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Thread: Randy Allen Taylor Convicted and Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in Abduction of Virginia Teen Alexis Murphy

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    Randy Allen Taylor Convicted and Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in Abduction of Virginia Teen Alexis Murphy



    Man charged in Va. missing teen case to remain jailed until January hearing; search continues

    The Virginia man charged in the disappearance of a Nelson County teenager will remain behind bars until a January following a court appearance Tuesday, as details of his criminal past began to emerge.

    Randy Allen Taylor, 48, of Lovingston, was arrested Sunday and charged with abduction in the disappearance of 17-year-old Alexis Murphy, who was last seen Aug. 3 by her family. Her car was found in the parking lot of a multiplex in Charlottesville three days later.

    The search for Murphy is ongoing.

    Taylor appeared in Nelson County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, handcuffed, shackled and wearing a gray jail-issued jumpsuit. He was appointed an attorney, and a preliminary hearing was set for Jan. 9.

    Nelson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Anthony Martin refused to comment beyond a statement in which he said the preliminary hearing will determine whether there is probable cause to send the case to a grand jury. Meanwhile, Taylor will remain at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail without bond.

    Court records show Taylor’s criminal record stretches back more than 20 years, The Daily Progress reported (http://bit.ly/14thHGR) Tuesday.

    Virginia Beach court records show Taylor was convicted of statutory burglary and grand larceny in 1992 and sentenced to 10 years behind bars, with all but 4 ½ years suspended.

    Albemarle County court records show Taylor was convicted of arson in February 2005. He was given a two-year suspended sentence and ordered to pay about $6,300 in restitution. His suspended sentence was revoked in June 2011, after he failed to pay restitution. His sentence was immediately re-suspended on conditions of good behavior and that he pay at least $50 a month toward his restitution.

    An employer and acquaintances of Taylor’s described him as a quiet, hardworking man, who kept mostly to himself and worked off and on at a local used car lot and doing odd jobs in the area.

    Tere Vann, Taylor’s employer at the Ruckersville car lot where he’s worked periodically for the past five years, said: “We knew he had a past, because he’d been honest with us.”

    “I would’ve never dreamed it,” neighbor Jim Matheny told the newspaper while watching from his front porch as investigators searched Taylor’s property.

    FBI agents on Monday combed the area near Taylor’s home carrying shovels. A sport utility vehicle and camper also were hauled from the property.

    Among those at Taylor’s home Monday was Evans Oakerson, the lead investigator in the unsolved September 2010 disappearance of 19-year-old Samantha Ann Clarke of Orange, said Orange County Commonwealth’s Attorney Diana Wheeler. Like Murphy, Clarke went out one night and never came back. Neither Wheeler nor other authorities working the two cases would say whether they believe the two cases are connected.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/...3b2_story.html
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    Alexis Murphy kidnapping suspect Randy Taylor may be linked to Samantha Clarke abduction

    RICHMOND, Va. (WUSA9) -- Handcuffed and with his legs shackled, 48-year-old Randy Taylor of Lovingston, Va., was appointed a public defender to handle the most serious criminal charge he has faced. Abduction.

    The FBI believes he kidnapped 17-year-old Alexis Murphy of Nelson County, Virginia.

    Detectives tell WDBJ7 that they were both seen at a Lovingston gas station on August 3, the day of her disappearance.

    Surveillance video caught them both there separately but during the same time frame.

    Taylor, who has a lengthy criminal record of theft and burglary, is a person of interest in another Virginia teen's disappearance.

    Nineteen-year-old Samantha Clarke of Orange, Virginia disappeared in September of 2010. She had recently met Randy Taylor, who officials say called her at least five times in the hours before she disappeared.

    Orange County Commonwealth Attorney Diana Wheeler says divers searched a lake numerous times looking for clues, but so far nothing has come up.

    She's hopeful with Randy Taylor's arrest in the Murphy disappearance, new information about Samantha's case will come to light.
    "He's one of a few people that had quite a bit of contact with her in the two or three days immediately preceding her disappearance. And so we were looking very carefully at the people who were having contact with her. And of course, his phone contact with her is the last phone contact she had with anyone," said Wheeler.

    There appears to be no connection between Randy Taylor and Alicia Showalter Reynolds, who was abducted and killed in 1996.

    Taylor was incarcerated for burglary and grand larceny in 1996. He was also convicted of arson in June of 2011, but he was only given a two-year suspended sentence.

    Looking for clues in the Alexis Murphy disappearance, FBI agents searched Randy Taylor's home and the woods along Route 29 near Lovingston. They removed a camper, bags of evidence, and Taylor's camouflage-wrapped suburban truck.

    The clue which may have lead the FBI to Taylor was surveillance video from that Liberty Gas station in Lovingston where he lives. Both Taylor and Alexis Murphy were seen in the video, taken the day she disappeared.

    Taylor's preliminary hearing is set for January 9. He's being held in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.

    http://www.wusa9.com/news/article/27...her-abductions
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    FBI agents search home of suspect in Alexis Murphy case

    NELSON, VA (WWBT) -

    Investigators continue to focus on Randy Taylor's home in connection to the disappearance of 17 year old Alexis Murphy. They're using K-9s and ATVs to search the woody property. Murphy's whereabouts are still a mystery. The man accused of her abduction, in jail - while investigators look at every clue, every tip.

    After 11 days, there's still no sign of the 17 year old, even though Randy Taylor is accused of abducting her.

    Jenny Harvey lives across from Taylor and spoke with investigators about the case.

    "I had a gut feeling that something was wrong and when the FBI came here I told them I don't have a good feeling about this guy," she said.

    Harvey says Taylor lives in seclusion in a home surrounded by woods. The case has now appeared on a cable news network and in a New York newspaper. Wednesday, the FBI said it is covering each new lead as they come.

    "Nothing like this has happened around here so everyone is really concerned,' said Ruby Wood of the Sunny Mountain convenience store.

    There, signs are posted to help find Alexis. Managers say the suspect stops in frequently.

    "I've waited on him before. He's never said thank you, goodbye, hello. Nothing," Wood said.

    Authorities say surveillance images show Taylor and Murphy at a different Lovingston gas station at the same time -- just before her disappearance. Investigators have now taken the suspect's camper and SUV into evidence.

    "I have a granddaughter that's12 years old and I think about that. She lives right behind me. She comes over every day, sometimes 2 to 3 times a day. That could've been her just as well as this one," Harvey said.

    Her story is also gaining more national attention. Jane Velez Mitchell will discuss the case on her show, Wednesday. Nancy Grace used a large part of her program to highlight the case Tuesday night.

    Taylor was also appointed a new lawyer in his case. Initially, Scott DeBruin was appointed, but he cited a conflict of interest and now Mike Hallahan has been appointed to represent him.

    If you've seen Murphy, or think you may know anything about her disappearance, call the Nelson County Sheriff's Office at (434) 263-7050.

    http://www.nbc12.com/story/23136468/...is-murphy-case
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    Randy Taylor’s Attorney Discusses Client's Legal Process

    Randy Taylor, charged with abduction in connection to the disappearance of 17-year-old Alexis Murphy, has a new court-appointed attorney to represent him. Charlottesville-based Michael Hallahan spoke to NBC29 Wednesday before meeting his client for the first time.

    Alexis has been missing since she left her home in Shipman Saturday, August 3. Randy Taylor was arrested Sunday, August 11, in relation to the case.

    Hallahan says most defendants are held in jail for only one month, but Taylor isn't scheduled to be back in court for nearly five months. He believes the prosecution hopes to use the time to gather evidence it doesn't have.

    "I think their case may be weak to have a court date to be requested to be set that far out," Hallahan said.

    Hallahan used to be a police officer in Albemarle and Greene counties so he knows firsthand about law enforcement investigations. Now Hallahan is the court-appointed attorney for Taylor, who is charged with abduction related to Alexis Murphy's disappearance.

    "This is a class 5 felony, carries anything for punishment up to 10 years. There's another type of abduction with the intent to defile. That is a much more serious charge that carries up to life in prison. But they don't have him charged with that they have him charged with simple abduction," Hallahan said.

    Not only does the charge suggest to Hallahan that law enforcement doesn't have a lot of evidence, but he also points out that most defendants see the court in 30 days, but Taylor will sit in jail until January - nearly five months that will allow the prosecution to prepare its case.

    Hallahan believes that, if left to their own devices, law enforcement and the commonwealth won't give him what evidence they do have until next spring, but he intends to get more information sooner than that.

    "The best way to get information is to schedule a bond hearing because the commonwealth is required to tell why they need to be held in jail why they're a danger," Hallahan said.

    He asks the public not to rush to judgment on Taylor.

    Hallahan spoke with NBC29 again Wednesday night after meeting with his client.

    http://www.nbc29.com/story/23139621/...-legal-process
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    Through Attorney, Randy Taylor Tells His Story

    More details are coming to light in the disappearance of Alexis Murphy. Suspect Randy Taylor is telling his side of the story.

    Alexis, a 17-year-old from Nelson County, has been missing since Saturday, August 3, when she was reportedly headed to Lynchburg. The last place she was seen is a Liberty gas station in Lovingston.

    Taylor is the prime suspect in her disappearance and has been charged with abduction. But Taylor's attorney, Mike Hallahan, says authorities need to look for someone else.

    Hallahan says his client wasn't the last person with Alexis on August 3 - but that Taylor knows who was.

    "A black male, mid- to late 20s, cornrows and a 20-year-old burgundy Caprice with 22-inch wheels," Hallahan said.

    Hallahan says his client readily admits seeing Alexis the night she disappeared.

    "Mr. Taylor told law enforcement that he met this missing girl at the Liberty gas station by coincidence. He had parked at the pumps to buy cigarettes and she had parked at the pumps to get gas," Hallahan said. "She made a comment to him about smoking marijuana based on her seeing him at another car wash in Lovingston weeks or a month before that. He had indicated to her that he would like to get some more. She said, ‘I know a guy' she told him to meet at another location in Lovingston and they rode up there in both cars."

    Then, according to Hallahan, the three of them - Taylor, Alexis and the unidentified man - drove three separate vehicles back to Taylor's camper in Lovingston.

    "Where the drug deal went down, where my client purchased $60 worth of marijuana from this man, he said they drank a beer together and they smoked. The girl did not smoke or drink anything," Hallahan said.

    Hallahan says Alexis and the unidentified man left before sundown on August 3 in separate cars and Taylor hasn't seen them since.

    Hallahan says law enforcement told Taylor he was arrested because the FBI found a hair in his camper belonging to Alexis.

    "I don't know how a hair found in a camper would justify probable cause on an abduction any more than a misdemeanor of assault or battery or murder," Hallahan said.

    According to Hallahan, Taylor repeatedly told law enforcement the story. Hallahan says there is DNA evidence of the unidentified man in the camper that should help authorities find him.

    "He drank an Icehouse, a 12-ounce bottle of Icehouse, at the trailer and his DNA should be in that bottle in that trailer whoever that was," Hallahan said.

    Hallahan says Taylor has already shared his entire story with police, and that police aren't sharing that information with the public.

    The story Hallahan describes has similarities to the story about Taylor's involvement in the Samantha Clarke case published in the Hook in October. In that story, Clarke's mother, Barbara Tinder, says a couple told her about a place "where Taylor kept a camper, and where they said he would sometimes hold parties." The report indicates the couple didn't say Taylor had harmed Clarke but implied they felt he played a part in her disappearance.

    The FBI is not commenting on the details from Taylor. Meanwhile, Hallahan wants anyone with information about this potential other suspect to call him directly at 434-220-0050.

    http://www.nbc29.com/story/23140117/...ells-his-story
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    Va. prosecutor hopes arrest leads to break in case

    RICHMOND, Va. A prosecutor said Thursday that she hopes an arrest in the suspected abduction of a central Virginia teenager will provide useful information in the investigation of another young woman's disappearance in a nearby county three years ago. However, the suspect's attorney says authorities have arrested the wrong man.

    Randy Allen Taylor, 48, of Lovingston is charged in the Aug. 3 disappearance of 17-year-old Alexis Murphy of Nelson County. The search for Murphy continues.

    Orange County Commonwealth's Attorney Diana Wheeler said in a telephone interview that Taylor has long been a "person of interest" in the September 2010 disappearance of Samantha Clarke, 19. However, authorities never obtained enough evidence to make an arrest. Clarke remains missing.

    "We've always been interested in Mr. Taylor and trying to follow up on every little lead," Wheeler said.

    She recalled an investigator telling her that Taylor had been linked to Murphy's disappearance.

    "My first thought was, 'I knew it!' That was my gut feeling," Wheeler said.

    She said that while she hopes the arrest will lead to a break in the Orange County case, she has not yet reviewed any information that Nelson County authorities have collected.

    The counties are about an hour's drive away, and located on each side of Charlottesville, which sits near rolling mountains and is the home of the University of Virginia and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello home.

    Meanwhile, Taylor's court-appointed attorney contends that his client is innocent.

    Defense lawyer Michael Hallahan told media outlets Wednesday that Murphy was at Taylor's camper with another man on the night she disappeared. He said Taylor bought marijuana from the man and smoked it with him. Hallahan said Murphy and the man left in separate cars. He said Taylor didn't know the man but provided a description of him to investigators.

    A voice message left Thursday evening for Hallahan by The Associated Press was not immediately returned.

    Authorities have said Murphy was last seen around 7 p.m. Aug. 3 when she left her home to go shopping in Lynchburg. Her car was found in the parking lot of a multiplex in Charlottesville three days later.

    After finding a strand of Murphy's hair in Taylor's camper eight days after she was last seen, authorities arrested him on an abduction charge, Hallahan said. Taylor is being held without bond in Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail and faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence if convicted.

    "The evidence is very weak, from what I hear," Hallahan said. "Finding a hair in the residence doesn't mean he abducted her."

    FBI spokeswoman Dee Rybiski declined to comment on Hallahan's statements about the other man or say what evidence has been collected. She said federal, state and local law enforcement agencies have agreed not to say any more publicly about the investigation until they have something substantial to report.

    Wheeler would not say specifically why she was unable to charge Taylor in the Orange County case, but she alluded to the difficulty of bringing a case built on circumstantial evidence and no body.

    "Once you charge and bring someone to trial, that's your one shot," she said. "You'd better be able to make it stand."

    Taylor was a person of interest in Clarke's disappearance because he was the last person to have telephone contact with her, Wheeler said. She said Taylor, who worked as a vehicle repo man, and Clarke had met a few days earlier through some mutual acquaintances. There was no indication of any romantic involvement, she said.

    Last fall, Taylor complained about police investigators' tactics in an interview with The Hook, a Charlottesville weekly newspaper.

    "This case needs to be solved, but the way they're going about it is ridiculous," he told the newspaper.

    Police investigating Clarke's disappearance searched an area in Greene County where Taylor kept a trailer. Taylor told The Hook that police informed his employer he was a suspect in a murder investigation and warned women he was dating. He later was pulled over and arrested on several charges, including illegal possession of a gun, and discovered that police had hidden a GPS device on his car to track his movements. A judge dropped the charges because the tracking device had been placed on the car without a warrant.

    Taylor's arrest and the renewed interest in the Clarke disappearance has prompted speculation about whether he could be connected to other unsolved missing persons cases in the area.

    "That's sort of the question swirling around here," Wheeler said. "There are people checking that out."

    Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/201...#storylink=cpy
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    Relative of missing teen doesn’t believe alibi



    CHARLOTTESVILLE Trina Murphy said she doesn’t buy it: “It’s a story that makes no sense.”

    Twelve days after Murphy’s grandniece, Alexis, 17, of Shipman, went missing, the buzz lingered over an account of the events leading to her disappearance provided by the court-appointed attorney for the man charged with abducting her.

    Randy Allen Taylor, 48, says he bought $60 in marijuana from a man who accompanied Murphy to his tiny camper set on a plot off U.S. 29 in Lovingston, Michael Hallahan, Taylor’s attorney, said Wednesday. The two men smoked marijuana and drank 12-ounce bottles of Icehouse beer inside the camper as Murphy looked on, Hallahan said. She neither smoked nor drank, the lawyer said.

    Murphy and the man, whose name Taylor didn’t know, left in separate cars just before dark Aug. 3, turning onto U.S. 29 North, the lawyer said, and Taylor never saw them again. Murphy was last seen about 7 p.m. that day, authorities said. Her car was found in the Carmike Six parking lot in Charlottesville several days after her disappearance.

    Taylor’s lawyer said his client and Murphy had interacted in the past. She recognized him at the Liberty gas station in Lovingston and told him she knew someone who would sell him marijuana, Hallahan said. Taylor followed Murphy in a separate car, meeting the mystery man at a car wash, the lawyer said.

    Hallahan said Taylor shared his account with authorities.

    “They’ve made no public efforts to try to locate this male,” Hallahan said.

    Authorities declined to comment.

    Taylor described the man as black, in his early 20s, with cornrows and driving a 1990s sedan with 22-inch rims, Hallahan said.

    The case has garnered growing attention since the FBI joined state and local authorities in the search 11 days ago. Authorities arrested Taylor on Sunday after finding a strand of Murphy’s hair in his camper, Hallahan said.

    Agents, state police and Nelson County sheriff’s deputies repeatedly have combed the property where Taylor lived. But authorities pulled out late Wednesday afternoon, shut down a mobile command post in Lovingston and shifted operations to a Charlottesville field office.

    FBI officials remained relatively mum Thursday, reporting that authorities had located “several cellphones.” The FBI declined to elaborate.

    Retired FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt said agents typically would operate out of a mobile command post as long as they needed to be close to a potential crime scene. “There are still other potential scenes out there,” he said.

    Van Zandt said Taylor’s account sounded like something that would “explain physical evidence away.”

    Trina Murphy said she doesn’t think Alexis ever talked to Taylor, although it’s possible the two interacted in tiny Lovingston. She expressed dismay over social media chatter about Alexis’ tweets appearing to reference marijuana.

    “None of us are painting this picture like she’s perfect,” Trina Murphy said. But she said she doesn’t believe Taylor’s claim that after facilitating a purchase of marijuana between him and the other man, Alexis tarried in Taylor’s ramshackle camper as the two men got high.

    “She got you a drug deal and she stood there while you smoke and drink and doesn’t participate?” Trina Murphy said.

    http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/st...dac7dc645.html
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    Courtroom Doors to be Closed for Bond Hearing

    Randy Allen Taylor is scheduled to appear in a Nelson County courtroom on Thursday, but the doors will be closed to the public and media.

    A judge has ordered the courtroom be closed as attorneys argue whether Taylor should be let out on bond.

    A coalition of media outlets, including CBS19, has filed an appeal to allow reporters in.

    CBS19 will be in Nelson County tomorrow with a full report on the latest in this case.

    Taylor is charged with the abduction of Alexis Murphy, who has been missing since August 3.

    http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlin...220567191.html
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    Suspect denied bond in disappearance of Aleixs Murphy

    The man accused of abducting a Nelson County teenager waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday, after a judge ordered him to be held without bond.

    Randy Allen Taylor, 48, made his second appearance in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court since he was charged 12 days ago with abduction in the disappearance of Alexis Murphy.

    Alexis, 17, has been missing since Aug. 3, when family believed she planned to drive to Lynchburg to go shopping.

    Taylor's bond hearing was initially ruled closed to the public, but Judge A. Ellen White vacated her earlier order on a procedural issue that the notification wasn't handled properly.

    Attorney Craig Meritt successfully argued White should open the hearing, but conceded Commonwealth's Attorney Anthony Martin could move to close the hearing when he had to present evidence that could jeopardize the investigation.

    Defense attorney Michael Hallahan argued in favor of his motion for bond, saying up until the bond hearing, "I haven't even heard enough evidence to justify a magistrate swearing out a warrant."

    He said he has identified another person as having seen Murphy more recently than Taylor and has given that information to law enforcement.

    He said of Taylor, "he may be a suspect, but he's not the culprit."

    Martin asked to close the hearing before making the commonwealth's case against bond.

    The hearing was opened again for the attorneys' closing statements.

    Hallahan admitted a presumption against bond existed since abduction is a serious felony and Taylor's criminal history includes a recent probation violation.

    But, he said, the commonwealth's case is weak, adding the pending probation violation case against Taylor related to restitution, which could be cleared up "in a matter of days."

    He said the evidence Martin presented Thursday "doesn't even come close to making out an abduction charge."

    http://www.roanoke.com/news/2169714-...ng-nelson.html
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    Randy Taylor in Court, Trial Date Set for Probation Violation

    The prime suspect in the disappearance of a Nelson County teenager emerged from jail Thursday morning. Randy Allen Taylor, 48, made a brief appearance in Albemarle Circuit Court – for another case.

    Taylor is charged with abducting Alexis Murphy but he appeared in court Thursday on a separate matter without his attorney, Mike Hallahan.

    Taylor now faces allegations of probation violation on a 2005 arson conviction. Court records reveal this is the second charge of probation violation on the same conviction - he pleaded guilty to setting a car on fire almost eight years ago.

    Part of his sentence required him to pay back more than $6,000 to replace money Taylor collected from an insurance company. In June 2011, he appeared in court on the first probation violation for not paying that money. He was put on a monthly payment plan but hasn't paid since last January.

    The new probation violation came up during last week's bond hearing in the Alexis Murphy case as a reason for the court to keep Taylor in jail.

    Thursday, the court ruled Taylor will be tried on the probation violation December 2.

    http://www.nbc29.com/story/23289448/...tion-violation
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