Longtime girlfriend of Raymond Moody admits lying to investigators in Brittanee Drexel case

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — The longtime girlfriend of a man convicted in the kidnapping and murder of Brittanee Drexel could face 10 years in prison for lying to authorities during their investigation.

On Wednesday, Angel Vause agreed to plead guilty in U.S. District Court in Charleston to two counts of making false statements to federal agents — each carries maximum penalties of five years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

Vause, 56, was indicted in March for lying to the FBI. Her boyfriend Raymond Moody is serving a life sentence for the murder of Drexel, a 17-year-old from New York last seen while on spring break in Myrtle Beach in 2009.

Moody confessed in October 2022 . Five months earlier, Vause told an FBI agent she went home to get keys from a truck while Drexel was being assaulted and killed, but the indictments said she was actually going somewhere else.

Authorities also said Vause told the FBI that Drexel had her cell phone the entire time, when it was proven that Vause actually had it before tossing it somewhere between Georgetown and Charleston.

Prosecutors said Vause played a critical role in forcing Moody’s confession, because they initially built a case against her before he claimed responsibility.

Prosecutors said there was enough to charge Vause with being an accessory, but they chose to focus on Moody instead.

“A lot of times as law enforcement…you have to make a deal with the getaway driver to get the armed robber,” 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said at a news conference following Moody’s sentencing. “I don’t mean to minimize this. She’s got more to do. She would’ve been an accessory, but we had to proffer Angel.”

Federal court documents filed on Wednesday didn’t include a sentencing date for Vause.

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