Emails uncover why police cleared Brittanee Drexel’s friend as person of interest

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Throughout the 13 years after Brittanee Drexel went missing on a spring break trip to Myrtle Beach, law enforcement zeroed in on multiple suspects and persons of interest, one of whom was Peter Brozowitz, a club promoter and friend of Drexel’s.

Brozowitz’s name was eventually cleared but not before suspicion mounted and rumors swirled. Now, emails we obtained from police show why they determined he was innocent, despite Drexel’s mother’s own distrust.

Brozowitz was one of the last people to see Drexel before she walked out of the Bluewater Resort and disappeared, according to Myrtle Beach Police.

Of course, now authorities believe Raymond Moody picked her up there on Ocean Boulevard and later raped and murdered her, but years before Moody’s confession and arrest in May 2022, Brozowitz had once been a person of interest.

Rumors swirled about his behavior, and Drexel’s mother, Dawn, even wrote a letter to our sister station in Myrtle Beach in 2012 questioning if he told police everything.

In the letter, she accuses Brozowitz of going home to Rochester just hours after Drexel disappeared. She alleges he left his belongings and a deposit behind and gave multiple stories about what happened. According to the letter, Brozowitz also quickly hired an attorney after returning to New York.

“Brittanee had known him for five years and he displayed no empathy or concern of my missing daughter,” the letter reads. “My daughter made mistakes and one of the largest ones she ever made was when she trusted this group of people with her life.”

Dawn even went on Dr. Phil, saying Brozowitz’s story did not add up.

New emails we obtained through a public records request detail exactly why Myrtle Beach Police say they eventually cleared him.

According to the emails, it wasn’t Brozowitz’s decision to go back to Rochester and that while he did leave clothes behind, it was only wet bathing suits on the balcony.

“People forget these all the time,” Lt. Chuck Capp with Myrtle Beach Police says in the message.

The emails states Brozowitz and his friends tried to get the deposit back but weren’t able to, and the emails show Brozowitz and his friends were at a party at Coastal Carolina all while Drexel’s phone was heading south.

“We processed their rooms and vehicles and found nothing suspicious,” Capp says.

Eventually authorities announced another suspect in the case and suspicion surrounding Brozowitz diminished, but not until after he says his name was dragged through the mud and his reputation was hurt.

We reached out to Brozowitz for an interview to see where he is now and his thoughts on the case but have not heard back.

Moody pleaded guilty to Drexel’s kidnapping, rape and murder and was sentenced to life in prison. Drexel’s remains were found in May of 2022.

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