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A South Carolina sex offender admitted he raped and murdered an upstate New York girl while she was on spring break 13 years ago — calling himself a “monster” Wednesday as he was slapped with a life sentence for the crime.
Raymond Moody, 62, pleaded guilty before his sentencing in the slaying of 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel, who had traveled to Myrtle Beach for a spring break trip in 2009.
Moody, appearing in court with a crutch, told the court that he hadn’t been reformed after serving previous prison time for kidnapping and raping a 9-year-old, reports said.
“I served 20 years and I thought it was enough, but it wasn’t. I was a monster then, and I was a monster when I took Brittanee Drexel’s life,” Moody told the court, according to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.
“I don’t have the words to express how horrible I feel and I have felt ever since that day. I’m very sorry.”
Drexel was reported missing April 25, 2009 but her remains weren’t recovered until May in Georgetown County, when Moody directed cops to where he had dumped the Rochester girl’s body after raping and strangling her.
Drexel – who was last seen leaving a hotel — had been walking alone in Myrtle Beach on the night she disappeared and voluntarily hopped into Moody’s car with him and his ex-girlfriend to smoke marijuana, he told cops.
The three went to a campground in Georgetown, where Moody planned to have sex with the girl once his girlfriend left, Myrtle Beach Online reported.
Moody then flew into a rage, forced her to take off her clothes and raped her before killing her, according to the outlet.
Moody’s ex-girlfriend wore a wire and cops used evolving technology to link his car to the girl’s disappearance to finally break the case after more than a decade, reports said.
The victim’s grieving mom, Dawn Drexel, said “nobody wins” despite the verdict – which included two 30-year sentences on charges of kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct in the case.
“For 13 years, I have searched for Brittanee, and for 13 years, I suffered the loss of a child,” she told Myrtle Beach Online.
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