MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — The longtime girlfriend of the man who killed and raped Chili teen Brittanee Drexel back in 2009 has decided to put her fate in a jury’s hands.

When Angel Vause met with investigators in 2022, she admitted to being with Raymond Moody the night Brittanee was murdered. Brittanee disappeared during a spring break trip to Myrtle Beach of 2009. Her remains were found in a wooded area in Georgetown County, S.C.

Vause has been charged with two counts of lying to federal investigators. She told investigators Brittanee willingly got in the couple’s SUV, but police say she was abducted. Vause also claimed that she left the pair to go get a set of keys. But police say she headed in an entirely different direction.

In July, her attorney filed a plea agreement in which she admitted lying to federal investigators. Earlier this month, she was expected to plead guilty. But that plea hearing was postponed because of confusion over the maximum sentence. The judge said the maximum sentence could be eight years for each count, not five as mentioned in the plea deal.

Vause was back in court Tuesday where it was expected she would enter a guilty plea. But when the U.S. Attorney’s Office signed the plea agreement, Vause declined to. She entered a plea of not guilty, meaning her case will go to trial this fall.

When Vause rejected the plea deal, the Assistant US Attorney told the judge that he would be filing additional charges against her, including kidnapping. He went on to explain that a trail will let everyone know what truly happened the night Britnee Drexel was killed.

“I like our science, that’s why we were pushing for the guilty plea,” says Assistant U.S. Attorney, Winston Holliday. “You’ll all get to see it. We’ll present our evidence, our experts and we’ll show you the data, you know, in a way this has been going on for 15 years and there’s been a lot of interest, and it’s somewhat appropriate. I think everybody will see everything, you’ll hear from the people who were there, you’ll hear from law enforcement, you’ll see the data, you’ll see how the FBI put the case together.”

Moody pleaded guilty to Drexel’s murder and is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.