The Pennsylvania woman who was drugged, raped and found dead in a Miami Beach hotel room during the spring break was a “really good person,” according to a close friend who ripped off the “sick” suspects accused of driving -the.
Christine Englehardt, 24, of Richboro, outside Philadelphia, was found dead and half-naked Thursday at the Albion Hotel in South Beach, where the assistant manager of the pizzeria reportedly traveled alone to attend the annual holiday party. of spring.
Two North Carolina men, Evoire Collier, 21, and Dorian Taylor, 24, were arrested Sunday for allegedly drugging Englehardt with a “green pill” before raping her and stealing her credit cards, according to police and reports. Both Greensboro men remain in custody without bail.
Englehardt’s friends and co-workers are surprised that North Carolina men are supposed to be targeting a “really good person,” WPVI reported.
“This is the last person I would think this would happen to,” Englehardt’s close friend Samantha DiFrancesco told the station. “It just breaks your heart when you know he was a really good person who would do anything for anyone.”
DiFrancesco said she was outraged by the details of the crime.
“Thinking about what happened is a disease,” DiFrancesco continued. “He is sick”.
DiFrancesco said his friend always “lit up the whole room” whenever he was there.
“His laugh was the most contagious laugh,” DiFrancesco said.
John Ordway, owner of the Jules Thin Crust pizza in Newtown, where Englehardt worked, said he was surprised to learn of his tragic death.
“She was a lovely young woman who was highly respected by her co-workers and staff,” Ordway told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “We will miss him along with his beloved family.”
Prior to Englehardt’s death, Taylor was seen “grabbing her by the neck so she could stand,” a Miami Beach police detective said Monday.
Investigators said both men had sex with Englehardt at the hotel and Taylor allegedly forced her on because he appeared to be unconscious.
Collier and Taylor are currently charged with battery theft, sexual battery, petty theft and fraudulent use of a credit card to use Englehardt’s stolen cards during their vacation.
According to Miami Beach police, police are still investigating whether Englehardt died from an overdose, possibly from the pill they provided him, which was believed to be Percocet.
The cause of Englehardt’s death had not been determined as of Monday, with the need for further evidence. Collier and Taylor could face a homicide or murder charge if the drug Taylor allegedly gave him played a major role in his death, the Miami Herald has reported.
An online fundraiser set up to help offset Englehardt’s funeral costs had eclipsed $ 27,000 early Wednesday.
“Christine Englehardt’s life was taken away from her,” the website says. “Two men who don’t deserve to be named stole the whole future of this woman in a very sickly way and put her mother and father in great pain.”