Family of man once suspected in Drexel disappearance demands apology

GEORGETOWN, S.C. (WMBF) – Another family impacted by the Brittanee Drexel case was inside the courtroom Wednesday morning during the plea hearing.

Raymond Moody pleaded guilty to kidnapping, raping and murdering the 17-year-old back in April 2009 when she was in Myrtle Beach on Spring Break.

RELATED COVERAGE | ‘I was a monster’: Raymond Moody pleads guilty to murder, kidnapping, rape of Brittanee Drexel

But before Moody’s confession, Timothy Taylor was once considered a suspect in Drexel’s disappearance and death.

An inmate told authorities that he had witnessed Drexel being gang raped at home in McClellanville and then Taylor and his father killed Drexel and dumped her body in an alligator pit.

It was found that those allegations were false.

Taylor was never officially charged in the case, but the family said there was constant questioning by investigators and public scrutiny when Taylor’s possible connection to the case was released.

SPECIAL SECTION | Brittanee Drexel Case

“The damage has been done. Years of false allegations and misleading media coverage have taken hold. Timothy’s name and face will forever be linked to Brittanee Drexel because of a lie and the FBI’s reliance on that lie,” said Joanna Taylor, Timothy Taylor’s mother.

When it was announced that Moody had been arrested and charged in the case, the Taylor family demanded an apology and a formal exoneration from authorities, but they said they’re still waiting.

“Every day for the past five months, our family has waited to hear something, anything, from those who pursued us relentlessly for years. What have we heard? Nothing, no acknowledgment, no apology and no accountability,” said Joanna Taylor.

Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson told WMBF News that he hates what happened to Timothy Taylor and his family. But he explained that it was a federal case, and the apology would need to come from the FBI.

“I’ve talked to the Taylors about this, that was a federal case. That did not have anything to do with the state. I hate what happened in that situation, but it would be almost impolite of me to apologize because I didn’t have a thing to do with that, that was a federal thing,” Richardson said.

Timothy Taylor declined to talk to anyone after the hearing.

WMBF News has reached out to the FBI for comment on the Taylor family’s call for an apology and this was the agency’s statement:

“Throughout the investigation law enforcement followed multiple leads to wherever they led us, based on the information we had at the time. We have an obligation to follow leads to their conclusion. The person responsible for Brittanee’s murder has been sentenced.”

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