A New York teen who disappeared in 2009 while vacationing in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is believed to have been gang-raped, killed and fed to alligators.
Brittanee Drexel visited Myrtle Beach in 2009 after leaving her home in Rochester, New York, without telling her parents. She disappeared on April 25 and by June, investigators believed she was dead.
FBI agent Gerrick Munoz recently gave a detailed account of what the investigators believe happened to Drexel, who was 17 at the time. Munoz’s account is based on a statement from a prison inmate who said he was present at the time of her death.
The inmate, Taquan Brown, claimed he went to a “stash house” in McClellanville days after Drexel was reportedly abducted. As he entered the house, he says he witnessed Timothy Da’Shaun Taylor — who, along with his father, was implicated in the crime — sexually abusing the girl.
Brown claimed he saw others in the room with the girl and Da’Shaun, and proceeded to go to the backyard to give money to Da’Shaun’s father, Shaun.
While the two spoke, Brown said he saw Drexel attempt to run from the house. She was then reportedly pistol whipped and taken back inside.
Brown then heard two shots ring out, and says he saw her body wrapped up and taken away.
Munoz said that while Drexel’s body has not been found, several witnesses said it was placed in a gator pit and eaten by alligators.
Da’Shaun’s mother, Joan, said the story about Drexel’s death involving her son and husband is “craziness” and was made up by investigators to get him to confess.
In an effort to get Da’Shaun to cooperate with authorities, he is currently being held on new charges relating to an incident in which he was the getaway driver for a robbery at McDonald’s in 2011 — despite having served time for that crime, The Post and Courier reported.
Joan said investigators were just trying to “pin something” on her son to get him to confess to Drexel’s murder, and that the implications of her husband and son’s involvement were untrue and not in their “nature.”
“Oh my goodness can you imagine what her parents are going through if this story is true?! My heart aches,” one reader commented on Daily Mail.
“I’ve always wondered what happened to this young lady. I hope her family finds out soon. I can’t imagine what they have gone through without answers. I also hope full justice is served to the responsible persons,” another wrote.
