Sandy Murphy, the woman accused and later acquitted of murdering former Las Vegas casino mogul Ted Binion, has until Dec. 19 to find a new lawyer to argue her motion for a new trial.

Murphy is attempting to overturn felonies she was convicted of for her alleged involvement in the theft of $7 million worth of silver Binion stashed in a vault where the Pahrump Nugget now stands, although she has already finished serving prison time for the convictions.

Murphy was living with Binion in 1998 when he was found dead in his home.

Two days later, Murphy's secret lover, Rick Tabish, and two other men were found by Nye County sheriff's office deputies digging up Binion's silver stash.

She and Tabish were subsequently charged with and acquitted of murdering Binion.

However, she was convicted of felony charges relating to the theft.

Murphy's motion for a new trial is based largely on what Thomas Pitaro, Murphy's defense attorney, claimed is newly discovered evidence.

The evidence suggested that former Nye County Sheriff Wade Lieseke had given Tabish permission to remove the silver from the vault.

Lieseke has denied the claim.

In a document submitted to the court, Clark County Assistant District Attorney Christopher Lalli wrote, "After a full and comprehensive investigation of this case was completed, the office of the Clark County district attorney did not find any evidence to suggest that Sheriff Wade Lieseke was in any way involved with the theft of Ted Binion's silver."

Pitaro abruptly withdrew from the case Wednesday, Dec. 5 after he and Lalli met with the judge in chambers.

Pitaro would not publicly explain the decision to withdraw from the case.

After returning to court from judge's chambers, however, Lalli reportedly told District Judge Elizabeth Gonzales "It's pretty obvious this court has been lied to."

Attorney Herbert Sachs was listed as handling Murphy's motion for a new trial in District Court as late as last July.

The motion was originally filed in November of 2006 by Attorney Michael Cristalli, who is continuing to handle Murphy's appeal before the Nevada Supreme Court.