‘Person of interest’ (38 year old photographer) named in Taylor Behl case

As per the Times Dispatch, the 38-year-old amateur photographer who has been linked to the missing Virginia Commonwealth University freshman Taylor Marie Behl has been named a “person of interest”.

Yesterday, Richmond police officials said they had not named the photographer a suspect, but they said he is considered a “person of interest.”

Amateur photographer’s lawyer says his client saw missing VCU student the night she vanished.

A lawyer representing a 38-year-old amateur photographer who had a relationship with missing Virginia Commonwealth University freshman Taylor Marie Behl said yesterday that he believes Richmond police consider his client a suspect in the teen’s disappearance.

Richmond criminal-defense attorney Chris Collins said the photographer saw Behl about 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 5, roughly an hour before the 17-year-old Vienna girl stopped by her dormitory room to grab her keys, cell phone, student ID and a small amount of cash.

According to defense attorney Collins his client had been interviewed by police, requested a lie detector test and searched his clients home.

Collins said police conducted multiple, lengthy interviews with his client and recently wanted him to take a lie-detector test. Collins said the photographer wanted to take the test but did not do so under Collins’ recommendation.

Police also executed search warrants at the photographer’s home on Friday and removed a number of computers and related items, the lawyer said.

The following is the events according to the defense attorney as to how his client and Taylor Behl met:

Collins said his client first met Behl at the beginning of the year when she traveled to Richmond to visit a friend from Vienna, who, at the time, was the photographer’s roommate.

Behl and the photographer met again in April, when she visited VCU. At that time, Behl posed for pictures for the photographer, who posted the fully clothed shots on the Web site DeviantArt.com.

The photographer, an aspiring artist, actor, collector of street signs and prolific Web master on the Goth scene, also posted multiple online references to Behl.

Police and Behl’s family said there was evidence of a physical relationship between the 38-year-old and the 17-year-old. Collins would not elaborate on the relationship and said his client is the father of two children who live with their mother out of state. He said his client lives off of monthly Social Security disability checks.

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