Full Taylor Behl news coverage

By Marilyn Bardsley

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Richmond, VA  (Crime Library) — Janet Pelasara, Taylor Behl's mother, told Nancy Grace on yesterday's Court TV "special" on the investigation into the death of 17-year-old Virginia college freshman that evidence would be heard in a Mathews County grand jury on Nov. 21, 2005. Her Richmond attorney Michael Morchower explained that there was no slowdown in the case. Morchower said investigators "wanted to interview and re-interview witnesses to support the abduction of Taylor Behl." Private investigator James "Bubba" Bates told Grace that the reason no formal charges had been filed against chief suspect Ben Fawley was that prosecutors were waiting for the results of additional forensic tests.

Court TV anchor Nancy Grace questioned the length of time needed to call a grand jury in Mathews County. While many close to the investigation believe that Taylor Behl was killed in Richmond, suspect Ben W. Fawley, 38, allegedly told police that he accidentally killed Taylor during "rough sex" while parked in her car in Mathews County, a rural area 75 miles from Richmond, near the Chesapeake Bay. Taylor Behl's remains were found in Mathews County.

Grace also raised the issue of the Virginia Commonwealth University campus police holding on to the investigation into Taylor's disappearance before turning the case over to the vastly more experienced Richmond Police Department. Janet Pelasara responded by saying that she believed that her daughter died the night she disappeared.

Virginia law requires that unless evidence can be found proving that Taylor Behl was killed in Richmond that any indictments against Ben Fawley will be made in the county in which her remains were recovered. Taylor Behl disappeared Sept. 5. Ben Fawley is an amateur photographer with two children who had a brief sexual relationship with Taylor. Fawley has a history of violence against women and is currently incarcerated in a Richmond jail on charges relating to possession of child pornography and firearms violations.

Contact Marilyn Bardsley   at 912.704.3249 or bardsleym@courttv.com

Marilyn Bardsley

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