Two North Carolina men visiting Miami's South Beach for spring break were arrested and accused of raping and drugging a woman who later died in her hotel room.
The men, Evoire Collier, 21, and Dorian Taylor, 24, are also accused of stealing the credit cards of the victim, identified as 24-year-old Christine Englehardt, who was visiting from Pennsylvania. Collier and Taylor have been charged with burglary with battery, sexual battery, petty theft, and the fraudulent use of a credit card. If it's proven that the drug they gave her led to her death, they could face a manslaughter or murder charge.
Authorities were called to Englehardt's room after she was found semi-nude and dead on Thursday (March 18). Surveillance footage showed her last entering the room with two men, who left less than an hour later. Collier was later found in the area, as police identified him wearing the same pants as in the surveillance footage.
Collier confessed that he and Taylor met the woman at a local restaurant, and they gave her a "green pill," which he thought was a Percocet, while they walked on Ocean Drive. It's unclear whether she willingly took the pill, or if she took it unknowingly. Collier said that he and Taylor continued to stay with Englehardt, as they planned to have sex with her.
Once at the woman's hotel room, the men had to hold up Englehardt, as Miami Beach Detective Luis Alsina testified in court on Monday (March 22), stating, "The defendant was holding her from behind, holding her by the neck so she could stand."
The two men then each had sex with the woman, and Collier claims Taylor forced himself on her as she appeared to be unconscious. The police report states that Englehardt couldn't have consented to have sex with the men, as she was under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Once she was unconscious, Taylor and Collier stole her cash and credit cards, which they used at various locations around Miami. When they were arrested, police also found Englehardt's phone and several "green pills," according to the police report.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer agreed that the men should remain behind bars before their trial, as prosecutors feared they could abscond. Judge Glazer added, "He couldn’t even pick up the phone to call police or 911 after they did whatever it is they did to her."
Collier and Taylor were seen around Miami last week, and one Twitter user identified them "photobombing" her. The user, @jahfeelme_ shared the photo on Monday, along with the caption, "Oh nothing just out in Miami getting photobombed by rapist murderers."
Source: Tampa Bay Times
