In a new interview with authorities, Raymond Moody details how he and his wife allegedly lured 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel into their vehicle with coordinated rape plan, but she was unaware he planned to kill their victim.
More than two years after pleading guilty for for the murder of Brittanee Drexel, 17 years old at the time of her death in 2009, Raymond Moody has told FBI agents that his longtime girlfriend Angel Cooper Vause was deeply involved in most of that crime.
After his May 2022 arrest and October 2022 guilty plea, Moody spoke in a new interview on November 13, 2024 where he promised to share the “complete and truthful information about the abduction, rape, and murder of Brittanee,” per a sentencing memorandum obtained by ABC affiliate WCIV.
His agreement purportedly comes as part of an agreement that will see the Drexel family allow a portion of his property to remain in a trust for Vause’s grandchildren.
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Moody Details Drexel’s Abduction
Drexel was visiting Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for spring break when she was abducted on April 25, 2009. According to Moody’s newest statement, he and Vause together “were hunting” for a girl that night when they saw Drexel walking.
In his new statement, Moody said that he was surprised when Vause texted him she “had always fantasized about snatching some girl.” Prior to that, he said he’d only ever done that alone.
He told investigators that he responded, “So you want to go hunting with me, huh?” to which she sent back, “Yeah.” He also shared that they’d previous had consensual sex together with another woman.
Moody said that Vause lured Drexel to their car by telling her they were tourists, as well, offering her a ride back to her hotel. He said that he was initially driving, but then pretended to be lost. At that point, Vause took over behind the wheel while Moody says he restrained Drexel in the back seat.
He said that he told the teen he often kidnaps girls and demands ransom money from the City Chamber of Commerce, per WCIV, to the tune of $5,000. But that was, of course, never the actual plan.
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Instead, the couple took Drexel to a tent they’d set up, per his statement. He said that Vause left him and the teen alone in the tent while she went back to their apartment for the keys, but told him not to rape Drexel until her return.
Investigators said that according to Moody, the plan had always been that they would rape their victim together. He said that after Vause returned with the keys to the apartment, he left her there with Drexel while he returned to the apartment for his sex toys, which he kept in a briefcase.
Moody told authorities that Vause had time to release Drexel was away, and that upon his return, he raped the victim while Vause was present. He did not, however, recall her taking part in the assault. He also said that his girlfriend did not know the totality of his intentions toward Drexel, namely that he intended to kill her.
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Drexel’s Murder
He’d never killed anyone before, Moody told investigators, but killed Drexel by strangling her with a yellow nylon rope. Vause was in the tent and present for Drexel’s death, according to the court document.
Moody added that after he’d strangled Drexel, he stabbed her with an ice pick through the heart. He then said he wrapped her body in a sleeping bag or a blanket and Vause drove with him to their apartment with Drexel’s body in the truck.
The convicted killer said that both he and Vause slept for a while. It was during this time, according to Moody, that Vause expressed she was scared, which left him worried she might confess to what had happened.
As such, Moody said he disposed of Drexel’s body alone, leaving her there for 13 years until he led police to her burial site after his 2022 confession to her murder.
He said that after killing her, he slowly disposed of her personal items, starting with her phone that night, which he threw into the North Santee River. Her purse and wallet he put into a Salvation Army box in Georgetown, discarding the torn-up contents of her wallet out the window of his car as he drove around to different random places.
Moody continued that he disposed of her school ID and the tent, but kept the ice pick for years. Eventually, he told authorities he got paranoid about keeping it, and so tossed it into a pond.
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Moody Confesses to Drexel Murder
In May 2022, 10 years after police had first considered him as a person of interest, Moody turned himself in to the Sheriff’s Office on an obstruction of justice charge. He confessed to the assault and murder of Drexel and led police to where her remains were found on May 11.
On October 19, 2022, Moody pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping, first-degree criminal sexual misconduct, and murder. He was sentenced to life in prison and two consecutive 30-year terms.
On September 29, 2024, Vause pleaded guilty to three counts of lying to federal agents in connection to what happened to Drexel in 2009. She is set to be sentenced on February 13 at the J. Waties Waring Judicial Center in Charleston.
“He’s where he belongs and she needs to go where she belongs,” said Drexel’s mother Dawn Conley after Vause’s confession, according to ABC affiliate WPDE.
“I just have no words. She’s a mom and a grandmother. How could you do this to a human being?” she continued. “I don’t think you ever get closure after losing a child. She will pay for what she did to my daughter.”
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