Girlfriend of Brittanee Drexel’s killer to change plea after rejecting deal last month

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — The girlfriend of Brittanee Drexel’s killer will be in a federal courtroom next week where she’s expected to change her plea after rejecting a deal last month on two charges of lying to investigators, a Tuesday filing shows.

Angel Vause, 56, turned down a deal on Aug. 28 that would have seen her admit to two counts of making false statements to federal agents during their probe into the 2009 disappearance of Drexel, 17-year-old from Rochester, New York, last seen in Myrtle Beach on spring break.

She’s now due to appear before U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel at 10 a.m. on Sept. 9 in Charleston.

Vause was indicted in March for lying to the FBI as they investigated Raymond Moody, a Georgetown man now serving a life sentence after confessing to Drexel’s rape and muder.

In July, Vause agreed to plead guilty in U.S. District Court in Charleston to two counts of making false statements to federal agents — each carrying a penalty of five years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

But on Aug. 15 — the planned date of her sentencing — both sides agreed to a 10-day continuance after the penalty was upgraded to a maximum of eight years for each count.

“In light of Ms. Vause’s rejection of the plea, we’re currently preparing for trial and considering all our options … Those options include potentially seeking a superseding indictment to include a federal kidnapping charge,” First United States Attorney Brook B. Andrews told News13 last week.

Court records show that jury selection is slated for Nov. 18, with the trial expected to last through Nov. 22. If convicted of a kidnapping charge, she could face years in prison.

Moody confessed in October 2022 to killing Drexel. 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 cellphone the entire time, but it was later proven that Vause 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.

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