A woman who according to police died after being drugged and raped in a Miami Beach hotel room was visiting Florida from suburban Philadelphia. Two North Carolina men face charges in the case.
Christine Englehardt of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, died Thursday morning after being found at the Albion Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida police said. He was 24 years old.
His father told NBC Miami that Englehardt traveled to South Florida from his home in Richboro.
Two North Carolina men are accused of drugging and raping the Pennsylvania woman. Evoire Collier, 21, and Dorian Taylor, 24, are also charged with stealing Englehardt’s credit and cash cards and using them during the trip to South Beach.
According to police records, surveillance footage showed the two men entering the lobby of the Englehardt Hotel at approximately one in the morning on Thursday, March 18, and then leaving the hotel without Englehardt for about 30 minutes. minutes later. Both men matched the description given to police and were arrested and detained by detectives on Sunday.
One Miami Beach detective in the case testified on bail on Monday and said that, based on surveillance footage, Englehardt was stunned and appeared unable to give any consent before entering the hotel. She added that one of the defendants helped her keep her while they were going up to her hotel room.
Investigators are trying to determine if the victim’s death resulted from a “green pill” the men provided, but the Miami-Dade medical office said Monday it is conducting new tests and no cause has been determined. died pending a toxicology report.
Collier and Taylor face charges of battery theft, petty theft, sexual battery and credit card fraud. If it is shown that the drug he was supposed to administer to Englehardt played a role in his death, they could also face a charge of homicide or murder.
Detectives said one of the defendants admitted to having sex with Englehardt.
Both Collier and Taylor have been named public defenders for the time being. During the bail hearing, Collier’s sister asked the judge that she had never had any problems.
“I am very baffled by these charges and accusations against him, but I can attest to his character and I can attest to the responsibility of his trial for any charge,” his sister said. “Please let my brother come home and let our family handle the situation properly. We will do whatever it takes for Miami-Dade County to ask us.”