Girlfriend of Brittanee Drexel’s murderer admits to lying about teen’s phone in abduction
The girlfriend of Raymond Moody, the man who murdered 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about possessing the teenager’s phone, according to court documents.
Angel Vause, 56, pleaded guilty to a third count of making false statements to federal agents on Sept. 9. In July, she pleaded guilty to two counts of the same charge, The Sun News reported.
Drexel disappeared in 2009 while on a trip to Myrtle Beach. The case went unsolved until 2022 when Moody admitted to the crime. Her case gained national attention and became the subject of TV documentaries and numerous stories.
During the 2022 investigation, Vause told police Drexel had possession of her cell phone after being abducted by Moody and Vause when Vause had the phone.
The two other charges are for when Vause told agents while Moody was raping and murdering Drexel, Vause was going to her house to grab her keys. She was actually driving a different direction for a different purpose. She also said Drexel willfully got into Moody’s car and ingested marijuana when Drexel was abducted, according to court records.
What are the facts in the Drexel case?
Drexel was last seen alone leaving the Blue Water Resort on Ocean Boulevard the night of April 25, 2009, according to previous reporting. Investigators relied on advancements to technology to pinpoint the location of Drexel’s phone as it traveled around Georgetown County.
Officials said during a court hearing that agencies were able to determine when Drexel was no longer walking but traveling by vehicle because her phone was moving about 60 mph. Officials were able to identify the vehicle Drexel had been in and the vehicle was linked to Moody.
Moody told investigators that he and his girlfriend at the time, Angel Vause, had went to Myrtle Beach to a party when they saw Drexel walking by herself down the street. Moody alleges Drexel willingly got in the car with them to smoke marijuana, and that’s when they headed to Moody’s campground in Georgetown.
Moody said he had hoped under the influence of marijuana, Drexel would have consensual sex with him. But, when that didn’t happen, he forced her to take off her clothes and proceeded to rape her before strangling her and wrapping up her body in a blanket.
Vause wasn’t around when the crimes were committed, officials said. Moody later came back to the site, where he disposed of her body, and buried it in a wooded area.
Moody has seven prior convictions from 1983 for kidnapping and raping a minor. He served a little over 20 years, but he was sentenced to 40 years.
In previous reporting, Drexel’s mother Dawn Pleckan pointed out how her daughter had to pay for the justice system’s mistake of allowing Moody to get out early for his past crimes. If Moody served his full time, he would’ve been locked up until 2023.
