Who is Raymond Moody and why is he awarded life prison?

On Wednesday, October 19, in the early hours of the morning, Raymond Douglas Moody, who was charged with kidnapping, assaulting sexually, and killing Brittanee Drexel, 17, in 2009 when she was on spring break in Myrtle Beach, entered a plea of guilty. The 62-year-old was found guilty of kidnapping, murder, and first-degree sexual misconduct and was given a life sentence. According to The Democrat and Chronicle, Douglas was also given two separate 30-year sentences for kidnapping and inappropriate sexual behavior. Chad Drexel, Brittanee's adoptive father, described Moody, a longtime person of interest and convicted sex offender, as a "perverted sick monster" in court. In addition, Moody, who admitted the charges, reportedly referred to himself as a "monster" in court evidence. Moody, who had previously gone to prison for abducting and raping a 9-year-old California girl in 1983, said “I served 20 years and I thought it was enough, but it wasn’t." He continued, “I was a monster then, and I was a monster when I took Brittanee Drexel’s life.” Moody made his first court appearance after waiving his right to a bond hearing and arraignment. He entered the courtroom with a crutch, and his hands were shackled at his waist while he was dressed in a black jumpsuit. Although the prosecution acknowledged that some of Moody's account was self-serving, it was enough material to convince the investigators that Moody was the one who had actually committed the murder. They also claimed that Moody had shown them where Drexel's body had been discovered.

What happened to Brittanee Drexel?

Moody and his girlfriend Angel Vause allegedly picked up Brittanee Drexel while she was out alone. At a campground in Georgetown County, he alleged, she accepted their invitation to party and shared a joint with them. Moody suggested that he and Drexel might have a mutually beneficial relationship. When Vause walked away, he began to approach the teenager. After making the threat, he followed through on it by abusing her sexually. He strangled her to death after realizing he might go back to jail for the assault. Vause had the youngster wrapped in a blanket and her body hidden in the bushes when he returned. He claimed that Drexel's buddies had picked her up, but that they had subsequently returned to the camp and moved the body to another location to be buried. Even while the prosecution agreed that Moody's confession was adequate evidence of his guilt, they questioned his account for being biased. Drexel's family expressed skepticism about her willingness to join him. “I am so glad my daughter was feisty and fought back,” her mother Dawn Pleckan said. “She fought for her life. We know now she scratched the hell out of your face head and neck. You will forever carry the scars of what my daughter did to you and I hope you are haunted by her.” Judge Ferrell Cothran Jr. sentenced Moody to life in prison for murder after he submitted a guilty plea, as well as two concurrent terms of 30 years each for kidnapping and criminal sexual activity.