Aug. 20 trial date set in strip club killing

An Aug. 20 trial date has been set for 2004 East Newton High School graduate Timothy Doan Payne, who is charged with murder in connection with the November 2004 deaths of four people connected to a Killeen, Texas, strip club. The case was originally scheduled for trial in May. Payne was a soldier at Fort Hood.

This account of the murders was given by KWTX:

Tabler and 1st Cavalry Division Pvt. Timothy D. Payne were charged in connection with the November 2004 shooting deaths of Teazers Gentlemen’s Club owner Mohamed-Amine Rahmouni, 25, and his friend Haitham Zayed, 28, whose bodies were found outside of Killeen and of Teazer’s dancer Tiffany Dotson, 18, and Amber Benefield, 16, whose bodies were found just south of Highway 190.

Payne and Tabler used a video camera to record tape of Tabler shooting Rahmouni and Zayed, witnesses said, but the tape was later destroyed.

The shootings were part of what Bell County authorities described as a bizarre plot

The list of intended victims included eight or nine more people, Bell County Sheriff Dan Smith said after the two were arrested.

Richard Tabler was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. The death penalty is not on the table for Payne.