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Join Date: Nov 2004
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photographer arrested in murder & dissappearance of 17yr girl, myspace connection!
his myspace:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...dID=141 48304
her myspace:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...ndID=217 0853
newslink:
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet...=1031785248145
Richmond Police yesterday arrested an amateur photographer - one of the last people to see Virginia Commonwealth University freshman Taylor Behl before she vanished Sept. 5 - and charged him with 16 counts of possession of child pornography.
Ben Fawley, 38, was arrested about 3 p.m. just as a phalanx of armed and armored police officers converged on his doorstep in the 400 block of Hancock Street.
"Open the door, Ben," ordered a detective, who was filmed making the arrest by a local TV crew.
Moments later, the bespectacled Fawley exited in a black T-shirt. Police said his long, dyed blond hair and matching goatee of a few days ago had been trimmed and dyed black. He was handcuffed without incident and led into a waiting police vehicle.
A contingent of investigators from the multi-agency task force searching for Behl converged on Fawley's house, executing their second search warrant at the premises over the past week.
Fawley's lawyer, Chris Collins, was present at the time of the arrest. He said the search warrant filed by police sought various items of clothing and jewelry from Fawley and Behl, as well as electronics, cell phones, identification, and license plates.
A separate search warrant was also issued requiring Fawley to submit hair and DNA samples to police.
Officials said the child-pornography charges stem from video evidence gathered during a search of Fawley's home last week, during which police confiscated seven computers. One source close to the investigation said the evidence depicts adults and children in sexually themed movies.
Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe declined to comment specifically on the evidence, saying only: "Our investigation led to an individual that had possession of child pornography, which is of grave concern to us."
Collins said that he had no specific knowledge of evidence gathered against his client to justify the arrest warrant. But he said some of the computers confiscated last week by investigators belonged to ex-roommates of Fawley.
The lawyer last night reiterated his earlier statements, saying Fawley told him he had nothing to do with Behl's disappearance. He also said the child-pornography charges have "nothing to do with Taylor.
"They're investigating three people and they haven't ruled anybody out," Collins said. "They're just doing a really thorough job."
Fawley's arrest, he said, was another investigative tool being used by police "just to add a little pressure" to him.
Fawley has admitted to police he had a physical relationship with the 17-year-old Vienna girl and last saw her around 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 5. The last known sighting of Behl came from her dormitory roommate around 10:20 p.m. that evening.
Behl left VCU's Gladding Residence Center saying she was going to go skateboarding with a few friends. She was carrying her cell phone, student ID, car keys and a small amount of cash.
She has been missing for 19 days.
Police said they have no suspects in their criminal investigation into the missing teen. They have identified Fawley as one of a number of "persons of interest" in the investigation into Behl's whereabouts.
Police also have no evidence that a crime has been committed, but officials have stated that Behl may have been the victim of foul play, such as an abduction, given the fact that there has been no contact from her for nearly three weeks.
"The Richmond Police Department continues to conduct an aggressive and focused investigation into the disappearance of Taylor Behl," said Monroe.
He described Fawley as "one of many persons that holds information in reference to the past 24 to 48 hours of Taylor's disappearance."
Fawley's association with Behl dates to earlier this year. She met the photographer in February while visiting his former roommate - an upperclassman who comes from Behl's hometown.
Behl saw Fawley again in April, and posed for him in clothed pictures taken on Belle Isle. Fawley - an aspiring artist, actor, and prolific Goth Web master - posted the Behl photos on the Internet arts site, deviantArt.com, under the user name, "Skulz."
Behl listed "Skulz" as one of her "friends" on her Web page on the Internet meeting site, MyPlace.com., where she wrote under the screen name "Bitter."
When the 5-foot, 6, 135 pound teenager came to VCU on Aug. 19 to begin her freshman year in college, family said she customarily parked her 1997 Ford Escort on Hancock Street near Fawley's house just north of Broad Street, where there was free parking.
The car, which had been missing since Sept. 5, was discovered a week ago in the Fan District, more than a mile away from Behl's dormitory and Fawley's house. The Virginia license plates of the car had been replaced with Ohio license plates stolen several months earlier from another VCU student.
A subsequent search of the vehicle by a police bloodhound led investigators to the home of a friend of one the skateboarders with whom Behl was acquainted. Earlier this week, police searched the man's residence and arrested him on drug possession charges. In interviews with police, the man denied knowing Behl or having ever been in her car.
Investigators are still awaiting results of forensic tests on the vehicle being conducted by the FBI. VCU and Behl's family have offered more than $30,000 as a reward to anyone who provides information leading to the location and return of the teen.
Meanwhile, investigators are also scrutinizing the details of an abduction report filed by Fawley himself on Sept. 6, the day before Behl was reported missing.
Fawley claimed he had been robbed and beaten by unknown assailants and driven to an unknown location before being dumped on a dirt road at 5 a.m. - less than 8 hours after he last saw Behl.
Fawley is expected to spend the weekend in the city jail and is scheduled to appear in court Monday morning for a bond hearing.
A source close to the investigation said Fawley - who was recently arrested for trespassing and received a suspended 30-day sentence for an assault charge in Richmond last year - also has a previous arrest record, including a Richmond charge of assault last year.
Yesterday afternoon, Behl's mother, Janet Pelasara, said she was pleased with the arrest of Fawley, a 38-year-old man whom she said had "exploited" her daughter.
"It is only the beginning," she predicted, "of Ben Fawley's downward spiral into the depths of hell."
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