Timothy Taylor is no longer a suspect in Drexel murder. Is he owed an apology?
The recent revelations surrounding the 13-year disappearance of Brittanee Drexel appears to have cleared a man long considered a primary suspect.
Police arrested and charged Raymond Moody, 62, with kidnapping, raping and murdering Drexel, who went missing from Myrtle Beach in 2009 when she was 17. He confessed to his crimes and led authorities to where her remains were buried, according to the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office.
Moody was considered a person of interest as early as 2011, when police raided his room at the Sunset Lodge, but the person most frequently linked to the Rochester, New York teen’s disappearance in recent years was Timothy De’Shaun Taylor.
FBI officials publicly named Taylor as a person of interest in 2016 after jailhouse informants told authorities they had witnessed Taylor and others sexually assaulting her at a “stash house” in McClellanville.
In response to questions about whether Moody’s arrest meant Taylor was dismissed as a suspect, an FBI spokesman noted they believe they’ve arrested and charged the person responsible for Drexel’s murder, but law enforcement has an obligation to follow leads to their conclusion.
The lead involving Taylor was closed years ago, FBI spokesman Kevin Wheeler told The Sun News.
But that acknowledgment hardly represents justice for Taylor, according to the civil rights activist who long fought to clear his name.
“I think (law enforcement officials) need to give (Taylor) an open, public apology,” John C. Barnett said.
Taylor charged twice for same robbery as info sought on disappearance
Barnett led a rally in early 2018 in McClellanville protesting Taylor’s incarceration because he had nothing to do with Drexel’s disappearance.
Taylor never faced charges related to the missing person case, but he was federally charged in 2016 for his involvement in a 2011 armed robbery, a crime he had already served time for at the state level.
An FBI agent admitted during Taylor’s 2016 bond hearing that they sought the charges, in part, because they suspected he was involved in Drexel’s disappearance, according to previous Sun News reporting, and he was offered a plea deal if he told investigators what happened to her.
Taylor’s defense attorney at the time said Taylor, who was 16 when Drexel was reported missing, was actually in class when jailhouse informants alleged he was at the stash house.
Taylor was ultimately granted a sentence in late 2019 of time served plus probation.
Family faced threats as media linked Taylor and Drexel
Despite Taylor being free, Barnett said the “media lynching” — with numerous news outlets continuously linking Taylor with Drexel — has had a profound negative impact on Taylor and his family for many years.
The Sun News wrote about Taylor in connection with Drexel’s disappearance, based on law enforcement statements, on multiple occasions.
Taylor’s family members faced consistent death threats, and his father had to change his phone number as a result, Barnett said.
“It’s been hell,” Taylor’s mother said after the 2018 rally. “I mean, we have people threatening us, we get obscene messages, I’ve lost my job of 11 years.”
This story was originally published May 18, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
