Replies

Hi. I'm a Richmond resident and a former friend of Ben's. I remain close friends with a girl he dated from 2000 to 2002. I'm also a local journalist (but I don't cover crime news). Because of all this, I prefer to remain anonymous here, but I want you to understand that I have credentials to say what I'm saying.

Ben has a couple of sides to his personality. Yes, he is charismatic and charming. But he's one of those people who holds on WAY too tightly to their significant others -- to the point of emotional, and sometimes physical, abuse. This year, he served two months on a 12-month assault conviction from charges brought by an ex-girlfriend. I know that my friend brought charges against him for an altercation that occurred when she left him for the final time in 2002. And I know that he has been diagnosed bipolar in the last few years and that he's not exactly consistent about taking his meds.

These things aside, I agree with you that it's doubtful that Ben had anything to do with Taylor's disappearance. He might know something, sure. But I doubt he harmed her.

As for the child pornography thing, the only positive thing I can say about Ben is that he absolutely LOVES his daughters and wouldn't do anything to harm them. Yeah, he might take creepy photos, but honestly I think that has more to do with Ben's lack of appropriate socialization his entire life than it has to do with any desires on his part.

I've always assumed that his attraction to young women has to do with his intense desire to never grow up. When I knew him, he absolutely refused to tell anyone his age -- and I'm not much younger than he is.

In other blogs, people have made much of the fact that he owned a number of computers. He built them himself, mostly from scavenged parts. Also, for a while he was collecting Social Security Disability, and in years past, he was living on student loans. So I'm sure that some of that money went to computers.

Also, Ben has had problems in the past with keeping his driver's license. In addition to his Nowhere Van being inoperational, it's doubtful that he even has a license, as it would take more money than he can probably get his hands on to get it out of hock.

I probably should not be posting here, but as a journalist and former friend of Ben's, I feel an innate desire to get the record straight. By the way, I've been impressed by your sleuthing and the conclusions you've drawn overall. You're a responsible blogger, and that's saying something.

Posted by Write_now at September 21, 2005 02:53 PM