Politics
Spring breaker Christine Englehardt, 24, who was left for dead after being drugged & raped had traveled to Miami alone
SPRING breaker Christine Englehardt, 24, who was left for dead after being drugged and raped, had traveled to Miami alone.
The revelation came as two suspects in the incidents surrounding her death appeared in Florida court.
Christine Englehardt had traveled to Florida alone, her father said[/caption]
Dorian Taylor, one of the suspects charged in the incidents surrounding Englehardt’s death, is seen in court[/caption]
Evoire Collier, the other alleged suspect, is seen in court[/caption]
Evoire Collier, 21 and Dorian Taylor, 24, have been charged in connection with Englehardt’s death in Miami Beach, as party chaos has led to more than 1,000 arrests.
Her father revealed to NBC Miami that Englehardt traveled alone to Florida.
The two men, both from North Carolina, were accused of drugging, raping and then stealing from Englehardt – who died at a hotel after they left her.
Collier and Taylor were reportedly captured in surveillance video entering the Albion Hotel on Thursday with Englehardt.
A half-hour later, the two men were seen leaving without the woman, according to NBC Miami. They were arrested over the weekend.
Englehardt, who was visiting from Pennsylvania, was found dead in her hotel room on Thursday.
In a haunting social media post from 2019 that’s recently been shared again on Facebook in wake of Englehardt’s death, she shared a story where she was apparently stalked – and warned others to be cautious.
A haunting post written by Englehardt in 2019 has begun to re-circulate following her death[/caption]
Christine Englehardt, 24, died at a hotel[/caption]
Evoire Collier is in police custody[/caption]
Dorian Taylor is also still in police custody[/caption]
Englehardt’s death came as spring breakers flocked to Florida, with officials implementing curfews[/caption]
She said the previous week, she was running at Tyler State Park when she saw a car “with a white T shirt hanging out the driver’s side window.”
“As I was running past him, the car started beeping at me and the driver waved his hand out the window. I assumed he was broken down and needed help, but my gut feeling was telling me something wasn’t right. So I kept running and didn’t stop,” she wrote
Englehardt said she saw the car with the same shirt attempting the same motions again – and “I immediately knew that this was some kind of predator scheme.”
She said she stopped workers, who alerted the rager and thanked her for alerting them.
“So if you ever feel unsafe in ANY way or have a feeling something isn’t right, DON’T hesitate to notify the police,” Englehardt wrote.
“Always go with your gut. Please be on alert for any suspicious people or cars. This is a dangerous world now unfortunately and you never know what anyone’s true intentions are.”
Tributes poured in for Englehardt as word of her death spread.
Tributes poured in from friends and family as people demanded justice for Englehardt[/caption]
One of her friends wrote: “It feels like it was just yesterday that I saw you at jules and we were talking about making plans to catch up. You were such an amazing, outgoing & most beautiful women.”
She added: “I will cherish all our memories we shared together. Rest in paradise angel
Amanda Soda-Winfrey, her godmother, wrote: “Christine, may you Rest In Peace you beautiful angel. I am so sorry this happened to you. You are so loved. #justiceforchristine Life is unfair and people are sick. You did not deserve this.”
Another of Christine’s friends wrote: “My friend. You will be missed. Our hearts are broken.”
During a Monday bond hearing, a prosecutor said that Englehardt was so intoxicated while she was at the hotel that she could not give consent to either of the accused men.
Cops say the men attacked Englehardt and left her for dead[/caption]
Authorities have been struggling to control spring breakers in Miami[/caption]
Officials in Miami have declared a curfew to discourage party goers[/caption]
Judge Mindy Glazer said in court: “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.”
One of the defendants reportedly admitted to giving the woman a “green pill” with the characters “a30” on it, but it’s not clear at this time what the pill was or if she died from overdosing on it.
According to WSVN, a Miami Beach detective said: “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.”
But, despite this, cops said the men went into Englehardt’s hotel room anyway.
The woman’s cause of death is pending along with a toxicology report.
Authorities also said that the two men used credit cards they stole from the intoxicated woman to continue partying in Miami.
Both men remain in custody.
They face charges including burglary with assault or battery, sexual battery, credit card fraud, and petit theft, NBC Miami reported.
Law enforcement in Miami Beach has struggled to handle a massive wave of spring breakers flocking to the area over the past month.
Englehardt was 24 years old[/caption]
Authorities have suggested that people looking for a break from Covid lockdown have led to the massive influx of spring breakers[/caption]
People are seen gathering as the 8pm curfew goes to effect in Miami Beach on March 21, 2021[/caption]
More than 1,000 people have been arrested since February.
On Saturday, the city issued a new curfew, demanding that party goers clear the streets from 8pm to 6am. The curfew could last until mid-April.
Officials in the city have said that this year’s revelers aren’t the typical spring break crowd.
The city is seeing an influx of adults wanting some kind of break after a year of Covid lockdowns, rather than the typical spring break college kids.
Most read in News
Commenting on the decision to declare a state of emergency, Miami City Manager Raul Aguila said, “As we hit the peak of the peak of spring break, we are quite simply overwhelmed.”
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber declared the state of emergency in the city, saying the crowds are “more than we can handle.”
“Too many are coming, really, without the intention of following the rules, and the result has been a level of chaos and disorder that is just something more than we can endure,” Gelber told CNN.
