Naman Shrestha
When Brittanee Drexel disappeared out of thin air during spring break in 2009, her family and friends got worried and informed the police about it while searching for her themselves. The search did not yield any results as there was no sign of the 17-year-old anywhere until 13 years later. NBC’s ‘Dateline: The Last Walk’ and ’20:20: Into the Darkness’ walk us through the intricate details of the case, including the events that led to the tragedy and more than a decade-long investigation that followed.
Raymond Moody Had Served Time Already Before Killing Brittanee Drexel
A couple of years after the disappearance of Brittanee Drexel, Raymond Moody became a person of interest for the first time in 2011 while the investigators were conducting a search at a Georgetown motel where he had stayed around the time of the teenager’s vanishing. At the time, he had just been released from prison after serving half of his 40-year sentence in California for sexual assaults. Moreover, the day after Brittanee’s disappearance, he was pulled over by the police for a traffic violation. Upon scouring through the motel, the police could not find any incriminating evidence against Raymond. Thus, they did not dig deeper into him.
However, in April 2022, the police came back at Raymond’s neck when his girlfriend Angel Vause, whom he had dated for years, turned against him and decided to help the FBI by wearing a wire and getting him to confess what he did to Brittanee. Then, on May 5, 2022, Raymond finally opened up about what he did to the teenager. He admitted that he and Angel were driving in Myrtle Beach when they noticed Brittanee alone and offered her to join them for a party. As per his claims, she got into the car willingly and the three of them drove to a campsite in Georgetown County. Sometime later in the party, Angel left for a while, and Raymond told the 17-year-old that he wanted to do something physical.
When Brittanee refused his offer, he ended up raping her and strangling her, before wrapping up her body in a blanket and hiding her deep in the woods. Upon returning to the campsite, Angel enquired about Brittanee and Raymond told her that her friends swung by and picked her up. When things got quiet around the campsite, he returned to the scene and moved the buried body to another location, where the body stayed for about 13 years or so. He even threw away her phone in the North Santee River. As per the claims of her former lover Ernest Merchant, he turned up at her house unannounced two days after Brittanee’s disappearance. His face even consisted of some claw marks.
Thanks to the emergence of new evidence, including enhanced surveillance video and her cell phone that allowed the authorities to track her movements on the fateful day. Thus, in light of all the evidence, in May 2022, they were able to arrest him on charges of murder, kidnapping, and first-degree criminal sexual conduct. He allegedly confessed to the crimes and after that, even led the police to the site where he had buried Brittanee about 13 years ago. After excavating the burial site for three days, on May 11, 2022, they found the remains of a human in the woods just outside Georgetown, approximately four feet into the ground. Then, on May 15, 2022, the remains were identified as Brittanee’s through dental records and DNA.
The following day, the police and her family made the information public. Loved ones had quite a few things to say, including her mother Dawn Drexel. Admitting that she went numb and engulfed in anger, she said, “To be honest with you, I hope he rots in hell.” Meanwhile, her father John Kahyaohlu stated, “There’s no such thing as closure. We have to live with this for the rest of our lives. We have to learn how to live with it.”
Raymond Moody Was Brought to Justice and is Currently Serving His Life Sentence
A few months after his arrest, Raymond Moody stood trial for the murder of Brittanee Drexel. During the trial, he finally pleaded guilty to all the charges against him on October 19, 2022. Subsequently, he also received a life sentence for the first-degree murder charge and consecutive terms of 30 years for the charges of kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct. Brittanee’s mother, Dawn, said a few words to Raymond in the court. “I am so glad my daughter was feisty, she fought back. She fought for her life. We know now she scratched the hell out of your head, face, and neck,” she said.
“You will forever carry the scars of what my daughter did to you, and I hope you are haunted by what you did to her,” Dawn carried on. After his sentencing, Raymond addressed everyone at the court, saying, “I was a monster, and I took Brittanee Drexel’s life. I don’t have the words to express how horrible I feel and have felt since that day.” At present, the convict is serving his life sentence behind bars at the Lieber Correctional Institution at 136 Wilborn Avenue in Ridgeville, South Carolina.
