at least for the time being. District Court judge Joseph Bonaventure said that murder suspect Sandra Murphy's panties were irrlevant to her defense. Or, at least until they resurface. Bonaventure dismissed a motion to suppress any evidence gathered from Murphy's underpants but said he would entertain a new motion should the underpants show up.
Murphy, 27, and her reported lover, Rick Tabish, 34, are scheduled to be tried in March on murder, conspiracy and other charges arising from the September 1998 death of millionaire and former casino executive Lonnie "Ted" Binion. Prosecutors contend that Binion was suffocated and forced to ingest lethal amounts of heroin and the prescribed sedative Xanax at the Las Vegas home he shared with Murphy.
John Momot, Murphy's attorney, suggested that authorities illegally seized her panties after she was jailed in the Clark County Detention Center. Murphy, who is under house arrest while awaiting trial, spent a week behind bars for failure to cooperate with police. Murphy supposedly turned over her clothing when she was booked, but the underpants were not returned with her other belongings.
Bonaventure said that he had never before heard a case about missing panties in his 20-odd years on the bench. However, the Bonaventure said Murphy's attorney would not have been representing his client properly if he had not brought it to the court's attention, especially in light of DNA testing today.
Momot filed a motion last week to suppress any evidence collected from Murphy's underpants. Momot said he feared authorities planned to conduct scientific tests on the garment that could surface during the trial.
"There is no doubt in my mind that someone has the garment," he said. Authorities deny taking Murphy's panties.
