Seventeen‑year‑old Brittanee Drexel left her home in Chili, New York, in April 2009 with plans her mother did not approve of. She told her mom she was spending time with friends, but in reality she was heading to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for spring break. Dawn Drexel, her mother, had refused to let her go. She worried about the lack of supervision and even had an unsettling feeling, saying later she had a premonition that “something bad would happen.”
Yet Brittanee left anyway on April 22, 2009. She checked into the Bar Harbor Hotel with friends, and a few days later she phoned home. “I’m at the beach,” she said. Her mother assumed she meant a beach along Lake Ontario, since it was unusually warm in Rochester that day. There was no alarm, only a mother pleased her daughter sounded happy.
A Walk Down South Ocean Boulevard
On the evening of April 25, 2009, Brittanee decided to walk a mile and a half along South Ocean Boulevard to visit a longtime friend staying at the Blue Water Resort. She left her hotel at about 8 p.m. wearing a black‑and‑white tank top, shorts, flip‑flops and carrying a beige purse. Security cameras caught her arriving at the Blue Water Resort and leaving around 8:45 p.m.
As she made her way back, she was texting her boyfriend, John Grieco, who had stayed in Rochester for work. At 9:15 p.m. those texts abruptly stopped. That sudden silence marked the last moment Brittanee was known to be alive.
When Silence Became Suspicious
John noticed quickly that Brittanee had stopped replying. He called her friends in Myrtle Beach. No one knew where she was. Worried, he called Dawn Drexel. That call shattered Dawn’s calm evening and revealed the truth—her daughter was not in New York. She was in Myrtle Beach, and now she was missing.
Dawn contacted Rochester police, who reached out to their South Carolina counterparts. Investigators reviewed hotel surveillance, interviewed her friends and acquaintances, and quickly identified the last known person to see her: Peter Brozowitz, a 20‑year‑old nightclub promoter she had met the night before.
A Digital Trail and a Vanishing Point
Detectives soon noticed Brittanee’s packed clothing still in her hotel room. Her purse and phone, however, were gone. Early in the investigation, analysts studied her cell phone’s network pings. Those signals painted a path traveling 50 to 60 miles south, toward the Georgetown–Charleston county line, before stopping entirely early the next morning.
Search teams swept that region for eleven days. They searched by land and air. Nothing turned up. For years, the case froze. It became a haunting story of a teenager who vanished on spring break and left nothing but questions behind.
A Mother Who Would Not Stop Looking
Dawn Drexel drove to Myrtle Beach immediately. Weeks turned to months. She eventually moved there permanently, unable to leave the place where her daughter was last seen. Her decision showed the deep toll such disappearances take on families. She became a visible presence, keeping Brittanee’s name alive while police sifted through thin leads.
This case became more than a local matter. It drew national attention and highlighted how digital clues, like cell phone pings, can help—but cannot always solve—a mystery without physical evidence or a confession.
Shifting Theories and New Suspects
In June 2016, seven years after Brittanee’s disappearance, the FBI declared publicly that she had likely been killed soon after vanishing. They believed she had been taken from Myrtle Beach to Georgetown and murdered there. A $25,000 reward was offered.
That same year, a new name entered the investigation: Timothy Da’Shaun Taylor. Inmate Taquan Brown testified that he had seen Taylor assaulting Brittanee in a McClellanville stash house. Brown described a brutal scene: Brittanee trying to escape, being pistol‑whipped, hearing gunshots, and watching as a wrapped body was carried away. Another informant claimed Taylor had tried to traffic Brittanee and killed her when the case drew too much attention.
The Tangled Web of Taylor’s Allegations
Taylor denied any involvement. Yet he failed a polygraph when asked about Brittanee. Federal prosecutors charged him in a separate crime despite his previous state conviction, a rare move explained under the “dual sovereignty doctrine.” They admitted in court that part of the motivation was pressure—hoping Taylor would talk about Brittanee.
These aggressive tactics showed how far law enforcement would go. But as time passed, these allegations failed to lead to Brittanee. The case remained painfully open.
A Chilling Confession Changes Everything
Even as investigators chased those leads, they never forgot another person of interest. Raymond Moody, a registered sex offender in Georgetown, had been on their radar since at least 2012. For years, there was nothing concrete enough to charge him.
In early May 2022, that changed. Moody walked into the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office on an obstruction of justice charge. During questioning, he confessed to kidnapping, raping, and killing Brittanee Drexel. He gave investigators a location where they would find her remains.
The Discovery in the Woods
Following Moody’s confession, the FBI began digging at the site he described—a wooded area off a private gated drive in Georgetown County. After three days of excavation, on May 11, 2022, they uncovered skeletal remains buried four feet deep.
DNA and dental records confirmed the remains were Brittanee’s. The location matched the southward trajectory indicated by her cell phone pings thirteen years earlier. On May 16, 2022, Sheriff Carter Weaver announced the news alongside Brittanee’s family.
Investigators revealed she had been strangled and buried by the morning after she vanished. At last, a mystery that had tormented a community had an answer.
From Confession to Courtroom
Raymond Moody was charged with murder, kidnapping, and first‑degree criminal sexual misconduct. On October 19, 2022, he pleaded guilty to all charges. He received a life sentence without parole, plus two additional 30‑year sentences.
In court, Moody admitted he was a “monster.” Dawn Drexel spoke directly to him, pointing out the scars her daughter had left on his head and neck as she fought for her life. That detail gave Brittanee back some power in the story—proof that she resisted until the end.
Darker Layers and Lingering Questions
Before confessing, Moody gave a jailhouse interview in 2020 describing an even more chilling scenario. He claimed he and a woman named Angel Vause went “hunting for a victim.” They lured Brittanee, handcuffed her, and took her to a place known as the pole yard landing. Moody said he always knew he would kill her. Vause, he claimed, watched from a tent and did nothing.
Investigators later confirmed Vause lied to the FBI about her whereabouts that night, lending weight to Moody’s account. As part of a deal, Moody was allowed to keep some property for Vause’s grandchildren in exchange for telling the full truth.
This version of events suggests a deeper level of planning and complicity than was ever prosecuted. It shows how even with a confession, some answers remain locked away.
Timeline of Key Events
- April 22, 2009: Brittanee leaves for Myrtle Beach without telling her mother.
- April 25, 2009, 8:00 p.m.: She leaves the Bar Harbor Hotel for the Blue Water Resort.
- April 25, 2009, 8:45 p.m.: Cameras catch her leaving the Blue Water Resort.
- April 25, 2009, 9:15 p.m.: Her texts stop abruptly.
- April 26, 2009, early morning: Cell phone pings end near the Georgetown–Charleston line.
- June 2016: FBI declares the case a homicide.
- May 2012 (earliest): Moody identified as a person of interest.
- May 2022: Moody arrested, confesses, and leads investigators to remains.
- May 16, 2022: Public announcement of discovery.
The Long Road to Justice
The Drexel case highlights the power and limits of evidence. Early cell phone data pointed the way but could not provide closure. Informant stories fueled theories but also clouded the truth. Years passed, and only a confession unlocked the final chapter.
The relentless work of law enforcement, combined with Dawn Drexel’s unwavering dedication, shows the human side of these investigations. Families never stop hoping, even as the years roll on.
Resolution and Reflection
Raymond Moody’s conviction brought an end to one of the most haunting cold cases in recent memory. Brittanee’s story is tragic, but it also stands as a testament to perseverance. It reminds us of the countless unnamed victims still missing and the families who fight every day for answers.
The investigation also raises difficult questions about those who may have been involved and never charged. Justice, in this case, was not only about sentencing a killer. It was about finding Brittanee, giving her back to her family, and proving that even after thirteen years, truth can still rise to the surface.
Refrences
- Murder of Brittanee Drexel – Wikipedia
- Suspect Charged After Body Of Missing New York Teen Brittanee Drexel Is Discovered – Investigation Discovery
- Police: Remains of Brittanee Drexel positively identified – Spectrum News
- Brittanee Drexel update: Man pleads guilty to kidnapping, rape, murder – YouTube
- NEW DETAILS in tragic murder case come to light – YouTube
- US Attorney reveals how the woman linked to Brittanee Drexel’s murder confessed – YouTube
