Homicide Charges Possible In Case Of Raped, Drugged Bucks Woman

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office said Monday that they are investigating possible homicide charges against two men accused in March of drugging and sexually assaulting a Bucks County woman in Florida.

Christine Englehardt, 24, died March 18 while on spring break in Miami Beach, where she was found unconscious at the Albion Hotel. Rescue workers pronounced her dead at the scene.

A Miami-Dade Medical Examiner released a report Monday giving her cause of death as "prone positioning while under the influence of Fentanyl and Ethanol," according to NBC10 Philadelphia.

Investigators originally charged two North Carolina men, 21-year-old Evoire Collier and 24-year-old Dorian Taylor, with burglary with assault or battery, sexual battery, credit card fraud, and petty theft. Watching security footage from the night, police believed the two men to be the same ones seen arriving at the hotel at 1 a.m. with Englehardt, then leaving without her at 1:37 a.m.

Investigators have said they believe the men drugged Englehardt with oxycodone — which they found on them upon arrest — and then raped her, before stealing her phone and credit cards.

A portion of an oxycodone pill found on the men was tested and found to contain Fentanyl, according to the medical report. Police said that Collier told them he believed the pill was Percocet.

“Although the concentration of fentanyl detected is fatal, a component of positional asphyxia, with her face pressed down into soft bedding as a result of physical restraint and/or chemical impairment to facilitate sexual assault, cannot be excluded," the medical report said.

When asked whether the case could be considered a homicide, Assistant State Attorney Arvind Singh said “it may be,” according to a report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Englehardt graduated from Council Rock North in 2014 and had worked as a manager at Jules Thin Crust, a pizza restaurant with locations in Doylestown and Newtown. Reports said she was "in no state to consent" at the Miami hotel, as observed on security footage.

Collier and Taylor remain in jail without bond.

Stay informed about what’s going on in Bucks County, or in your local area. Sign up for Patch emails and don't miss a minute of local and state news.

Got tips, story ideas, or questions in Lower Bucks County? Email kate.fishman@patch.com.