Doyel charged with murder in death of Deborah Jones

Michael Doyel's behavior has been strange since his arrest in April in connection with the disappearance of Deborah Jones.

But new charges filed in 3rd District Court Monday paint a picture not of a man with mental competency issues, but rather one who executed a very thought out and calculated murder.

Doyel, 47, was charged with murder, a first-degree felony, obstruction of justice and theft, both second-degree felonies.

He has already been indicted in federal court with abducting Jones, and charged in state court with kidnapping another woman, Patricia Miller. Monday's charges were the first filed in relation to Jones' death.

Jones was strangled to death at 4115 S. Redwood Road, according to court documents, and suffered blunt force trauma to the back of her head. A restaurant, La Jaliciense, is located at that address. A medical examiner's report estimated the death happened sometime between April 18 and April 19.

After the slaying, Doyel took the body to another location "where no one would be," according to court documents. He purchased a plastic storage container afterward, tried to hide the body with a tarp and clothing and then tried to mask the smell, court documents state.

Doyel then used Jones' cell phone to text her family and friends that she was OK, prosecutors say.

"The defendant pretended to be Deborah in the messages and he assured the recipients that Deborah was alive and well," according to court documents. "The defendant made a conscious decision to keep Deborah's murder a secret from both her family and the police."

Doyel allegedly drove Jones' body to Las Vegas before heading the other direction and being caught in Missouri. He also lied to Murray, who was accompanying him on the trip, about why he was going to Missouri, court documents state.

The scheming outlined in court documents paints a far different picture from the man who called out to Jones during his first court appearance in Missouri and proclaimed his love for her. During a second court appearance in federal court in Salt Lake City, Doyel continuously looked around the room and told the judge that Jones was still alive and would be there any minute.

Bail for Doyel was set at $2 million.

When Doyel first met Jones, he used a false name, according to court documents. He moved in with her at her Sugar House home on Oct. 3, 2007 and moved out six months later on April 5, following a series of arguments.