Girlfriend of man who killed Brittanee Drexel in Myrtle Beach area admits role in case

Angel Vause, the girlfriend of convicted killer Raymond Moody, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of making false statements to the FBI about what happened the night Brittanee Drexel was murdered, court records show.

The New York teenager 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.

Moody said he and Vause kidnapped the 17-year-old off the Myrtle Beach strip, brought her to a campground in Georgetown where he raped and strangled her. Moody is serving a life sentence for the crime.

Vause lied to FBI agents during the 2022 investigation of Moody, telling them while Moody was raping and murdering Drexel, she 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.

The United States also charged her with a third count of making false statements, alleging Vause told agents that Drexel was in possession of her cell phone when actually Vause had the phone. This charge was dropped in the plea deal.

Vause was charged on March 26 and arrested shortly after. She pled guilty on July 24. Vause faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $500,000, court records state.

What happened to Drexel?

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.