A South Carolina ju-deputy awarded the family $700 million in damages after the murder of a 17-year-old girl during spring break in 2009.
Dawn Preckan, the mother of teen Brittany Drexel, has accused the man who killed his daughter Raymond Moody in January 2023, and Bar Harbor Resorts Inc., Smith Family Partners, LLC of the misconduct that led to Drexel’s death. According to Go to Fox News. Drexel spent a holiday with friends in Myrtle Beach, kidnapped, raped and murdered.
The ju judge found in February that Moody caused mental distress in the teenage family, awarding $200 million in punitive damages and actual damages, the outlet cited county records. (Related: Court Award la man $50,000,000 after suffering serious injuries after swallowing Starbucks drinks).
Moody’s girlfriend Angel Cooper Vause, 57, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for lying to federal agents about her role in Drexel’s death and the invitation, the outlet said.
Drexel was last seen alive on April 25th, 2009. Fox News reported that she left the beach and Bar Harbor hotel and met with friends at a nearby resort. That night, around 9pm, Moody approached her with a Ford Explorer, lured her, and took her to a remote campsite near her Georgetown home, when Drexel saw him walking alone. Moody then raped her and killed her, the outlet reported. He also threw Drexel’s phone into the North Santee River and buried her in a “shallow grave,” according to the outlet.
Family of 2009 Spring Break Murder Victim Brittany Drexel awarded $700 million in civil lawsuit https://t.co/errna1ei0h pic.twitter.com/ab9engds6x
– New York Post (@nypost) March 16, 2025
Fox News has been accused of luring the teen into the vehicle, citing the Department of Justice, and is likely to promise to return to the hotel where she was staying. Vause reportedly kept her involvement and details of Drexel’s murder secret.
Moody pleaded guilty to Drexel’s induction, rape and murder in October 2022 and was sentenced to life in prison, according to the outlet.
“For over a decade, Brittany’s loved ones were left to imagine the worst-case scenario of Brittany’s loss while withholding the truth,” said U.S. Attorney Adair Ford Balla. I said In a statement. “We hope that Brittany’s loved ones will be able to have both the closure and the measure of justice that comes with this sentence. May she rest in peace, knowing that her mother’s dawn is merciless in pursuit of justice.”
