Brittanee Drexel’s estate sues her killer, Myrtle Beach hotel

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Brittanee Drexel’s estate is suing a Myrtle Beach hotel and her killer Raymond Moody.

Attorneys for Drexel’s estate announced the lawsuit in a news conference Thursday afternoon in Georgetown County. The lawsuit named Bar Harbor Resort and Smith Family Partnership as well as Moody.

Drexel was a minor while she was staying at Bar Harbor in 2009 and never got her parents’ permission to stay there.

This lawsuit, which is being filed in Richland County, is different from the one filed in January because there are multiple causes of action now, and it was brought individually by the estate of Drexel and her mother is just a beneficiary.

The January lawsuit was filed by Drexel’s mother, Dawn Pleckan, against Moody, who admitted to kidnapping and killing her daughter while the teenager was visiting Myrtle Beach on spring break with friends in April 2009.

Drexel was walking alone along Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach on the night of April 25, 2009, when she was approached by a Ford Explorer driven by Moody, who was later named a person of interest in the case, according to the January lawsuit.

Moody eventually pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison. Drexel’s remains were found in Georgetown County in 2022.

Pleckan said in Thursday’s news conference that her life mission will be to help with missing persons cases and honoring her daughter.

“Dawn [Pleckan] has never wavered in her pursuit of justice for Brittanee and today, almost 15 years later, we are here because we will not stop until full justice in this case is delivered and full justice is truly just beginning,” said Roy Wiley, an attorney representing Drexel’s family.

In June, the city of Myrtle Beach urged the public not to “neaten up” in the area near Drexel’s memorial at Grand Park after items were removed from it.