A woman who, according to police, died after being drugged and raped in a hotel room in Miami Beach, was visiting Florida from the suburbs of 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. She was 24 years old.
Her 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 accused of stealing Englehardt’s credit cards and cash and using them during their trip to South Beach.
According to police records, surveillance footage showed the two men entering the lobby of the Englehardt hotel at around 1 am on Thursday, March 18, and leaving the hotel without Englehardt about 30 minutes later. Both men responded to the description given to the police and were stopped and detained by detectives on Sunday.
One of the Miami Beach detectives in the case testified at a bail hearing on Monday and said that, based on the surveillance footage, Englehardt was staggering and seemed unable to give any kind of consent before entering the hotel. He added that one of the defendants really helped to hold her while they went up to their hotel room.
Investigators are trying to determine whether the victim’s death resulted from a “green pill” provided by the men, but the Miami-Dade Medical-Legal Office said on Monday that it is conducting further tests and no cause of death has been determined while awaits a toxicological report.
Collier and Taylor are facing charges of theft with assault, petty theft, sexual assault and credit card fraud. If it is proven that the drug they allegedly gave Englehardt played a role in his death, they could also be facing a wrongful death or manslaughter charge.
Detectives said one of the defendants admitted to having sex with Englehardt.
Collier and Taylor have been named public defenders for the time being. During the bail hearing, Collier’s sister pleaded with the judge saying he never had a problem before.
“I am seriously perplexed by these charges and charges against him, but I can attest to his character and I can attest to the responsibility for him being tried on any charges,” said his sister. “If you, please, let my brother come home and let our family handle the situation properly, we will do whatever is necessary that Miami-Dade County asks us to do.”