Timothy Taylor’s parents speak to the media.Photo: WSAV3
When South Carolina authorities announced closure was imminent for murdered teenBrittanee Drexel’s family following the arrest of sex offenderRaymond Moody, there was no mention ofTimothy Da’Shaun Taylor— but the disabled man’s family doesn’t want you to forget about him.
Taylorhad to go on the defensivein 2016 after his name surfaced during a run-of-the-mill court proceeding. As an arraignment judge was weighing whether to free him as he awaited trial on unrelated robbery charges, a detective investigating the 17-year-old soccer star’s 2009 disappearance and presumed death testified that Taylor was directly connected to the heinous crime.
But, as Taylor has long maintained, he had nothing at all to do with Drexel’s killing. On May 17, authorities charged Moody, 62, with individual counts of murder, kidnapping, and criminal sexual misconduct after he both confessed to the killing andled police to the wooded areawhere he buried Brittanee back on April 26, 2009 — the very day after he abducted her from the Myrtle Beach strip.
Drexel had been in South Carolina for a spring break getaway with friends — unbeknownst to her parents,who were back in rural New York.
Taylor, who is Black, was not present for a press conference held last week, during which his relatives spoke out about the impact of the false allegations.
“The years-long fight against false accusations and the media frenzy has traumatized us, affecting every aspect of our lives,” explained Taylor’s mother, Joan. “It has publicly questioned, without reason, our family, our family’s character and it has shaken us to the core.”
Joan said that her heart breaks for Brittanee’s parents, and related howthe 2016 court testimonyhas irrevocably damaged her son’s name.
“Doing this has real life consequences and a lasting disparaging effect on so many, particularly us, Black families,” she said. “And we suffered the ramifications of being falsely accused far too long.”
Taylor, Joan said, would speak publicly soon about the injustice perpetrated against him.
Rev. Dr. Lawrence Bratton also spoke about what the family has endured because of the flimsy claims made against Taylor.
“This family has been devastated,” Bratton said. “Ruined for the last 15 years — emotionally, psychologically, financially and in every way that you can imagine, down to the next generation.”
The community, Bratton noted, supported Taylor and his relatives, even in the face of intense scrutiny.
“Throughout the investigation, law enforcement followed multiple leads to wherever they led us, all in efforts to find Brittanee,” it reads. “We have an obligation to follow leads to their conclusion. To that end, the person we believe is responsible for Brittanee’s murder has been arrested and charged.”
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Taylor’s relatives failed to mention at the press conference whether a civil lawsuit was in the works. Court records show there has been no such filing yet.
Moody is being held without bail, and has not yet entered pleas to the charges.
PEOPLE has been unable to identify his lawyer.
According to theDemocrat and Chronicle, Moody is a registered sex offender who spent 21 years in prison following a 1983 abduction and rape case in California involving a 9-year-old girl.
source: people.com
