RICHMOND, Va. — A 17-year-old college freshman's disappearance from Virginia Commonwealth University 20 years ago remains one of the most mysterious cases in Richmond's history.
Taylor Behl vanished from the VCU campus on Labor Day in 2005, setting off a nationwide search that captivated the country and ended in tragedy.
The freshman had spent the weekend at her mother's house in Northern Virginia before returning to Richmond on Monday, Sept. 5. She ate dinner with a friend at the Village Café on Grace Street and mentioned wanting to go skateboarding later that night.
Behl returned to her dorm across from Monroe Park but left again around 10:20 p.m., according to her roommate. She never came back.
After 48 hours with no contact, Behl was reported missing. VCU Police initially handled the investigation, posting alerts on the school's website while flyers with her picture and car description circulated around campus.
"People just don't disappear every day, especially a 17-year-old, and we're very, very concerned for this student," an official said at the time.
A CBS 6 crew working on a story about Behl's disappearance encountered a man handing out those flyers outside the Village Café.
"I can't believe she's gone," the man said. "I'm used to seeing her online, I chat with her online more than anything."
The man told CBS 6 News Tracy Sears that he was a friend of Taylor's and agreed to do an interview if his face was not shown.
"What's going through your mind now?" Sears asked.
"Well, like everybody, we're trying to figure out where she is and who she was with," he said.
For more than a week, investigators maintained they did not suspect foul play because there were no signs of it.
"She didn't drink, she didn't do drugs, she was basically just a good kid," Janet Pelasara, Behl's mother, said.
On Sept. 15, Richmond Police took over the case. A task force formed with State Police and the FBI, and authorities issued an Amber Alert.
"You have a 17-year-old, you know most of us wouldn’t think that a 17-year-old would have the whereabouts to just fall completely off the face of the earth," former Richmond Police Chief Rodney D. Monroe said. "So with that thought in mind alone, it causes us great concern."
Two days later, police found Behl's white Ford Escort parked on Mulberry Street in Richmond's historic Fan District. The license plates had been replaced with Ohio tags from a stolen car.
"At that time, we immediately set up surveillance," Monroe said.
The discovery intensified the search throughout the Fan and nearby Museum District, with 20 detectives looking for clues.
Meanwhile, police began focusing on a person of interest: Ben Fawley, an amateur photographer who had posted several pictures of Behl on his website and written about their relationship in an online journal.
The 38-year-old was the same man CBS 6 had spoken with outside the Village Café.
On Sept. 23, police arrested Fawley on charges of possession of child pornography after searching his apartment near VCU and removing six computers.
"This guy is a bit quirky, as I'm sure everybody knows by now. But he is not a child pornographer, I promise you that," one man said.
The investigation took a tragic turn on Oct. 5 when a tip from one of Fawley's ex-girlfriends led two VCU detectives to a farm in rural Mathews County, about 75 miles east of Richmond. Near a shack that appeared in a photograph on Fawley's website, they discovered Behl's remains.
"Today is Ms. Pelasara's birthday, not a very welcoming birthday present for her, but on the other hand, I'm happy that we've been able to progress rapidly in this case," Monroe said.
Behl's mother expressed her grief: "It is apparent that my daughter died a violent and unspeakable death."
One week after finding the body, Fawley confessed but claimed Behl died accidentally during consensual rough sex in her car. Police and a grand jury rejected this story, and in January 2006, Fawley was indicted for first-degree murder, later reduced to second-degree due to lack of evidence.
The autopsy report, completed in August 2006, listed the official cause of death as "homicidal violence, type undetermined." Days later, Fawley accepted a plea deal and received a 30-year prison sentence.
"No mother should have to wonder how much of their child they are burying, and no mother should ever have to hear that all that was left of their child was bones," Pelasara said following the sentencing.
"We go forward serving the life sentence that was cruelly imposed upon all of us last fall, a life, a life without a daughter, a granddaughter, a niece, and a friend," Matt Behl said.
Fawley was transferred from Virginia to a prison in New Mexico in 2009 and is scheduled for release in 2031.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
