Angel Cooper Vause, the longtime partner of Raymond Moody, who confessed to the rape and murder of Brittanee Drexel in 2009 during her spring break trip in Myrtle Beach, has been arrested on federal charges related to the kidnapping and murder. A federal grand jury indicted Vause, 56, from Georgetown, on three counts of lying to the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Winston Holliday stated that the FBI’s investigation led to the decision to move forward with charges.
In May 2022, Moody was arrested, bringing closure to a case that had haunted South Carolina for 13 years. Moody recounted to authorities that he and Vause picked up Drexel on the Myrtle Beach strip to “party,” and detailed the events leading to her tragic death.
The first count in the indictment accuses Vause of providing false information to the FBI regarding her whereabouts during the assault and murder of Drexel. The second count alleges that Vause misled investigators about the location of Drexel’s cell phone, which she was accused of disposing of between Georgetown and Charleston. The third count accuses Vause of inaccurately stating that Drexel had willingly joined them to consume drugs when, in reality, she was abducted.
Vause made a court appearance in Charleston for arraignment, where a federal magistrate set her bond at $10,000 unsecured, allowing her release on her own recognizance. Holliday expressed the goal of achieving a conviction while seeking a full understanding of the events that transpired in Myrtle Beach in 2009.
In a related development, a man who was wrongfully accused in the Brittanee Drexel case has filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department.