Taylor Behl Family Member 99.9% Sure Body Is Taylor Behl

Apparently a Behl family member told a newscaster they were 99.9% sure the body found today is that of Taylor Behl. They are reporting a photo taken from the computer of Ben Fawley was shown to another individual who identified the location - an abandoned farmhouse.

Investigators visited early today and smelled the scent of decay in the area prior to discovering a shallow grave. See video here.  More coverage here.

One source close to the investigation said clothing found at the scene is similar to clothing that may have been worn by Behl before she disappeared.

Ben Falwey's lawyer Chris Collins had no comment.

My best thoughts go out to the family tonight, particularly Taylor's Mother, Janet Pelasara and Father, Matt Behl. The family said there will be no statement pending a final identification of the body.

Update: There is no indication that Fawley will even be charged for a crime should this turn out to be Taylor Behl. But I do have information that Fawley was by no means a stranger to the abandoned farm house. Also, his pictures of it had titles which suggested a theme of "home."

I can't say it is even a hunch at this point, but I am finding myself wondering if this will prove to be a multi-gravesite investigation. Also, it is erie and inexplicable that if Fawley is implicated in this, he would keep those photos up. After all, he took the photos of Taylor down almost immediately. Something feels like it isn't adding up, somehow.

Late Update:

Police have said Fawley did not provide enough specifics in his police report to properly investigate the alleged attack. But investigators have found inconsistencies between his report to them and entries describing the attack that he allegedly posted on one of his Web sites.

The entries make reference to a former girlfriend, whom Fawley believes to be behind the attack. Investigative sources said the ex-girlfriend is from Diggs in Mathews County. Her family has property near the location where the human remains were discovered yesterday.

The ex-girlfriend could not be reached for comment. Police would not confirm if she was the woman who had identified the photo that led investigators to Mathews County.

Comments

[cosmicmojo]

Goth means nothing to this: it's just a fad, style, following, clique. Kids sometimes are Preppy, Punk, Jocks, Goths, New Wave (ha ha, not so much any more), Brainy, whatever, whatever. Used to be Hippies.

It's just a clique, fad. Means nothing. The teens need to have a cultural identity with a group, and it helps if it's a group as polar opposite from the parents as possilbe.

It's even cute how Cino thought Goth's made up the name Goth and was surprised to find out the term Gothic also refers to an architectural style/period. I like Cino, I'm not trying to laught at him, just use it as an example of how young people think they invented everything: sex, antiestablishment tendencies, drugs, etc. They forget their parents were young and disaffected once too. But Goth is harmless. Think nothing of it.

[absynth_minded]

I thought it was established that the Ohio plates were stolen from a Richmond vehicle two months before Taylor went missing.

[frank]

Fawley claimed to have "dropped" her at that site and she was alive and well and wanted to stay there.

[bull]

Ohio plates were stolen in Richmond - three weeks to three months ago depending on your source. I have no information, but I would guess that the plate came from an individual's collection.

[cosmicMojo]

The Ohio plates were stolen off a car at the Main Richmond post office months earlier. The police determined that the owner had nothing to do with this situation. S/he was a former VCU student and a former resident of Ohio.

[bull]

"Fawley claimed to have "dropped" her at that site and she was alive and well and wanted to stay there"

Frank

Where did you get this from?

Also, saw where someone said that a central Virginia mayor said that Fawley had used credit card in West Point on 9/5??

Two interesting items if proven.

By the way - Joe, like your posts.

[absynth_minded]

BTW:

Taylor's mom will be making a public statement @1 P.M.

[New Creature]

Frank- Do you have a link to that information? I've not read that anywhere? Source?

Thanks.

[wondering]

I think that frank's comments are a stab at the Joran Van der Sloot interview, meant to be funny/sarcastic, which I thought they were

[Michelle]

"Fawley claimed to have "dropped" her at that site and she was alive and well and wanted to stay there"

Frank

Sounds like he has been watching the Holloway case , and will try to use the same tactic as Vondersult!!I left her there , she wanted to stay, she was ok when I left her there.
Whatever!

[cosmicmojo]

"Also, saw where someone said that a central Virginia mayor said that Fawley had used credit card in West Point on 9/5??"

That's a stretch. The Mayor of Richmond is Douglas Wilder, former Governor of Virginia. He is VERY savvy politically. I highly doubt he'd be going around dropping hints about such a sensitive case for attention. He can get much more important attention for his Cleaning out City Hall campaign, his friendships with celebrities such as Bill Cosby, etc. I'm not buying that one.

Absynth, please keep us posted. I can't get to a TV til 6pm.

It's an emotional time, let's all remember that Taylor's parents are hurting. It's a fascinating case, but I have to remember that I first got interested because I understood how vulberable young girls are to manipulative men.

thanx bull, did you mean me?

[PoorPaulaNNJ`]

PELASARA ATTORNEY ON FOX NOW!
BEN FAWLEY WORKED AT VILLAGE CAFE TOO!
MAY BE CONNECTED TO JESSE SCHULTZ THROUGH VILLAGE CAFE!

[PoorPaulaNNJ]

Attorney also confident that strongest suspect already in custody......Ben Fawley.

[Brian]

Anyone have a photo of Jesse Schultz?

[footprint]

Earlier post suggenst that BF didn't remove the photos of the abandoned house. I went to 2 sites that he posts photos at. The first:

http://skulz.deviantart.com/gallery/

Here you can find the property photos as noted in many above posts.

The other:

http://photobucket.com/albums/v466/skulz/

There are no photo's. The photos have been removed. I think this H-street studio is refered to when BF was tryinig to recrit models for the "Hollywood" location as seen in this post.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/skulz67/2005/04/15/

"need someone who would like to play Goth/fetish dress up for some photos for use on the web page, nothing “bad”, just fun. The photos will be taken outside @ Hollywood as sort of a silly Goth set. I want to do something in a “Goth dress”, “pointed boots" with no platforms if you have them. The idea is to look sorta “80’s Goth”, the flowing long black dress and that stuff. Then the Goth/fetish look that is more “today” with the same person in the same spots, as I would be making some animated gif images from some of the photos. I have no cash, but you can have all of the photos I take. :-p"

http://photobucket.com/albums/v466/skulz/

http://skulz.deviantart.com/gallery/

[absynth_minded]

Yeah... I meant 11 A.M. Duhhhlt!

This is starting to look like some Leopold and Loeb type stuff. Two twisted people get together, one is the dominant criminal personality, and the other follows blindly.

[cosmicMojo]

"I think this H-street studio is refered to when BF was tryinig to recrit models for the "Hollywood" location as seen in this post."
Posted by: footprint | Oct 6, 2005 11:14:12 AM

"H-street studio" is his house on Hancock Street.
"hollywood location" is Hollywood Cemetery, a historic cemetery in Richmond.

[PoorPaulaNNJ]

Was it already known here that BF worked at village cafe?????

[absynth_minded]

I wonder how familiar Ben was with this case, if he was at all?

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/print/CTVNews/20050226/wfive_natel050224/20050226/?hub=WFive&subhub=PrintStory

The guy involved was also a prolific internet poster (posting his art, photography, poetry, and morbid thoughts.)

[bull]

Joe:

Just a compliment and I did mean you (thought it funny when guy called you that yesterday). Looked at so many posts where it appears people have stopped growing and are surprized at what today's kids are up to or post out of their a**. Anyway, just another "manipulative" man.

One does have to feel sorry for Taylor's parents, family and friends. As my son would say, "A big shout out" for Cino. Kid appears to be well spoken/written, straight forward and a true friend.

[absynth_minded]

Fawley and Schultz both worked at the same place and were skateboarders. What's the chance they didn't know each other? Even further, what if they learned that they shared other common "interests?"

[bull]

Sure Fawley and Schultz knew each other - who said they didn't. Why do you think the car was left near Schultz'? Who lost a skateboard after it got out that Taylor supposedly went skateboarding the night she disappeared?

As for Leopold and Loeb, don't get it. But then I didn't get Frank's bit either.

[kin]

I'm sure Jessie and BF know each other. If it's not the Village Cafe connection then it's skateboarding. We know BF has 5 skateboards and one hanging in the window of his apartment right?

I read something interesting about the car and plates. It's possible it wasn't moved after it was brought back to that location (near Jessie's) after the murder because the keys were somehow lost. The Ohio plates were then put on to keep the car from being detected. The GRN-EARTH plate may possibly belong to Erin but I'm not sure of that connection.

[cosmicmojo]

oh, I don't mean all men are manipulative!! heck, I'm married to a great one! I love men! or, just one now. just kidding.

But there is a type of person, and there can be women too (Mary Jane Letorneau?) who manipulate younger minds, prey on vulnerable kids. I tend to see more men like that and tend to identify with that dynamic thinking about the bullets I dodged as a young woman (how could I be so stupid?).

I'm sorry if if sounds like I'm equating men and manipulation. I'm equating maniuplation and some sort of mental problems, probably. Why else would one need to manipulate other people than a wounded sense of self esteem?

I try to be sensible and factual. I admit I scoff at "psychics" but otherwise, try to clarify, simplify, explain, clear through all the static. Who said: the simplest solution is usually the answer? I think we can get bogged down with thinking up convoluted subplots. It was probably an overdose, an angry push that was fatal or something like that followed by a stupid desperate scramble to cover it up by person(s) not very sensible to start with.

[Z]

Fox News...Soil found at crime scene matches soil found on car body most likey Taylors.

[Smokey]

Have they been saying Schultz's name on TV before today? I just heard someone on Fox call him a strong POI, just wonderin if they've benn calling him out like that.

I dont really watch the TV reports, they're always so lame.

[absynth_minded]

Bull:

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/leoploeb/leopold.htm

Truthfully, with some of the evil that I've seen, I do not doubt any possibilities anymore.

For the record, Taylor's mom's attorney feels strongly that more than one person could be involved.

[Sweetie]

Fox News...Soil found at crime scene matches soil found on car body most likey Taylors.

Posted by: Z | Oct 6, 2005 11:38:19 AM

Which car and who does it belong to?

[absynth_minded]

Schultz has been in the news (by name) and has been noted as failing a polygraph on the following two questions.

1) Whether he knew Taylor.

2) Whether he had ever been in her car.

[cosmicmojo]

Yeah, one person or more, the scenario could be very similar, so I don't worry too much about the number. Either way, i see it as something that went wrong, and the person/persons present scrambled to cover it up.

Or the person called on friends to come and help cover it up.

[Yayo]

Theory: Skulz knew Jesse from the Village Cafe. Jesse knew Taylor casually from skateboarding, but they weren't really friends. Taylor visits Ben that night, and Jesse is already there hanging out. He borrowed the tan Altima from his friend to go over to Skulz' place. They are the only 3 in the apartment, and they are partying and doing drugs.

Skulz and Taylor are on the bed hanging out. Skulz makes a move on Taylor and she rejects him. He is enraged and busts her upside the head with the tripod. She's not dead yet, but close to it. Skulz and Jesse panic with what to do with Taylor because all of them have been doing drugs.

Skulz tells Jesse there's a place out in Mathews where they can take Taylor, but he needs a car. Jesse panics because the Altima is not his car. If anyone sees the Altima plates they could trace it back to him via the Altima owner. So Ben grabs the GRN ERTH plates he stole and put them on the car. They drive Taylor (and perhaps the tripod) out to Mathews and dig a shallow grave.

On the way back to Richmond, Jesse needs gas so Ben uses his gas card in West Point to get gas. When Jesse drives Ben back to his place, they put the original Altima plates back on and Jesse returns the car to the owner. Ben returns the GRN ERTH plates back to his collection.

Taylor's been reported missing at this point, and Ben and Jesse start to panic, because if the car is found, but no Taylor, everyone will know something bad happened to Taylor. So Skulz grabs the Ohio plates, puts them on Taylor's car and tosses Taylor's plates in the Supercan when trash day arrives. Then Jesse drives Taylor's car to the spot where it was found and walks home.

Nobody sees the car until 9/17. The dogs track Jesse's scent to Aunt & Uncle's house, and that's how he enters their radar. The Aunt & Uncle and Mom's houses are broken into because of the drugs, not b/c of Taylor Behl. There is no scent of Ben in Taylor's car because Ben was riding in the tan Altima. I don't think the police have never said if Ben's scent was in the Altima or not, just that Jesse's and Taylor's may have been.

Just a theory.

[absynth_minded]

Interesting....

I dislike theories.. they paint you into corners.

I like profiles and facts.

[liz]

Hi. I'm new. I've been following this case as closely as the internet will permit, and I am deeply saddened by the possibility that these remains belong to Taylor. Is it legal to use sodium penathol or some other "truth serum" in questioning this type of case? Can they MAKE BF tell what he knows? If he doesn't know anything, is it because he is truly mentally ill enough to have blacked out and forgotten what he might have done, or is it really possible that someone is setting him up?

[absynth_minded]

Medically speaking, if his mental illness could cause that, he is something ALOT more than bi-polar.

As for drugging him, I'm not so sure that isn't a violation of Constitutional rights.

[Smokey]

does that syrum really make you tell the truth?
that's nuts.

[xdarkbutterflyx]

The soil was found on TAYLOR'S car.

They said on the news that Ben Fawley and Jesse Schultz did in fact work together.

I know everyone would like to point fingers, and trust me, I do too, but if a girl turned up missing and you had pictures of her laying around, wouldn't you get rid of them too? Just a question.

[cosmicmojo]

Once a friend of mine did a very bad thing. Not as bad as this situation, but bad and stupid and illegal and dangerous. I felt a little tug of friendship saying I should support him, stand by him, etc. But very soon the reality of what he'd done and his negligence in possilbly letting me get caught up in a dangerous situation sunk in and I accepted the reality of the choices he'd made and the greater implications.

It hurts to have to admit a friend could do such things and risk hurting his friends, but it happens and it's best to be able to let go of the loyalty to someone who does not deserve it.

No, can not force suspect to take truth serum (except under Patiot Act? that thing allows unchecked governemental powers).

Fawley did not black out, I feel safe in saying.

[allison]

Absynth-
First, love the name! Second, thanks for your "medically speaking". Are you a psychologist? I ask because your posts seem very informative and right on track.
-Allison

[blues]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/V/VA_MISSING_STUDENT_VAOL-?SITE=VARIT&SECTION=US

[Carrie]

I believe, like someone else said, that what happened is way more simple than some of the theories I have read. I think Ben cared more for Taylor than she cared for him. I think that when they met she was probably very interested in Ben and his mysterious, dark, on the edge ways. He was an older man and that was exciting to Taylor. I think she dated him a few months and started seeing he was just a wee bit OFF in ways. She started losing interest.. Meanwhile Ben was gaining interest. He had been hurt recently. Infact I think he may have been inlove in his relationship before Taylor. He was rejected by his last love, Erin and was looking to have that emotional bond or tie with someone else and that is what he found in Taylor.. We can see what a rage he went into when Erin used the photos he took on other websites and his rants of trying to ruin her "career" with anyone and everyone interested by trying to slander her online, etc.. Well, back to Taylor, I think maybe infact Taylor did go see Ben that night, maybe they did have sex, maybe she then told him she wanted to stop seeing him for awhile. That she needed "things" that he couldn't offer her right now.. ( I saw him post about someone that needed things on his journal and he wasn't happy with that). I think that made him very angry.. He had invested time and his heart into her and a relationship he wanted to dominate and have with her and there she was throwing him away just like Erin did.. I think maybe after the talk Taylor left went back to the dorm, decided to give her roommate alone time and wanted to do something that wasn't as heavy as what she had been through awhile ago with Ben. She decided she would try and meet friends to go skateboarding.. Maybe they showed up, maybe she skateboarded to where Jesse's aunt lived but didn't see his car or something and left. Then maybe she started thinking and worried about Ben's hurt feelings, maybe she went back to Ben's where he said let's go for a ride, get high, drunk, whatever.. They drive out to thebarn 70 miles away listening to music, getting buzzed etc all the while Ben has made up his mind that he will kill 2 birds with one stone. He will get Taylor for hurting him and he will get Erin too.. He will hurt Taylor on Erin's families property. Maybe he wanted to show her a lesson and it went to far or maybe he planned it when they left.. Either way she fought him and he had to come up with his abduction story to explain marks on his body and all other evidence. I just think it was something along the lines of him being hurt and not going to let it happen again ever in his mind..

[Carrie-]

I still don't get why he left the pictures up of the barn after going to the trouble to delete everything else though...

[Michael]

Ok, so I think it's safe to assume they found Taylor's body.

I just don't understand why you would bury a body in a place that you know can be tied back to you. Not only that but it was in the open right next to a densly wooded area. Would you not walk deep into the woods and bury there?

[cosmicmojo]

That's a likely scenario Carrie, something like that; things got out of hand and had to be covered up.

I hate to sound mean, but I don't think fawley is the sharpest card in the deck. He may not have realized how the police could put together his deviantart posts with the crime, he may have believed that the body on the farm would not be found.

[JC]

We live a few miles from where the body was found. On my way home from picking my son up from school, we saw helicopters, state police, etc. everywhere. I looked at the news website for one of the local news stations and saw that that was where they found a body; presumably Taylor's. It was so weird seeing our area on national TV last night. It is the boonies (but beautiful boonies!). Even if it isn't Taylor, it is somebody...very sad in any case.

[Carrie--]

Cosmic, I don't think he is the smartest card either. I just can't see him being capable of some of the theories. I do think he was aware police would be looking at his posts though because he went to the trouble of deleting old posts and so many pics he had taken. Maybe he just missed those few but I doubt that or maybe he did it thinking they would just assume it was Erin's house- therefore Erin's buddies did it. He made sure to leave the post up about what they had supposedly done to him.. I'm thinking he is just that simple minded and thought they would look for her buddies since he had been bullied and it was on her property.. It seems to me he took other girlfriends there too because the ex Jennifer is the one who told police where it was located.

[Gypzywingz]

Ok, what about the blood found on BF's box spring. Surely by now they have taken a DNA sample from Taylor, hair sample, maybe, and tested the blood to see if they have a match. The box spring was confenscated last week right? I would think that would be enough time to find out if the DNA matced. Did they say what happened to the mattress or why there was blood on the box srping and not on the mattress?

[New Creature]

Two possible scenarios to consider:

1. Taylor became a victim of murder in the area she was found---then buried in haste.

2. She became a victim of murder at "H Studio's" (Fawley's Home), and was taken to the farm in an attempt to hide her.

[cosmicmojo]

Human remains "most likely" Taylor Behl's, mother says

Richmond Times-Dispatch Oct 6, 2005

Janet Pelasara, mother of missing VCU student Taylor Marie Behl, talks during a media availability at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Richmond, Sept. 26, 2005. BOB BROWN/TIMES-DISPATCH
SPECIAL REPORT: Taylor Behl
» Behl task force investigates body in Mathews County
» AREA MAP: Task force finds body
» Taylor Behl Slideshow

Taylor Behl's mother and her family's attorney said this morning they are nearly certain that remains found yesterday in Mathews County are of those of the Virginia Commonwealth University freshman who has been missing since Sept. 5.

Family attorney George Peterson said there is a "high degree of confidence that the body that was found is Taylor's."

Behl's mother, Janet Pelasara, said the body is "most likely my baby."

"I'm positive the authorities will bring these subhumans to justice . . . and pray they will receive the death penalty."

Peterson said that he expected a positive identification shortly and that the family was ready to begin making funeral arrangements.

Answering questions from reporters about the Mathews site, Peterson said "Taylor had never been to that area, but as you know, Ben Fawley has been."

Peterson said photographs of the area were found on the computer of Fawley, a 38-year-old VCU area resident who is being held on unrelated child pornography charges. He is among the last people to have seen Behl.

"The strongest suspect they already have in custody," Peterson said.

But Peterson added that "the open question in my mind is to whether others were involved," and said a dog had tracked Behl's scent to another person who lived near VCU who was arrested on drug charges.

[Carrie--]

http://www.livejournal.com/users/hildybrant/

Ben's roommate claims it's her blood.. Wonder how it got all the way to the box springs?

[xdarkbutterflyx]

Gypzywingz-

Even if there was blood on the boxspring that belonged to Taylor Behl, Ben Fawley already admitted to having sex with Taylor, so he could just use the excuse of "roughing around" to explain blood.

He may not be the "smartest card" but either subconsiously or not, he's using good tactics.