Dateline NBC: What Happened to Brittanee Drexel?

Dateline NBC plans to re-examine the murder case of Brittanee Drexel, who vanished from Myrtle Beach in April 2009. The episode, titled “The Last Walk,” will dive deeper into the case and reveal why the authorities took 13 long years to solve it. The episode will air on the network on Sunday, February 25, at 9 p.m. ET.

In April 2009, Drexel lied to her mother about staying at her friend’s house in Rochester, New York, and went on a trip to Myrtle Beach. As per People Magazine, on April 25, 2009, the young woman visited her friend at the Blue Water Resort, Ocean Boulevard. A few moments later, she messaged her boyfriend and said she was returning to her hotel. Unfortunately, she went silent soon after, and no one heard from her again. While authorities initiated the investigation, they failed to find Brittanee Drexel.

In 2011, police searched a motel in Georgetown, as per ABC News. They conducted a search operation after getting the information that a registered sex offender, Raymond Moody, was living there at the time of Drexel’s vanishing. However, they couldn’t find any connection.

In May 2022, the authorities discovered the human remains of Brittanee Drexel, reported The Washington Post. It took the authorities over 13 years to have a breakthrough in the case and arrest Moody for the murder of Brittanee Drexel. As per the outlet, police charged Moody with murder, kidnapping, and criminal sex conduct in the first degree. He pleaded guilty to murdering the young girl. As a result, the court sentenced him to life in prison, per ABC News.

How was Brittanee Drexel’s murder case solved?

As per ABC News, authorities re-examined Drexel’s cell phone data and surveillance footage in 2019. Subsequently, the police pinpointed the exact locations of her phone at various points. Most importantly, the investigators achieved a breakthrough after learning about the precise location when something happened to Brittanee Drexel.

During the investigation, police discovered that her phone seemed to be moving at a walking speed at first. However, it started operating at a speed of over 55 mph. According to ABC News, authorities determined she got inside a vehicle. Meanwhile, they looked at the surveillance footage of that day again and discovered a vehicle in the video. The investigators linked that vehicle to Raymond Moody.

Subsequently, they interviewed Moody’s then-girlfriend, Angel Vause, and learned more about the case. Citing Vause’s interview, WMBF News reported that Moody had weird fantasies about abducting girls. She said, “I’m suspicious she may not be the only one.”

Court sentenced Moody to life in prison

On the other hand, People Magazine noted that Vause helped the FBI by wearing a mic and talking to Moody about Brittanee Drexel. In May 2022, Moody finally confessed what he did to the young girl. During the interrogation, Moody revealed that Drexel got into his car “voluntarily.” As per the confession, Moody had the desire to have sex with Drexel. However, he raped her when she refused to have sex with him.

After sexually assaulting her, he killed the 17-year-old girl by strangling her. Before the sentencing, Moody called himself a “monster” and apologized to everyone. This was the second time he appeared in court for a similar crime. In 1983, Moody was convicted of abducting and raping a nine-year-old, per New York Post. Meanwhile, in Brittanee Drexel’s case, he was sent to prison for life.

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