When former VCU student Taylor Behl went missing in September 2005, the whole country took notice.
Maybe it was her flawless looks or the innocence she exuded in photos, but something about the 17-year-old captured strangers’ attention.
Detroit Recording artist Dawn, who goes by her first name only, was one observer who became absorbed in the faraway saga.
She remembers how devastated she felt when she heard that police had discovered the slain girl’s remains in rural Mathews County.
“It just broke my heart when they found out what happened to her, and he (Benjamin Fawley) just completely lied about it,” said Dawn, 29. “It’s just heartbreaking.”
Now, almost a year and a half after Behl’s murder, Dawn has used the young girl’s life as inspiration for “Doo Wop Darlin (Taylor’s Song),” which appears on her debut album, “It’s ‘R’ Time.” The song’s title refers to the T-shirt a forlorn-looking Behl wears in a photo on her MySpace account.
“Most only knew you as Doo Wop Darlin/ Hope turned to tears when we learned you died,” Dawn sings in the moody ballad, which sounds like something from rock outfit Evanescence.
Behl’s mother, Janet Pelasara, said the song struck a deep, emotional chord with her.
“I am thrilled that someone was interested enough to write a song about Taylor,” said Pelasara, who has worked diligently at keeping her daughter’s story in the public eye.
But, she added, “I found it too personally upsetting to listen to the entire thing while I was reading the lyrics.”
Dawn said Behl’s vulnerability inspired the song’s subject material.
“I just felt that it’s so unfortunate that someone with so much promise can get railroaded by some man that she trusted,” Dawn said, adding that she wanted to “reach other women or men that might get caught in another situation like that.”
The narrative lyrics of “Doo Wop Darlin” contrast with the subject material of Dawn’s other songs, which more abstractly explore emotions and life experiences.
Dawn said she derives much of her inspiration from her years-long battle with breast cancer. Since its initial detection, the cancer has spread throughout her body.
“It is currently being controlled with weekly chemotherapy treatments. I have learned to live with the fact that it is not a matter of if, but when,” Dawn says on her Web site, dawnrocks.net.
“At first there was not a day that went by that I did not ask myself, why me, while at the same time feeling sorry for myself. Then I realized the only thing I was doing was wasting the time and life I had left.”
Dawn’s album is slated for release Jan. 25, although it already can be purchased on BestBuy.com.
According to Dawn and album producer Greg Huck, the band will fund a Taylor Behl scholarship at VCU if “It’s ‘R’ Time” sales generate the money for it. The band also hopes to purchase a bronze plaque for VCU commemorating Behl’s life.
“I would like other people to know about her if they already don’t, just so that they know that she was special, just like any daughter would be special to any mother,” Dawn said. “The story touched so many lives, and I just hope people can always remember her in a good way.”