By  Seamus McGraw

July 12, 2006

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MATHEWS, Va. (Crime Library) —  It's still more than a month away, but the trial of part-time photographer and accused pornographer Ben Fawley, charged with first-degree murder in the strangling of 17-year-old co-ed Taylor Behl last year, is already taxing the resources of tiny Mathews County.

Taylor Behl

And even before the trial begins, it has generated at least one controversial sideshow. Last month, the Virginia State Bar's Third District Committee filed a misconduct complaint against a prominent Richmond attorney who had been peripherally involved in the case. The complaint essentially alleges that Michael Morchower, who had been advising the slain girl's mother free of charge, spoke out of turn when he reportedly confided to reporters last year that investigators were having difficulty collecting enough evidence to challenge Fawley's account of Behl's death. Fawley reportedly told authorities that he accidentally strangled Behl during rough, but consensual, sex.

Ben Fawley

Morchower could not be reached Wednesday morning for comment, but he is expected to contest the allegation that he violated attorney-client privilege, which is scheduled for a hearing on Sept. 20.

Meanwhile, officials in Mathews County, the rural eastern Virginia community of 9,200 where Behl's body was found last year after a month long search, are facing their own challenges as they gear up for Fawley's highly anticipated murder trial.

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