Detective’s former employee indicted

Kim Smith

Thursday, Aug. 10, 2000 | 11:15 a.m.

A former employee of the private investigator who broke open the Ted Binion murder case has been indicted for allegedly using company funds to buy personal items.

According to the indictment, which was unsealed Wednesday in District Court, Nataysha Lynn Doyel was charged with five counts of theft and one count each of filing a false document and forgery.

Doyel was once the office manager for Tom Dillard, the former Metro Police detective who was hired by Binion's family to look into his September 1998 death after authorities were leaning toward ruling his death a drug overdose.

Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish were convicted of first-degree murder in May in the case and were sentenced to life in prison with parole possible after 20 years.

Prosecutors alleged Murphy and Tabish tried to give Binion a fatal overdose, then suffocated him when the drugs took too long to kill him.

Doyel used checks from Dillard's company, Professional Investigators, to buy things from Costco, including a home theater, the indictment says. She also reportedly signed Dillard's name on a document she sent to the Private Investigators Licensing Board on her own behalf.

Dillard filed a civil lawsuit against Doyel in October 1999, claiming that she failed to follow through on her promise to reimburse the company whenever she used corporate credit cards. He also alleged she misappropriated company funds.

The lawsuit is still pending.

Dillard this morning referred all questions to his attorney, Brent Bryson, who could not be reached for comment.

Attempts to reach Doyel at her home this morning were unsuccessful.

She is scheduled to be arraigned by District Judge John McGroarty on Aug. 23.