Documents: Nose ring, contact lens and hair found at scene of Brittanee Drexel’s remains

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - When investigators discovered Brittanee Drexel’s body in May of 2022, documents show a nose ring, contact lens and long hair were found among the remains.

In the days before, Raymond Moody admitted to raping and murdering Drexel, a 17-year-old from Rochester, New York, who was in Myrtle Beach for spring break in April of 2009.

After his confession, Moody took investigators to a piece of private property on Pickerel Road in Georgetown this past May, he told them Drexel’s body was about four ft. underground next to a dirt road.

According to documents, it took investigators several days to locate her remains in that area, which was about 12 miles away from where Moody says he strangled and killed Drexel. The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI spent hours cutting down trees and excavating dirt in the search.

Investigators eventually found what appeared to be a human bone, and for the next 18 hours worked to retrieve all of the remains.

Drexel’s body was beyond visual recognition and essentially only her skeleton remained, with no organs, muscle or soft tissue left, the documents state.

Long, straight hair was draped over her skull and one blue-colored contact lens lay in her eye socket. Investigators found one silver nose piercing but no clothing.

Moody admitted to strangling Drexel in his confession, but the documents state, because of erosion and decomposition, the forensics team could not examine the throat for signs of strangulation.

Authorities sent the remains for forensic identification where they compared dental records and DNA, and within 48 hours, officials confirmed the remains were truly Drexel’s.

A case report states finding Drexel’s remains corroborated Moody’s story, so shortly after, he was charged with murder, criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping.

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