Brittanee Drexel’s mother wants ‘everything taken away’ from SC man who killed daughter
Brittanee Drexel’s mother is seeking complete justice for her daughter from Raymond Moody, who was convicted of raping and murdering Drexel in 2009.
The trial for a personal injury lawsuit filed by Dawn Conley, Drexel’s mother, against Moody in 2023 began Monday. Conley said Moody caused her emotional distress, to which Moody admitted guilt.
The jury is expected to determine damages awarded to Conley on Tuesday. The lawsuit asked for an undetermined amount.
Moody killed Drexel on April 25, 2009. The case remained unsolved until he came forward and pleaded guilty to murder, kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct in 2022. He is serving a life sentence plus 60 years at the Kirkland Correctional Institution in Richland County, South Carolina, the lawsuit stated.
The jury heard opening statements and testimony from three witnesses, including Conley, Monday afternoon. Moody appeared in court without a lawyer. He offered only one statement outside of declining to offer an opening statement or witnesses.
“I’m completely guilty as charged and I have no defense for my behavior,” Moody said.
Conley filed the suit to hold Moody accountable in every way possible, her lawyer Roy Willey said during opening statements.
“I wanted to set a precedent that the people who commit these crimes and do what Mr. Moody did to my daughter, they need everything taken away from them because they took the most precious thing they could have taken away from me,” Conley said on the witness stand. “It’s about the principle.”
Willey said Moody owns an inherited piece of property, which the lawyer said he wants seized and the proceeds given to Conley. The land is worth is less than what Conley has spent traveling to and from Myrtle Beach over the past 16 years, according to Willey.
What happened to Drexel?
During spring break 2009, Drexel and her friends came to Myrtle Beach without her mother knowing. On April 25, 2009, Drexel left the Blue Water Resort around 9 p.m. and ran into Moody and his girlfriend, Angel Vause, who were in a vehicle.
The couple abducted the teenager into Moody’s car where he then drove her to the woods in Georgetown County.
Moody said he had hoped to get Drexel under the influence of marijuana and have consensual sex with him. When that didn’t happen, he raped and strangled her. Then he wrapped her body in a blanket and buried it in a wooded area in Georgetown County.
Vause had left the campsite with Drexel’s phone during Moody’s encounter with the victim, records show.
Vause is in prison for lying to FBI agents about Drexel’s murder. During the 2022 investigation of Moody, Vause told the FBI while Moody was assaulting Drexel, she went to her house to grab her keys, The Sun News previously reported. She was actually driving a different direction for a different purpose, The Sun News previously reported.
She also said Drexel willfully got into Moody’s car and ingested marijuana, according to court records.
A mother who never stopped
A large portion of testimony included showing how Conley never stopped looking for her daughter. She said she spent two years traveling between her home in New York and Myrtle Beach before moving to the Grand Strand. She later moved to Florida but still travels to South Carolina when needed.
While searching for Drexel, Conley would frequently check in with law enforcement on her case as well as organize search parties or hand out flyers about Drexel’s disappearance.
FBI Agent Michael Connelly, who began working on Drexel’s case in 2016, testified that his team spoke with Conley almost everyday.
“Her persistence is incredible. She’s driven to get justice for her daughter,” Connelly said.
This story was originally published February 24, 2025 at 6:11 PM.
