A woman who, according to police, died after being drugged and raped in a hotel room in Miami Beach, visited Florida from the suburbs of Philadelphia. Two North Carolina men are charged in the case.
Christine Englehardt of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, died Thursday morning after she was found at the Albion Hotel on Miami Beach, Florida police said. She was 24 years old.
Her father told NBC Miami that Englehardt was traveling to South Florida from her home in Richboro.
Two North Carolina men are charged with drugging and raping the Pennsylvania woman. Evoire Collier, 21, and Dorian Taylor, 24, are also accused of stealing Englehardt’s credit cards and cash and using them on their trip to South Beach.
According to police records, surveillance footage showed the two men entering the Englehardt hotel lobby on Thursday, March 18 at about 1am, and then leaving the hotel without Englehardt about 30 minutes later. Both men matched the description given to police and were arrested and detained by detectives on Sunday.
One of the Miami Beach detectives on the case testified at a bond hearing on Monday, saying that based on the surveillance footage, Englehardt was staggering and appeared unable to provide any kind of consent before entering the hotel. He added that one of the defendants actually helped her hold up while they went to her hotel room.
Investigators are trying to determine if the victim’s death was the result of a “green pill” the men supplied, but the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office said Monday it is conducting further tests and no cause of death has been identified pending of a toxicological report.
Collier and Taylor are charged with battery break-ins, petty theft, sexual battery and credit card fraud. If the drug they gave Englehardt is proven to have played a role in her death, they could also be charged with manslaughter or murder.
Investigators said one of the defendants admitted having sex with Englehardt.
Both Collier and Taylor have been provisionally appointed public defenders. During the hearing, Collier’s sister pleaded to the judge that he had never been in trouble.
“I am deeply baffled by these allegations and allegations against him, but I can attest to his character and I can attest to the responsibility that he stands trial on any charges,” said his sister. “If you’ll please let my brother come home and let our family handle the situation properly, we’ll do whatever it takes Miami-Dade County asks of us.”