Man behind murder of kidnapped teen Brittanee Drexel responds to mom’s wrongful death lawsuit

Maya Brown
·2 min read
3

The man convicted in the 2009 murder of Brittanee Drexel in Myrtle Beach has responded to a wrongful death lawsuit filed against him by the New York teen’s mom.

Dawn Pleckan, whose daughter was kidnapped, raped and murdered by Raymond Moody, filed the suit Jan 3 after Moody was sentenced in October 2022.

Pleckan is seeking compensation, including damages, suffering and medical bills, in the amount determined by the jury, according to the suit.

Moody responded to the suit April 14 with a handwritten letter, according to Georgetown County Public Index records.

“I do deny each and every question/statement listed in the requests for admission,” the letter read, which was dated April 3.

The letter didn’t contain any additional details.

Moody had 30 days of receiving the complaint to respond. It was delivered to him Feb. 21 at the Kirkland Correctional Institution in Richland County. That made his deadline March 23.

“There is likely no greater sense of loss than that of a parent who has lost a child, such that the murder of a child is such extreme and outrageous conduct that it exceeds all bounds of decency,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims that Moody knew he was a suspect in the case and was active in concealing his crimes, which include lying about his whereabouts the night Drexel went missing.

Pecklan, of Florida, continues to suffer from emotional distress after losing a child, according to the suit.

It says Moody is responsible for her pain, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life.

The suit also details the night of April 25, 2009, when Drexel was kidnapped, while she was walking from the Blue Water Resort.

Drexel was in Myrtle Beach for spring break with some of her friends. Her remains were found in May in Georgetown County after Moody admitted to killing her and led investigators to where he dumped her body.

The 17-year-old’s remains were examined by a forensic anthropologist and odontologist at the Charleston County Coroner’s Office. They confirmed the remains were that of the Rochester, N.Y., native through dental records and testing DNA testing.