Two men accused of killing a college woman during Spring Break are facing murder charges, while one of the suspects faces an additional murder indictment.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, 21-year-old Christine Englehardt, of Pennsylvania, died inside her hotel room at the Miami Beach Albion Hotel in March. Police arrested Evoire Collier, 21, and Dorian Taylor, 24, both of Greensboro, North Carolina, in connection with Englehardt’s death.
According to court documents, the suspects are accused of drugging Englehardt, raping her inside her hotel room, then stealing her credit cards. First responders found the victim alone, semi-naked, and unresponsive in her hotel room. They rushed her to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Investigators obtained security footage that ultimately led to the suspects. Both men are were reportedly in Florida to start music careers.
Earlier this month, a Miami-Dade grand jury indicted the suspects on murder charges. Taylor received an additional murder indictment for selling a man, Walter Riley, 21, fentanyl pills that ended up killing him. Riley died in Miami Beach two days after Englehardt.
According to Law enforcement sources, Riley was under the impression that he was buying Percocet from the suspect, Tampa Bay Times reports.
Prosecutors said Englehardt was also given a fentanyl pill prior to her death.
Collier reportedly admitted to investigators that he “met a girl” at a restaurant. He said he later walked down Ocean Drive with Taylor and the victim and saw Taylor give Englehardt a “green pill” with “30” marked on it.
The detective added that Collier confessed he walked to the victim’s hotel room with Taylor, with the intention of having sex with her. Alsina testified that security footage on the night in question showed Taylor holding the victim from behind because she was too intoxicated to walk straight.
“She was actually staggering a little bit, and at one point co-defendant Taylor held 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,” Miami Beach Detective Luis Alsinae previously said.
Prosecutors argued that after raping Englehardt in her hotel room, the suspects used her credit cards for purchases at the Sugar Factory and SOBE Liquors.
Although the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner said Englehardt took fentanyl that was “rapidly fatal,” Collier’s attorney Phil Reizenstein said he was shocked when the grand jury handed down murder indictments. According to Reizenstein, the medical examiner said that the victim had so many drugs in her system that it was difficult to name which drug killed her.
“I think they’re going to regret doing this,” said Reizenstein. “I think by the time I’m finished with them, they’re never going to be able to say she died of this.”
Both men remain behind bars in Miami. They’re also facing sexual assault and robbery charges in connection with the Englehardt case.
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[Feature Photo: Christine Englehardt/Facebook]