Brittanee Drexel Case: Suspect Charged After Her Body Is Found 13 Years Later

More than a decade after Brittanee Drexel disappeared during a spring break trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C., authorities have found the 17-year-old's remains and charged suspect Raymond Moody with murder.

By Gabrielle Chung May 17, 2022 12:15 AMTags
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The family of missing teen Brittanee Drexel finally have answers 13 years after her disappearance. The 17-year-old New Yorker vanished in 2009 while on spring break at Myrtle Beach, S.C.

In a press conference on May 16, Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver and other South Carolina law enforcement officials announced that Brittanee's body was found on May 11 and a suspect—identified as 62-year-old Raymond Moody—has been charged with murder, kidnapping and criminal sexual misconduct in the first degree in connection to her death.

All of Moody's alleged crimes occurred on April 25, 2009, the same day the teenager was last heard from, according to Weaver.

Appearing alongside authorities who worked on the case, Brittanee's mom Dawn Drexel told reporters, "This is truly a mother's worst nightmare. I am mourning my beautiful daughter today, as I have for the last 13 years. We are much closer to the peace that I have been desperately hoping for."

"I am slowly processing everything that has come to light," she continued, adding that the tragic discovery of her daughter's remains "marks the beginning of a new chapter. The search for Brittanee is now a pursuit of Brittanee's justice." 

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At the press conference, Weaver did not say how the teen died, though an arrest affidavit obtained by E! News alleged that Moody "did, with malice aforethought, unlawfully caused the death of the Victim (Brittanee Drexel) by means of strangulation."

Weaver noted to reporters during the briefing that Brittanee was dead when she was buried. He confirmed that her remains were positively identified through dental records.

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Online jail records obtained by E! News show Moody, who Weaver described as a man with an "extensive sex offender criminal history," has been in police custody since May 4 on an obstruction charge. His initial $100,000 bond has been revoked in light of the new charges and he is currently being held without bail, according to Georgetown County solicitor Jimmy Richardson

"In the coming months, we will move to seek justice for Brittanee and we'll be talking about arraignments and indictments and hearings," Richardson said during the press conference. "We're going to do our very best to see that Raymond Moody pays for what he's done, but that is not going to replace Brittanee."

 

Prior to accusing Moody of Brittanee's murder, federal authorities named Timothy Taylor as a suspect in the teenager's disappearance during a bond hearing on unrelated charges stemming from a 2011 McDonald's robbery for which he was convicted and sentenced to probation and time served, per ABC 4. In a statement to the outlet on May 16, a public affairs officer for the FBI said that they are "confident that with Moody's arrest we have the man responsible for Brittanee's murder" and their investigation into Taylor "has been concluded."

E! News has reached out to the FBI for further comment and has not heard back. Attorney information for Moody was not immediately available.

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