The Hamilton County District Attorney's Office has named a new chief homicide prosecutor a month after a former prosecutor was asked to resign after criticizing the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in court.
Paul Moyle was most recently an assistant district attorney in Tennessee's 10th Judicial District that includes Bradley, McMinn, Monroe and Polk counties. He said in an email he's honored to have been asked to do the job by Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp. He started Friday.
"I look forward to working with our law enforcement partners to pursue justice for victims and their families," he said.
Wamp previously called the chief homicide prosecutor position "extremely important."
Michael Dowd was asked to resign days after criticizing the TBI's timeline for processing evidence during a hearing. Wamp said at the time that many factors were considered before asking for his resignation.
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Former prosecutor Andrew Coyle also recently returned to the District Attorney's Office after a year in private practice.
Coyle left in April 2022 after six years as a prosecutor under former District Attorney Neal Pinkston. He returned June 1 and said he was fortunate to be doing a job that he loves.
"I expected that I would miss public service before I left the District Attorney's Office in 2022 for Patrick, Beard, Schulman & Jacoway," Coyle said in an email. "I truly enjoy this work, and I find meaning in it. After a period of time away, my desire to return to the office became overwhelming. I mentioned this to General Wamp and, luckily, she has an opening."
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Contact La Shawn Pagán at lpagan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.