Myrtle Beach Mystery: The Search for Brittanee Drexel

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,180
Brittany Drexel was 17, headstrong and fully convinced she knew what she was doing.

2
00:00:07,180 --> 00:00:10,020
She told her mom she'd be staying with a friend nearby.

3
00:00:10,020 --> 00:00:13,620
In reality, she was headed to Myrtle Beach for spring break.

4
00:00:13,620 --> 00:00:15,980
It wasn't rebellion, it wasn't reckless.

5
00:00:15,980 --> 00:00:19,320
It was just a teenager trying to feel grown.

6
00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:23,680
What happened next wasn't a life lesson about boundaries, it was the kind of nightmare that

7
00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:29,980
plays out slowly, painfully, and over way too many years, because for over a decade,

8
00:00:29,980 --> 00:00:32,420
no one was telling the full story.

9
00:00:32,420 --> 00:00:36,600
Before we dive in, if you like your true crime brief and bingeable, you're in the right

10
00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:37,600
place.

11
00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:40,720
Hit follow now for at least two new episodes every week.

12
00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:42,480
This is 10 Minute Murder.

13
00:00:42,480 --> 00:00:57,960
Let's get into it.

14
00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:00,820
Spring break has always been a strange mix.

15
00:01:00,820 --> 00:01:05,500
Part beach parties and freedom, part bad decisions and worse outcomes.

16
00:01:05,500 --> 00:01:10,160
And sometimes when everything goes sideways, it stops being fun and turns into something

17
00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:11,400
darker.

18
00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:17,360
For the Drexel family, Spring break in 2009 marked the moment that everything fell apart.

19
00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:21,440
Their 17 year old daughter, Brittany, had asked if she could go to Myrtle Beach, South

20
00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:23,800
Carolina, with some friends.

21
00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:29,440
She wanted a taste of independence, that rush of almost adulthood, but that trip would end

22
00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:31,760
in a way that no one was ready for.

23
00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:33,260
Brittany was magnetic.

24
00:01:33,260 --> 00:01:36,780
The kind of person others just naturally wanted to be around.

25
00:01:36,780 --> 00:01:41,560
She was full of life, always smiling, and happiest when she was with the people that she

26
00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:42,560
loved.

27
00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,880
Soccer, shopping, laughing when friends, those were her favorite things.

28
00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:48,240
She had big dreams too.

29
00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:49,760
She wanted to be a nurse.

30
00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:51,000
She wanted a family.

31
00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:55,080
She also wanted to be a model while she figured the rest of it out.

32
00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:57,980
Brittany had a striking look, especially her eyes.

33
00:01:57,980 --> 00:02:02,720
She was born with a condition that left her completely blind in her right eye.

34
00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:05,800
After several surgeries, the eye wandered at times.

35
00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:08,240
A lot of people might have felt self-conscious about it.

36
00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:09,240
Brittany didn't.

37
00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:13,440
She chose bright blue contacts that made her eyes even more noticeable.

38
00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:17,760
What could have been seen as a flaw, she turned into something bold.

39
00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:21,960
She started wearing bright blue contact lenses to help stabilize it.

40
00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:26,880
Not the kind you grab off of a drugstore shelf, hers were bold, dramatic, and unforgettable.

41
00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:32,600
The one detail gave her an edge, et cetera, apart, which is exactly what she wanted.

42
00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:36,920
But like most teenagers, Brittany wanted to grow up a little faster than she should have.

43
00:02:36,920 --> 00:02:41,520
Back in the spring of 2009, Brittany asked her mom Dawn for a permission to go to Murdo

44
00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:44,000
Beach, South Carolina, with her friends.

45
00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,960
The Drexels were living in Rochester, New York, near Lake Ontario, and Murdo Beach wasn't

46
00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:50,160
just far.

47
00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:54,720
It was a full day drive, deep into party territory.

48
00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:56,920
Brittany was only 17 years old.

49
00:02:56,920 --> 00:03:01,680
The thought of her daughter being that far away, surrounded by strangers and beach crowds

50
00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:05,800
and alcohol-fueled chaos made Dawn uneasy.

51
00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:07,560
Actually it made her stomach twist.

52
00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:09,280
She told Brittany as much.

53
00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,840
She had a bad feeling and she couldn't shake it.

54
00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:15,520
Brittany didn't take the "no" very well.

55
00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:21,520
In true teenage fashion, the conversation blew up, yelling "Slam doors silence."

56
00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:23,440
But eventually things cooled off.

57
00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:27,000
They weren't totally back to normal, but they were speaking again.

58
00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:31,320
A few days later, Brittany told her mom she was feeling upset from the fight and asked if

59
00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:34,840
she could spend a couple of nights at a friend's house to cool off.

60
00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:35,840
Dawn agreed.

61
00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:41,080
The two of them kept in touch by phone over the next few days, and everything seemed fine.

62
00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:45,000
Brittany wasn't cooling off at a friend's house in Rochester.

63
00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:48,080
She had packed a bag and gone to South Carolina.

64
00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:52,280
The friend, she said she was staying with, lived hundreds of miles away.

65
00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:58,080
And Brittany hadn't just left town, she'd cross state lines, and she hadn't told anyone.

66
00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:02,920
Brittany and her friends checked into the bar Harbor Motel in Murdo Beach, ready to jump

67
00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:04,720
into Spring Break.

68
00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:07,680
She called her mom and said she'd spent the day at the beach.

69
00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:12,760
Speaking about it raised any alarms, the weather back in Rochester had been unusually warm, too,

70
00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:14,600
and people were out by the lake.

71
00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:19,640
Dawn assumed her daughter was somewhere close to home, at that beach.

72
00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:25,080
Around 8pm that night, Brittany left the hotel alone and headed toward the Blue Water Resort,

73
00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:26,680
just a few blocks away.

74
00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:30,880
While she walked, she texted back and forth with her boyfriend, John Greco.

75
00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:36,680
It was a normal, casual conversation, until she suddenly stopped replying.

76
00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:38,840
John noticed the silence right away.

77
00:04:38,840 --> 00:04:40,000
He called her.

78
00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:41,000
No answer.

79
00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:42,320
He tried again.

80
00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:43,320
Still nothing.

81
00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:45,560
So he started trying to call her friends.

82
00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:50,680
When none of them knew where she was, John made the call that no one ever wants to make.

83
00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:52,240
He called Dawn.

84
00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:54,680
That's when everything unraveled.

85
00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:58,440
Dawn obviously had no idea that Brittany was in South Carolina.

86
00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:02,320
She thought her daughter was still in Rochester, cooling off at a friend's house.

87
00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:03,880
Now she knew the truth.

88
00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:06,680
Brittany had lied to go to Myrtle Beach anyway.

89
00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:09,640
Dawn called the police immediately.

90
00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:12,120
By the next morning, the search had begun.

91
00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:16,240
Police pulled security footage that showed Brittany leaving the Blue Water Resort.

92
00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,320
They also identified the last person known to have seen her.

93
00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:22,480
A 20-year-old named Peter Brazowitz.

94
00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,520
Peter and Brittany had known each other for years, but he hadn't come to Myrtle Beach with

95
00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:27,520
her.

96
00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:31,720
He admitted he saw her the night that she went missing, but claimed he had no idea where

97
00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:34,120
she went after leaving the resort.

98
00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:36,280
Dawn didn't buy it.

99
00:05:36,280 --> 00:05:40,800
She traveled to Myrtle Beach herself to help search and told her sister in an email that

100
00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:46,200
Peter showed no concern, no empathy, nothing that resembled someone worried about a missing

101
00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:47,200
friend.

102
00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:51,400
Quote, "My daughter made mistakes, and one of the largest ones she ever made was when she

103
00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:54,240
trusted this group of people with her life."

104
00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:58,600
Peter and the people he was with that night were all named persons of interest.

105
00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:00,920
The search pushed on.

106
00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:05,600
Back at the motel, investigators found Brittany's clothes in her room, but her person phone were

107
00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:09,760
missing, suggesting that she hadn't planned on being gone for very long.

108
00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:14,840
Her phone, peeing about 50 miles south of Myrtle Beach before the signal cut out in the early

109
00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:16,320
morning hours.

110
00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:20,200
Whatever happened to Brittany, she hadn't gone there on her own.

111
00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:24,920
As the search dragged on, Dawn Drexel went public with her suspicions.

112
00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:29,480
She believed Peter, or someone connected to him, had lowered Brittany to Myrtle Beach

113
00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:32,000
with the intention of trafficking her.

114
00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:34,480
Peter, of course, denied all of that.

115
00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:39,540
Not long after, photo surfaced, showing him and friends partying miles away from the area

116
00:06:39,540 --> 00:06:42,720
where Brittany's phone had last peeing that night.

117
00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:44,440
Eventually, police cleared him.

118
00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:47,840
They announced that Peter was no longer a person of interest.

119
00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:49,760
They're working theory shifted.

120
00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:55,160
They now believed Brittany had likely been abducted and killed shortly after she disappeared.

121
00:06:55,160 --> 00:07:00,280
They offered a $25,000 reward for any tip that could bring Brittany home.

122
00:07:00,280 --> 00:07:03,220
And one man claimed he knew what happened.

123
00:07:03,220 --> 00:07:05,100
His name was Tequan Brown.

124
00:07:05,100 --> 00:07:09,920
He was already serving 25 years for manslaughter in a South Carolina prison.

125
00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:14,720
Tequan said he saw Brittany not long after she went missing, but what he described was nothing

126
00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:16,520
short of horrific.

127
00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:21,120
According to him, he had been making a delivery to what he called a "stash house."

128
00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:26,440
While he was there, he said he saw a man already known to law enforcement sexually assaulting

129
00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:27,520
Brittany.

130
00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:33,240
Tequan claimed that Brittany tried to escape but was pistol whipped and dragged back inside.

131
00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,840
Then he heard two gunshots and believed she had been killed.

132
00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:42,280
It was a disturbing tip and it sent investigators down a new path, but it led nowhere.

133
00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:46,520
Every lead dried up, every possible suspect hit a wall.

134
00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:53,560
One in 2022, 13 years after Brittany disappeared, something finally broke open.

135
00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:58,320
A man named Raymond Moody walked into a police station and confessed.

136
00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:03,240
He was 62 years old at the time and already on the sex offender registry.

137
00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:08,280
Back in 2012, he had been listed as a person of interest in Brittany's case, but the evidence

138
00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:09,680
just wasn't there.

139
00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:10,680
Nothing stuck.

140
00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:12,680
So the case stalled again.

141
00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:17,360
But now, a decade later, Raymond decided that he couldn't hold it in anymore.

142
00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:22,760
Raymond Moody told investigators that during the spring break of 2009, he and his girlfriend

143
00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:25,680
Angel were cruising the streets of Myrtle Beach.

144
00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:32,080
His exact words were "we were hunting" and the person they found was Brittany Drexel.

145
00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:35,960
According to Raymond, they pulled up next to her pretending to be lost.

146
00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:40,800
Once she got close enough, he grabbed her, forced her into the back seat and held her down

147
00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:43,680
while Angel drove them to a remote spot.

148
00:08:43,680 --> 00:08:46,320
They had already set up a tent there.

149
00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:50,920
Raymond said he told Brittany not to worry that he did this kind of thing often, that he

150
00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:56,560
kidnapped girls, then ransomed them for $5,000 from the city chamber of commerce, and none

151
00:08:56,560 --> 00:08:58,560
of that was actually true.

152
00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:01,880
Instead, he took her to his tent and raped her.

153
00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:04,960
Angel, according to him, stood by and watched.

154
00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:09,600
Afterward, he used a yellow nylon rope to strangle Brittany, then stabbed her in the chest

155
00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:10,920
with an ice pick.

156
00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:12,920
He buried her body himself.

157
00:09:12,920 --> 00:09:18,960
When he finally confessed 13 years later, he led investigators to that exact spot.

158
00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:21,600
Her remains were recovered.

159
00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:27,080
Raymond was charged with murder, kidnapping, and first degree criminal sexual misconduct.

160
00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:29,400
He pleaded guilty to everything.

161
00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:34,040
The court sentenced him to life in prison, along with two additional 30-year terms to be

162
00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:36,040
served one after the other.

163
00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:40,840
Angel was charged with lying to the FBI about her role in Brittany's abduction, assault,

164
00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:41,840
and murder.

165
00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:43,560
She also pleaded guilty.

166
00:09:43,560 --> 00:09:49,360
In February of 2025, she was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison.

167
00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:53,760
You know, when I read about Brittany, I keep thinking about how easy it is to see parts

168
00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:55,880
of ourselves in her.

169
00:09:55,880 --> 00:10:00,480
She was 17, strong-willed, full of dreams, and bigger plans.

170
00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:05,120
She was navigating the space between being a teenager and adult, just like so many of

171
00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:06,120
us did.

172
00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:08,960
Or, so many of our kids are doing right now.

173
00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:12,960
Aside from break-your-parents' rules, she didn't really do anything wrong.

174
00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:15,160
She just trusted the wrong people.

175
00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:17,520
Her story isn't about bad choices.

176
00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:23,000
It's about predators and how far some people will go to take advantage of vulnerability.

177
00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:28,880
Dawn Drexel never gave up, not once, and after 13 long years, she got her answer.

178
00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:33,400
But it should have never taken that long, and it should have never happened at all.

179
00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:37,680
Brittany deserved a full life, and the fact that someone took that away from her doesn't

180
00:10:37,680 --> 00:10:39,800
get to define who she was.

181
00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:44,640
What defines her is how many people never stop fighting to bring her home.

182
00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:57,240
Thanks for listening to this episode of 10 Minute Murder.

183
00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:01,480
I'm Joe, I'm the host, and if you're a new listener, hit subscribe wherever you're listening

184
00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:03,360
right now.

185
00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:04,880
Follow along on social media.

186
00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:10,040
If you've got Facebook, Instagram, I don't do the Twitter, but I've got Threads and I've

187
00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:12,480
got TikTok and Blue Sky.

188
00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:14,640
And something else, I'm sure I'm forgetting about.

189
00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:19,040
But the links are in the show notes of this episode, or you can go to 10minuteMurder.com

190
00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:20,680
and find it all there.

191
00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:25,600
And as more and more new listeners join the podcast and become subscribers, I don't think

192
00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:28,120
a lot of you know where these stories come from.

193
00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:30,400
I don't just invent these out of thin air.

194
00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:33,840
They're true crime stories, so they're actual real stories.

195
00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:35,520
I hope you realize that.

196
00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:39,960
But I don't decide necessarily what stories I talk about.

197
00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:43,360
Those come from you, listening to me right now.

198
00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:46,080
You have been submitting over the years these stories.

199
00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:47,600
I'd like for you to talk about this story.

200
00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:49,200
I'd like for you to talk about this story.

201
00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:53,440
And then from there, I go and I find as much information as I can on these stories, try

202
00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:58,080
to determine if they would make a good 10minute Murder episode and if they do, then I do more

203
00:11:58,080 --> 00:11:59,080
work on it.

204
00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:03,280
Ultimately, it's you that decides what I'm talking about.

205
00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:08,400
And something just occurred to me, I wish I had a better system for thanking you for submitting

206
00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:09,400
these episodes.

207
00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:14,160
Like after I do them, this case in particular, for example, two or three of you suggested

208
00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:16,680
that I covered this Britney Drexel case.

209
00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:21,920
And I really suck at having a system of once I cover the case that you've suggested,

210
00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:23,280
getting back to you and saying thank you.

211
00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:27,760
I usually try to thank you in the moment if I have time, but I don't always have time

212
00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:28,760
to do that.

213
00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:29,760
I don't have time to do that.

214
00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:30,760
I don't have time to do that.

215
00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:31,760
I don't have time to do that.

216
00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:32,760
I don't have time to do that.

217
00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:33,760
I don't have time to do that.

218
00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:34,760
I don't have time to do that.

219
00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:35,760
I don't have time to do that.

220
00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:36,760
I don't have time to do that.

221
00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:37,760
I don't have time to do that.

222
00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:38,760
I don't have time to do that.

223
00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:39,760
I don't have time to do that.

224
00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:40,760
I don't have time to do that.

225
00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:41,760
I don't have time to do that.

226
00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:42,760
I don't have time to do that.

227
00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:43,760
I don't have time to do that.

228
00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:44,760
I don't have time to do that.

229
00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:45,760
I don't have time to do that.

230
00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:46,760
I don't have time to do that.

231
00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:47,760
I don't have time to do that.

232
00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:48,760
I don't have time to do that.

233
00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:49,760
I don't have time to do that.

234
00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:50,760
I don't have time to do that.

235
00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:51,760
I don't have time to do that.

236
00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:52,760
I don't have time to do that.

237
00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:53,760
I don't have time to do that.

238
00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:54,760
I don't have time to do that.

239
00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:55,760
I don't have time to do that.

240
00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:56,760
I don't have time to do that.

241
00:12:56,760 --> 00:12:57,760
I don't have time to do that.

242
00:12:57,760 --> 00:12:58,760
I don't have time to do that.

243
00:12:58,760 --> 00:12:59,760
I don't have time to do that.

244
00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:00,760
I don't have time to do that.

245
00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:01,760
I don't have time to do that.

246
00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:02,760
I don't have time to do that.

247
00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:03,760
I don't have time to do that.

248
00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:04,760
I don't have time to do that.

249
00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:05,760
I don't have time to do that.

250
00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:06,760
I don't have time to do that.

251
00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:07,760
I don't have time to do that.

252
00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:08,760
I don't have time to do that.

253
00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:12,680
out to me 10minutemurder.com is the website. Thanks for listening.