Taylor Behl: Friend Makes Curious Disclosure

Post Bumped to top -

Update 11:29 PM: M&A see full post.

from the media in Richmond and Washington DC.
Clothes found with the remains match those of that Taylor Behl was known to have been wearing the night she went missing. Also both of the abandoned houses on Ben Fawley’s Deviant Art site and reposted here, are confirmed to be on the property. Finally, the property belongs to the parents of a friend of Ben’s. We believe that friend is Erin Crabill, we also believe the word friend is not the best term to describe the relationship.

Update: 10:52 PM -- Multiple sources claiming Fox Richmond announcing body appeared to be clothed consistent with Taylor Behl when she went missing.

From Crime Library:

His impression of Taylor was that she was a "straight arrow, normal girl that had her act together, but she was running with a rough crowd." He also characterized her as "very trusting."

The next time and the last time — Kevin saw her was Monday, Sept. 5 around 8:45 p.m. She had been eating dinner with a former boyfriend, but later, by herself sought out Kevin to tell him something she was excited about. "I'm going to do something highly illegal," she confided. "an early birthday present." Kevin sounded a bit wary of that announcement and didn't ask her for specifics. He didn't think anything more about it until Thursday, when he first heard that Taylor had gone missing.

Full article at link above. My complete coverage here.

Update from Hyscience:

An ex-girlfriend of a man interviewed in connection with the disappearance of Taylor Marie Behl led investigators today to a Mathews County farm where police discovered the badly decomposed remains of an unidentified person, law enforcement sources told The Times-Dispatch.

Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe said it could be several days before the remains - found in a wooded area off a dirt road behind a barn on private land - are positively identified.

Sources said the ex-girlfriend recognized the location in a photograph shown to her by two detectives from Virginia Commonwealth University. This morning, the detectives drove to the location, and during a search of the property discovered a shallow grave in the woods.

"This is a difficult time for the family," said attorney George O. Peterson, who represents Behl’s mother, Janet Pelasara. He said the family may issue a statement on the discovery tomorrow.

Comments

[1inrichmond]

I can't help but wonder if BF did this, how did he get Taylor all the way down to Mathews Co. and how did he get back? Did he take HER car (he doesn't have one)? If he did, why didn't the dog pick up HIS scent? I am sure they used something of his too (since he was a person of interest at the time). Also, what happened to the tan Nissan that was impounded? Where are Taylor's license plates? I still have a feeling they will find Ben Fawley's camera down at the place near the crime scene. I think BF was abducted himself (like he said and the police seem to believe).

I still can't help but think he may have been set up---pure speculation as we all are doing.

I have a daughter now at VCU, and I will certainly be glad when this thing is over and solved!

[withheld]

I have read all over the internet on this case, it is very interesting. And many of the theories here are also very interesting.

In trying to speculate what has happened, do not forget one key piece of information.

Ben made a point to find the skateboarder the next day to ask him what Taylor had told him and where he thought she might be. And he ask the skateboarder for the name of the other skateboarder that had seen her the night she disappeared and where he could be found.

HOW DID BEN KNOW SHE HAD SEEN THESE TWO SKATEBOARDERS THE NIGHT BEFORE ? These are the two she saw and spoke to one of them and said she was going to do something HIGHLY ILLEGAL (which in a young mine like hers could be anything and not something serious like bank robbery, simple trespass would suffice).

In my mind there is only ONE way Ben would have known about these two people, he learned of their encounter with her as she pleaded for her life and told him that there were others that knew where she was and who she was with, he probably called her bluff and asked her who and she told him about the two skateboarders.

It is then possible that he tortured her and found she had only told them she was going to do something but hadn't really disclosed who with or where, and then she was killed. Then Ben, in covering his tracks and trying to figure out if his plan was going to hold together, confronted the skateboarder and felt him out and was satisfied that he really knew nothing other than Taylor said she was going to do something, and of course Ben's motivation for confronting him was to HELP find her.

I will speculate as well, more than one person is involved here, I think it is Ben and the friend of his that the dog picked the scent up on. They met up with Taylor, she drove her car and followed them in Ben's freinds car to the farm. The purpose in her mind was something unknown, perhaps vandilism, perhaps Taylor was going to do a photo shoot in the other girls parents property to PROVE they had been their just to rub salt in everything. Taylor knew of this other girl and his past relationship, and you know how easy it is to get drawn into other peoples battles when you want to help them defend themselves, so this makes sense as far as her motivation.

Now let's see how this could eaily progress and get out of hand. Taylor thinks she is going to do a simple trespass and perhaps do some non-porn fully clothed modeling in the farmhouse, perhaps duplicating some poses of Erin, to later be posted on the internet, for the purpose of flaming things with Erin.

Ben and his friend have another idea in the back of their mind, and I think we all know what that is without going into specifics, suffice it to say Ben posted he "hoped to do something new with Taylor" and he also has just gotten a new bed that allowed someone to be tied up, and had recently hosted a BDSM photo shoot in that bed by another photographer and model (he just watched).

I think this was one of those things that was not exactly planned, but more a hoped for type of thing. They pushed her to do more and more, and at some point things got out of hand and she was killed.

Then what happens ?

Ben comes up with a hasty plan and alibi, they leave Taylor and her car in the farm area. Perhaps they bury Taylor that night, and leave with both cars but ditch Taylors somewhere between the farm and Richmond.

Ben realizes he has to dump the cameras that have the evidence on them, but he does NOT want to destroy the pictures, we WANTS them (otherwise, he would not have invented the story of the mugging and the camera theft).

So he HIDES the cameras somewhere, he and his friend return to Richmond. Then in the ensuing days they realize her car is way to close to the crime scene and may lead to her being discovered, so Ben comes up with the plan to use tags he stole earlier (he loved to steal tags and road signs) and go back up to the farm to get the car and dump in Richmond. He goes with his friend in the friend's car, and convinces the friend to drive her car back (you drive it, I can't have my DNA/fibers in the car, no way they will talk to you, or try to link you to her car, it was me she was seeing).

So they drive both cars back, the friend is hyped and adrenalined out by the time they get to Richmond, Ben probably had a place to dump the car in the city and the friend chickened out, got the car near his own house and told Ben to park it in the deserted lot, he was done. (Remember, locals stated the car was NOT on that street for about two weeks and just showed up one morning.

Police dogs later tied the car to Ben's freind and he failed a poly stating he had never been in the car before.

I also believe Taylor knew she was going to the farm when she left her room-mate. She said she was going skateboarding and would be back in 3 hours. It takes 60 minutes to drive to the farm give or take, and 60 back. And she planned to do something there that would take 60 minutes or less. Like simple vandalism or a photo shoot.

Ben had already had sex with her previously, but had NOT taken explicit photos of her from what I know, especially BDSM photos of her and his friend in the farmhouse where he had photo'd Erin previously. Lots of motives here and room for things to go awry.

I think if nothing else, this case will be a study into why PARENTS need to KNOW what their kids do on line, I have read all the posts going back 18 months and can see Ben trolling the blogs looking for a victim, and can see Taylor stepping right into his trap.

[Scout]

"That is how the kids look now. In my days it was Levi's and tee shirts, in my parents' kackies (sp?) and button-downs. Believe it or not he's the height of fasion, baggy pants and all."

I'm not trying to act like a know-it-all or anything about kids, but the way that Kevin kid is dressed is not like how all kids dress these days. His pants are definitely distinctly goth-industrial, I was confused when I first saw the pic - I thought it was Ben. Ben dresses goth as well. When I first started following this case I associated BF's style with punks...when I was in Richmond back in 2000 there were so many punk kids everywhere. I guess things have changed, or maybe goth kids were everywhere I just wasn't paying attention. Now after reading so much about him and his whiny ass, the music he listens to, and the 19-year-olds he associates with, I know he's not a punk. I've never seen anyone wear pants like that that didn't also listen to crazy goth music. The eerie outside pockets. I'm not knocking goths - I know everyone has their thing. If anything, BF and his so-called goons/followers are painting an even darker picture of an already dark counter-culture.

[Scout]

And I agree, he does look like a tool. Perfect word.

[anonymous]

Wait a minute, Withheld:

I'm with you on this possible scenario - but two things I don't get...

"Ben made a point to find the skateboarder the next day to ask him what Taylor had told him and where he thought she might be. And he ask the skateboarder for the name of the other skateboarder that had seen her the night she disappeared and where he could be found.

Where did you hear this? I thought i'd read every article...

Also:
"(Remember, locals stated the car was NOT on that street for about two weeks and just showed up one morning."

Is this true? I thought it was just that no one had noticed it, as it didn't have the tags they were looking for on it & then an off-duty officer spotted it while walking his dog (because he was an insider & knew what to look for). Most people in Richmond, at that point in the case, were saying that there really wasn't a whole lot of publicity yet..

[southern girl]

anon:

yes, according to testimony from 'kevin', Ben asked him where TB and Jesse were the next day. It was in one of the local VA articles. My theory is that he was just covering his tracks--like with the cheesy blog he sent out on his web site about being jumped. Just covering tracks. The theory above is interesting--it certainly would fall in line with Taylor's lack of and desire for new experiences. All in all I think the cops know more than we, and Ben is just stupid enough not to cover his tracks well enough.

Do you think we'll ever really know what happened?

[cosmicmojo]

"Also:
"(Remember, locals stated the car was NOT on that street for about two weeks and just showed up one morning." Is this true?
Posted by: anonymous | Oct 8, 2005 11:50:07 AM

Residents said the car had NOT been there for the previous 2 weeks.

Kevin testified to the Grand Jury, which is supposed to be confidential. No doubt, some of what is said leaks out, but we have no way of knowing what he really said, what is rumor, and what is pranks made up by trolls.