Who is Raymond Moody?

A MAN is in custody on suspected murder charges after Brittanee Drexel's remains were found 13 years after she went missing.

Drexel disappeared while on spring break in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 2009.

Who is Raymond Moody?

Raymond Douglas Moody, 62, was charged with murder, kidnapping, and criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver said at a news conference on May 16.

Moody has an "extensive sex offender criminal history," Weaver said, and the Daily Mail reported he has been considered a suspect linked to the case since 2011.

However, he wasn't arrested until May 4 for obstruction of justice.

Weaver did not provide additional information about how they linked Moody to Brittanee Drexel's murder but said the charges against him were possible because of "investigative findings" and "evidence" that led them to the burial site.

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Moody was also found to be on South Carolina's sex offender registry for convictions in California for sodomy by force of someone under 14 and kidnapping in 1983, according to State Law Enforcement Division Records.

Jail records do not list an attorney for Moody and he is being held without bond.

What happened to Brittanee Drexel?

Brittanee Drexel was 17 years old when she went to Myrtle Beach against her mother's wishes in 2009.

Drexel's mom told news outlets that she had forbade her daughter from going on the trip.

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“I told her I just felt something was going to happen to her,” Drexel's mom, Dawn, told People, adding, “I just felt it.”

Despite her mother's demands that she not go on the trip, Drexel said she was going to stay at her friend's house for a few days but instead traveled to spring break against Dawn's wishes.

Drexel periodically called her mom from Myrtle Beach, but a few days later, she disappeared.

Her boyfriend stayed behind in Rochester, New York, and on April 25, 2009, he called Dawn because he was concerned when Drexel stopped responding to his text messages.

Police found security footage of Drexel leaving her friend's hotel about a mile and a half from where she was staying just before 9pm on April 25 but she never made it back to where she was staying.

The mystery of Drexel's disappearance has plagued police for over a decade, but her family said finding their daughter's remains has brought them some closure.

The county solicitor, Jimmy Richardson, said at a news conference, “There are few things in life worse than losing a child. But one of the things that I believe qualifies for that is losing a child and not being able to bury that child."

He added, “… But what we have been able to do is to return a body to Chad and Dawn and hopefully start the process of closure.”

Dawn told the Washington Post on May 16, “Today marks the beginning of a new chapter.

“The search for Brittanee is now a pursuit of Brittanee’s justice.”

What is Raymond Moody accused of?

Authorities have accused Moody of kidnapping, raping, and killing Drexel on April 25, 2009.

Although authorities have not said what evidence linked Moody to the crime, an arrest warrant obtained by WCIV/WPDE says he is accused of strangling Drexel to death.

Officials say the following day Moody brought her remains to a wooded area about 35 miles away from where Drexel was last seen.

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After finding her remains, authorities were able to confirm Drexel's identity through dental records and DNA testing.

Moody's charges include the alleged murder of Drexel, kidnapping, criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, and obstructing justice for concealing and disposing of evidence of his crime.

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