Angel Vause, the girlfriend of Raymond Moody, the man who kidnapped, raped, and murdered 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel during a 2009 spring break trip, has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Vause admitted to making false statements, including misleading federal authorities about Drexel’s tragic final moments.
Court documents revealed that in 2022, Vause falsely told the FBI that Drexel kept possession of her cell phone when, in fact, she had taken Drexel’s phone and discarded it while traveling between Georgetown and Charleston, South Carolina. Vause also claimed that Drexel had voluntarily joined her and Moody to use drugs, when in reality, Drexel had been abducted under false pretenses.
Brittanee Drexel, a high school student from Rochester, New York, disappeared in April 2009 while on a spring break trip to Myrtle Beach. She was last seen on surveillance footage leaving her hotel on the evening of April 25. Shortly after, Moody abducted her as she walked alone. He took Drexel to a remote campsite near his Georgetown home, where he held her captive, tortured, and ultimately murdered her. Drexel’s remains weren’t found until 2022, 13 years after her disappearance.
Vause’s guilty plea has brought some comfort to Drexel’s family, who have waited over a decade for answers. Drexel’s mother, Dawn Pleckan Conley, told reporters that the plea is “a resolution to what happened, and she will pay dearly for what she did to Brittanee.” Her father, John Kahyaoglu, expressed relief, saying, “I got a lot of happiness out of it… that she’s not just going to walk out of here.”
Raymond Moody, now 64, pleaded guilty in October 2022 to kidnapping, raping, and murdering Drexel. During his confession, he admitted to being a “monster” and taking her life. Vause, 56, now faces up to five years in prison for each of her three charges as part of her plea deal with federal prosecutors.
For Brittanee Drexel’s family, the plea marks a step closer to justice after years of uncertainty.