, and I'm out. Listen to You're the Problem with Yamanika on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
58:07
I'm Jake Brennan, and on my podcast, Disgraceland, I tell the stories behind music's biggest names, like how the story of the Foo Fighters isn't just about music. It's about grief, shock, and the moment everything changed.
58:20
Imagine that. You're in the biggest band on the planet, as Dave Grohl was in 1994 in Nirvana. And the phone rings, and you learn that your singer, your friend, the reluctant voice of a generation, Kurt Cobain, is dead.
58:36
Listen to Disgraceland on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
58:42
This is an iHeart Podcast.
58:44
Guaranteed human.
