Full Taylor Behl news coverage
By Marilyn Bardsley
RICHMOND (Crime Library) — You could almost see jaws drop among the many followers of the Taylor Behl murder case when Virginia Commonwealth lawyers dropped the gun-possession charges against her alleged killer Ben W. Fawley. The blogs and messages boards screamed for an explanation. Why on earth would the state drop charges against the convicted felon when they had they had every bit of evidence they needed to make the charges stick?
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| Ben W. Fawley |
Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Learned D. Barry told the Times-Dispatch that Chris Collins, Fawley's attorney on the Taylor Behl case was also a witness to Fawley's gun possession a complication that would have prevented Collins from representing Fawley in the death of Taylor Behl. Although, rumor has it that Collins may not relish the idea of driving the 3-hour daily round-trip commute between Richmond and the courthouse in Mathews County and may not represent Fawley on the Taylor Behl case. Collins is the veteran of 89 capital cases.
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| Chris Collins |
The state had to drop the gun-possession charges so that Collins could be present when Fawley made his jailhouse confession as to how he allegedly was responsible for Taylor's death.
Fawley's possession of firearms as a convicted felon breaks federal and state laws, so dropping the state's case doesn't mean that the federal government won't prosecute him.
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| Taylor Behl |
Regardless, the firearms violations are a sideshow to the main event: a Jan. 21, 2006 grand jury in Mathews County, VA, which may indict Fawley for the murder of the 17-year-old college freshman. Sources close to the investigation expect the grand jury to hear a brief, but powerful summary of the evidence collected to demonstrate that Fawley murdered Taylor Behl. Fawley has allegedly stated that she died accidentally during "rough sex."
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| Janet Pelasara |
Janet Pelasara, Taylor Behl's mother, told Court TV's Crime Library that she is confident that the Richmond Police Department has done everything possible to investigate her daughter's death. She believes that the result of this thorough investigation is that Fawley will be indicted for murder not manslaughter. Pelasara stated that she does not want the state to make it a capital case. She prefers that Fawley "rot in jail" for the rest of his life.
See our full coverage on Taylor Behl - Ben Fawley
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