Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Phony Veteran extends court case, upsets those who believed in him

Benjamin Terril was a no-show in court today.

The former Buchtel High science teacher, whom the government says masqueraded as a war hero, let his attorney do the talking. (See my posts below for the original stories)

Thanks to his legal representative, Terril's next court date is a suppression hearing set for Dec. 10. Defense attorneys plan to fight the seizure of drugs and other things that police took following Terril's Sept. 1 arrest for pointing a loaded gun at another man's head. He's facing several felony charges and serious jail time if convicted.

In the meantime, I'll let you in on a number of background stories that are now materializing:
  • Many claims that Terril has been wearing a military uniform among real soldiers as recently as a few months ago to include presenting himself as a winner of two Silver Stars, the award just below the Medal of Honor.
  • Multiple people tell me that Terril often spoke of dead or ailing relatives to gain sympathy -- relatives many now doubt ever existed.
  • Stories from those who knew Terril 30 years ago and claim that he was playing make-believe with war stories and ghost relatives as far back as his college days.
I'll have an updated story on the air soon, but right now hardly a day goes by that I don't get a call or email from yet another person, including former Buchtel students, who knew Ben Terril and was completely fooled by his stories.

Clearly, this man has influenced a lot of local lives, and a great many of them -- young and old -- now feel let down.

Stay tuned ... Eric

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The more I read about this one, the more I can't belive it. Please keep us posted on the progress and outcome of the prosecution. I thought that claiming you had a silver star and impersonating an officer was a crime. Hope they give him what he deserves for all of the charges that he is guilty of. And keep him from every spreading his crap to kids in our schools ever again.

Anonymous said...

Sigh...and to think there were some foolish high school students that actually hero-worshipped the man. Hope his lawyers don't try to get him off on some previously nonexistent technicality they pull out of their buttocks. He should get put away for a long time.

amused2death said...

When it comes right down to it... All the stories about lies and deception at the hands of Mr. Terril aren't all that disturbing, more like they were expected. He even lied about his religion so he could get a date with my (then) underage sister. She was 16 going on 17 and he was 23. I am not surprised that he threatened a special needs child... 28 years ago he threatened me with a switchblade. (I was 14 yrs. old and he was 24 at the time) He's always been a liar and I generally equate him to a pimple on the buttocks of society. Even when he knew he had been caught in a lie he would just try to lie his way out of it. Credit where credit is due, he could shmooze almost anyone.... and just think! He's had almost 30 years to work on his game..... Those poor kids..... such a let-down.... But then again, he always was.

Anonymous said...

This doesn't surprise me in the least. I am only surprised that it took so long for him to get caught. His Dad was never in a VA hospital. He lived close to the parks in Canton and loved doing wood carving with his wife upstairs cooking - they had a nice little split level place with a basement turned into a workshop. They had two cute little dogs and probably ate all the lies as they stood proudly reciting the successes of their son they raised, un-enounced that he was and is a pathological liar. If they are still alive, spare them the pain...

Put him away for a very long time and don't believe him. Keep him off the streets and away from our children!!

All the true Vets need to stand up and make sure he finds out what defend and serve really means - anyone for a blanket party!!!! If the local courts don't get him someone needs to call in the Feds. There has to be a law against falsifying a Military Career and receiving the highest honor, not once but twice. We that have served know the price we paid to earn those medals and when we received them accepted with silent honor and continued the mission.

Looks like after a quarter of a century later he just got better at make believe but forgot he is pushing senior citizenship. Had he waited another 15 years or so he could have claimed temporary insanity. This is not a temporary thing - this is signs of severe mental illness and all of us that have gotten away made the right choice!

He needs to be placed on one of those lists like the sex offenders - we need to protect our neighborhoods from him. If given the chance he will just pick up the story, change it a little, and start all over again. He's not to be trusted and especially not with our future! Does someone have him under surveillance to make sure he makes court in a couple weeks? I am taking wagers he no longer resides in Akron and has skipped to his next adventure. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed but he will prick you if you are not careful...

Oh - hey Ben - if you do read this and you probably won't because you are a coward - you may want to try the truth from now on - that is if you know what the truth really is after all these years.

Anonymous said...

Ive known Ben for 30 years . He's never hurt anyone as far as I can recall. He is obviously a long winded BSer and a dreamer. He took me in when I had noplace to live . I mean I was really down on my luck-I had hit rock bottom . If it hadn't been for Ben, my life may not had turned out as well as it has. I won't deny he's had his brushes with the law , but when confronted about his distortions of the truth , he would shrug his shoulders and say " okay you got me". He was always a gun nut, but being a gun owner doesn't make him a terrorist, a Nazi or a member of the KKK . Furthermore he was a certified range officer in Broward County (Markham Park),and he is a expert with handguns and rifles. I have seen the paychecks and have been target shooting with him. Ben and I both are products of a time when it was difficult or impossible to find work of anykind.....padding your resume to some degree was the norm . He has been a teacher for over 12 years you can't tell me hasn't done a good job in all that time because he lost his temper and blew up at some loudmouth kid! Whats happening is your demonizing Ben Terril-maybe just to feel better about yourselves.

Anonymous said...

It's not so much demoralizing Ben Terril as it's telling it like it is...and some of us are rightfully angry with him. I'll admit he helped me and some of my friends a lot when we knew him, and sure, he was actually a good teacher--almost as good a teacher as he was a liar--but he still fooled people and lied to them. Padding your resume up a bit is still a far cry from donning a fake uniform and masquerading around as a war hero to gain admiration from one and all(ever heard of the Stolen Valor Act?). Also, he was known for more than one or two occasions to act inappropriately towards female students, even regardless of age barriers...or the fact that he was a teacher. No matter how you try to gloss it over, Terril was nothing more than a sick, deceitful old man that needs to be kept away from the kids permanently.

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