Did preparing for the end of the world make David Doyle a target?

David Doyle was prepared if a natural disaster struck the United States or its economy imploded – and he wanted everyone to know it.

The Wyoming car dealer who had retired to Charlotte told family members that political bickering and recent government shutdowns showed how untrustworthy the government could be. He told neighbors – sometimes minutes after meeting them – that he was stockpiling gold in his $400,000 home in the stately RiverPointe community on Lake Wylie.

He may have told the wrong person. On a Saturday night in July, Doyle was tied to a chair with parachute cord, and then was tortured and killed. His gardener, a methamphetamine addict named Peter Gould, was the mastermind behind a plan to make off with the stash of precious metal Doyle told him about, Gould’s lawyer said.

Two other men, Daniel Blakeney, 35, and his brother, 31-year-old Tardra Bouknight are also charged with murder, kidnapping and assault. Search warrants say the men hit Doyle over the head with a vase, burned him and stabbed him with a knife.

A court hearing for the three men was postponed on Thursday as prosecutors tried to decide whether the suspects should face the death penalty.

Interviews with family members and attorneys as well as a review of court and police documents provide a glimpse into Doyle’s fears, which may have made him a target on July 18. Gould’s attorney, Dean Loven, said his comments are based on conversations with Gould and information from police.

Brian Tyrrell, Doyle’s stepbrother, who co-owned the car dealership with Doyle in Cheyenne, the capital of Wyoming, said he was stunned that a stray conversation led to Doyle’s violent end.

“He was afraid the government was going to shut down and they were going to go back to bartering again,” Tyrrell said. “One of his downfalls is he used to brag about how much money he did or didn’t have.”

A growing distrust of government

Doyle, 64, was born in El Paso, Texas. As a teenager, he was drafted into the naval reserve during the Vietnam War, then went to college at the University of Texas at El Paso, his brother said.

He told his stepbrother he became disillusioned with the government during the war.

“He’s a ’60s kid,” Tyrrell said. “They’re anti-government. They’re always against the institution. I don’t care if it’s Obama or it’s George Bush, if he didn’t like something they did, they’re not looking out for the best interests of the country.”

Doyle sold insurance in Portland, Oregon, and in Denver before moving to Cheyenne in 1987 to join his stepfather’s car dealership. They sold Hondas, Chevrolets and used cars in the southeastern corner of Wyoming. Doyle worked his way up to general manager, then became an owner.

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks cemented Doyle’s opinion that the government couldn’t be relied on in a major crisis, Tyrrell said.

Doyle was the head of the Wyoming Automobile Dealers Association when the attacks happened, and had traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with the state’s congressional delegation. It was an annual trip for the association’s board members, but on Sept. 11, 2001, they were scheduled to meet with then-Vice President Dick Cheney, who’s from Wyoming.

With flights grounded in the chaos following the terrorist attacks, it took days for Doyle to get home. Doyle and the other dealers ended up driving more than 1,600 miles back to Wyoming.

Tyrrell said his brother’s views were strong but never crossed into extremism. Doyle paid his taxes, if begrudgingly. When partisan bickering caused a government shutdown, Doyle complained loudly, but spoke of investing in gold to protect his family.

“I wouldn’t call him an extremist,” Tyrrell said. “He was scared to be some place without some type of protection. Did it bother him that our government shut down? Yeah. But he never did anything extreme.”

Doyle met Joan Snider, the woman who would become his wife, about a year after the Sept. 11 attacks. She was a station manager at the local CBS station, according to her obituary. “He was definitely happier after he met her,” Tyrrell said.

Doyle began easing into retirement in 2009, with dreams of traveling. He told his wife, who retired a year later, that they could live anywhere she wanted, as long as it was within 45 minutes of an international airport.

They chose Charlotte, Tyrrell said, because it had nice weather and Joan Doyle had family nearby. In 2009, they bought the home in the RiverPointe subdivision near Lake Wylie. It’s a posh, secluded neighborhood with pro athletes for neighbors and a lakeside marina. Most importantly, it was only a 25-minute drive to Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

But in September 2014 , Joan contracted cancer, which spread quickly. They canceled cruises they had planned for September, and then in January, Tyrrell said. Joan died in April.

“I know he went through hell the last year,” Tyrrell said.

‘Nothing more than a burglary’

Gould, Blakeney and Bouknight all have criminal records dating back more than a decade.

Bouknight has been convicted on a string of burglaries dating to 2003. Loven said he had a penchant for stealing from drug dealers. Police say Bouknight was one of three men who kicked in a door of a home in east Charlotte in 2012. The residents were home and identified the fleeing car. Bouknight and two other men were arrested, although the charges were ultimately dropped.

Blakeney has done prison time for theft, breaking and entering, assault and selling drugs. He was also convicted of being a habitual felon. His lengthy criminal record dates to 1996.

Gould, who is originally from New Hampshire, has drug convictions in Florida and North Carolina. When police identified Gould as a suspect in Doyle’s killing, he was in custody in Union County after being charged with trafficking heroin, possessing methamphetamine and fraud. He’s still awaiting trial on those charges.

Gould, 38, met the brothers just two weeks before they conspired to rob Doyle, his attorney said.

On July 18, the three men were hanging out, talking about how to get some money, Loven said. Gould said he knew a place. It was common knowledge on Doyle’s street that he kept gold in his house. He told people about it all the time.

They entered Doyle’s house through an open garage door and found Doyle asleep in his living room, Loven said. The entire affair was intended to be “nothing more than a burglary,” Gould’s attorney said, but things got out of hand.

They tied Doyle up then began searching the house, according to Loven. They found some jewelry and some loose precious stones. But they were looking for the gold.

Gould told his attorney that Bouknight and Blakeney began beating Doyle with a decorative lamp and a metal stand when he wouldn’t say where the gold was or give them the combination to his safe. The beating dragged on. Gould says he jumped in front of Doyle at one point and was knocked out of the way.

Loven said police found Gould’s DNA on a vase that was smeared with Doyle’s blood. Investigators also found a knife, according to a police report.

Investigators have not revealed the cause of death.

Gould told his attorney he didn’t know that Doyle had died. Gould and the two others fled in Doyle’s SUV, later pawning some of the items they had stolen. Investigators found some of the missing stones at one suspect’s home, Loven said.

A neighbor found Doyle, unresponsive and lying in a pool of blood, at about 3:45 p.m. on July 19.

“It looks like he has his hands tied behind his back and it looks like they attacked him with a knife,” the friend told a 911 dispatcher. “...I see blood, yes. He’s unconscious. He’s not responding.”

On Aug. 6, police got a match on Gould’s DNA. Loven says his client has been cooperating with investigators since his arrest.

“The main thing I want people to know is that he’s been extremely remorseful and is trying to be as cooperative as possible,” Loven said.

After Doyle was killed, investigators called in a locksmith and opened his 5-foot safe. Inside, they found loaded guns, an emergency stash of cash and some gold coins, a family member said. It’s unclear how much.

Staff researcher Maria David and staff writer Jonathan McFadden contributed.

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 6:21 PM with the headline "Did preparing for the end of the world make David Doyle a target?."