Full Taylor Behl news coverage

By Marilyn Bardsley

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Richmond, VA  (Crime Library) - It should come as no surprise that Ben Fawley's jailhouse confession on Wednesday evening did not include a claim of first or second degree murder. Bolstered by the medical examiner's difficulty in determining cause of death, Fawley had an opportunity to propose that Taylor Behl died accidentally. Perhaps she did.

The Times-Dispatch learned that Fawley told police that he and Taylor went in her car to an area near a beach in Mathews County the night she disappeared.   He then told police that while they were in her car, she died accidentally during "rough sex.when he restricted her breathing." Fawley explained that he panicked when he realized she was dead and placed her body in the ravine in which she was later found. The ravine was adjacent to property owned by a former girlfriend.

Police are now trying to verify Fawley's account, but do not accept it at face value.

Ben W. Fawley is a 38-year-old amateur photographer with a bi-polar disorder that provides him with a monthly Social Security disability check. He has a history of violent assaults on young women when they have tried to break off their relationships with him as well as convictions for larceny, receiving stolen goods, and other felonies. Fawley is facing charges on 16 counts of possession of child pornography and possession of a firearm in violation of Virginia laws regarding convicted felons.

Fawley's attorney, Chris Collins, advised his client not to make his statement to the police, but Fawley did not heed his lawyer's advice.

Marilyn Bardsley

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