Sunday, November 25, 2012

Killer Dentist Kenneth Taylor

Notes on the Case of Domestic Abuse Victim Teresa Taylor
by Traciy Curry-Reyes 


A brief sketch of Kenneth Z Taylor

Kenneth Z. Taylor,35, was a dentist in Manalapan Township. He had been married 3 times. He abused both of his previous wives. He left the first wife right after she gave birth to their baby. He tried to smother second wife with Chloroform. The third wife was Teresa Taylor who he abused and ultimately killed. Others who knew him described him as a maniac who was completely obsessed with himself. He was a very angry man, who was abusive toward women in general. He also hated people of color, and he hated dealing with them at the clinic.

Murder and Adoption

In November 1984, Taylor bludgeoned his wife Teresa to death with a barbell in their home at 23 Valley road. Their son Philip was then 6 months old. Taylor drove with his infant son in the car with the body of his mother in the trunk of the car. A few days later Taylor disposed of the body in a location that he felt Teresa would've liked. Teresa was only 25 years old at the time. Kenneth Taylor has his trial and is convicted of murder. He is sentenced to 30 years in prison without parole. After Taylor goes to prison a custody battle ensues over the son Philip Taylor.

Teresa’s sister Celeste Benigno White is granted custody, and Ken Taylor’s parents were given visitation rights during certain parts of the year. Ken Taylor’s parents were outraged by the agreement. They secretly adopted the boy in their home town of Indiana, and while the child was visiting his grandparents in 1986, he was not returned to the Whites. The Whites fought back, but the court process was not moving along very quickly.  Peter Maas wrote an article about the case entitled "Legacy of a Mother's Murder.” After the article appeared, an Indiana judge quickly ruled the adoption invalid, and Philip was returned to Celeste White.

Tibits
Peter Maas was working on writing a novel at the time, but he became so intrigued with the case that he dropped everything to pursue writing the book on this case.

While on their honeymoon, Ken Taylor, beat his young wife Teresa so badly that she lost some teeth. Ken was the one who fixed her teeth.

There was a suggestion that it was possible that he may have been a victim of abuse himself as a child.

He cheated on his second wife with Teresa who was working as a hygienist at his clinic according to the second wife.

His case was also featured in Medical Murderers from the Files of True Detective Magazine

10 comments:

  1. I only now read the book. The book was published when I was 10 years old. I am a mother of two, and I have to say...my heart really goes out to the Benigno Family and their friends. I am very happy that the Whites actually got custody of the child, although it was dragged out and must have been hell for them. All I can say is may God bless this family.
    From Karen in Newfoundland, Canada.

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  2. This is one of my absolute favorite made for tv movies!

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  3. I have a few questions, I first want to say what a fan I am of your true movie sites. Their so awesome.

    I've heard that his first wife was nine months pregnant and hadn't yet given birth to the baby. Did they change this in the movie/real life? I just watched it and they say his first wife was pregnant when he left her.

    Have you found any info on Kenneth's parents deaths? I did find a tributes.com page for both his parents Everett L Taylor and Jean K Taylor both their ages and years of death match so I believe this is them they lived in Fort White, FL.

    I've seen it mentioned that Kenneth had a daughter in the movie Astrid?, not sure which marriage she was from. Did he have children with each wife (for a total of three) what happened to those children? I think Astrid was from his second because in the movie after he asked Theresa to marry him he's seen putting Astrid to bed then your given the idea that he and his ex go to bed. I seriously doubt it's the first because who'd forgive a man for running out on her when she's 9 months pregnant?

    His brother Tom, he's mentioned at the wedding but never again in the movie.

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  4. My favorites TV movie ....Thanks for sharing....

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  5. Why lifetime never air this movie it is a great movie. And does he have a release date to get out of prison

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  6. Kenneth Z. Taylor,35, was a dentist in Manalapan Township. He had been married 3 times. He abused both of his previous wives. like this dental site

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  7. i cannot understand for the life of me that he will be getting out of Prison after, not only what he did, but the way he did it, the way he cafrried Teresa's dead body around for days, lied to his mentally sick pafrents about Teresa wanting them to have their child. If the White family does not go into hiding he will be seeking them out to try and gain control of his son, he should be placed into general population in the prison that would solve the problem.

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  8. Cannot believe this scum may actually already be out of prison. I have run name and birthday through New Jersey Department of Corrections, nothing. Absolutely nothing.c

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  9. His son is grown and married.

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  10. Ok, so Ken's 30 years are up on November 16th, 2014. Does that mean he will definitely be released? I haven't seen anything about needing parole, so his sentence will be viewed as "served." He completed all 30 years. What happens on November 16th?

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