2 men accused of drugging, raping woman who was later found dead in Miami Beach hotel room
(Miami Dade Corrections)
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. - Police in South Florida arrested two men accused of drugging and raping a woman who was later found dead in a Miami Beach hotel room.
Miami Beach Police discovered the body of 24-year-old Christine Englehardt at the Albion Hotel on Thursday. WSVN reports Englehardt was visiting the area from Pennsylvania.
On Saturday, officers arrested 21-year-old Evoire Collier and 24-year-old Dorian Taylor, both from North Carolina, after police said they were the last two people seen with the victim.
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Investigators said the pair used Englehardt's credit cards to pay for their spring break partying when police took them into custody.
Officers said Collier and Taylor admitted to giving Englehardt a green pill on the way to her hotel room on the morning she died. Surveillance video showed them walking with her in the hotel's lobby.
"She was actually staggering a little bit, and at one point, co-defendant Taylor held her, behind her, around her neck, basically keeping her stable. We believe she was either intoxicated or drugged, and she could not give consent for them to actually go with her," a Miami Beach Police detective told WSVN.
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Investigators said they went into room, where she was robbed, raped and left unconscious. Officers found her dead on her bed later that day.
Two days later, police identified Collier and Taylor as the men seen in the hotel's surveillance video and arrested them.
Both men are charged with sexual battery, burglary, credit card fraud and theft. Investigators said they could face additional charges if the green pill the men gave her was connected to her death.
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The two men appeared in front of a judge on Monday.
"The victim couldn’t even pick up the phone to call the police or 9-1-1 after they did what they did to her," Judge Mindy Glazer said. She then addressed Collier and Taylor: "You’re both being held on some serious charges. You battered a helpless victim."
Collier and Taylor were both denied bond and will remain in jail.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses.