CHARLESTON, S.C. – Angel Vause was expected to plead guilty Monday to two counts of lying to the FBI about her involvement in the abduction of Brittanee Drexel.

It would have brought closure to the case for the family of the Chili teen who disappeared while on spring break in Myrtle Beach in 2009.

But new information that came to light Monday put a halt to her plea hearing, which was over almost as soon as it started.

Vause, the attorneys, and even Brittanee’s mother Dawn were in attendance. Vause is the longtime girlfriend of Raymond Moody, who pleaded guilty in 2022 to raping and murdering Brittanee and burying her body in Georgetown, S.C.

Vause has already pleaded guilty to two counts of lying to the FBI – which carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison. In a signed plea agreement, she admitted Brittanee did not willingly get into the couple’s SUV that night in Myrtle Beach. Instead, she was abducted.

Vause also had claimed she went to pick up her car keys at the time Moody killed Brittanee, but the indictment says Vause was actually headed in a different direction.

In court Monday, the judge said the guidelines from a different circuit court determined the maximum sentence is actually eight years for each count, not five.

“There’s at least one jurisdiction in the country that believes it’s eight years instead. And so without getting into the weeds, we’re going to give Ms. Vause the opportunity to consider whether or not she still wants to plead guilty,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Winston Holliday said.

Given the changes in the sentencing guidelines, Vause now has 10 days to reconsider whether she still wants to plead guilty or go to trial. The prosecutor says they are ready for trial if that is what Vause decides.

Either way, Dawn Drexel says she will be in court to see it through.

“They kept this a secret for 13 years, and for what they did, they should be held accountable,” she said. “Both of them. And that’s what the FBI is doing.”