Judge denies defense motion for men charged in Miami Beach drugging and raping of tourist found dead in hotel room

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. ā€“ Two men from North Carolina are awaiting trial for the horrible crimes they allegedly committed in Miami Beach.

21-year-old Evoire Collier and 24-year-old Dorian Taylor were arrested last month a day apart.

They have been held in Miami-Dade County custody on sexual battery, burglary and credit card fraud charges.

24-year-old Christine Englehardt, who was in town for spring break from Pennsylvania, was found dead in a room at the Albion Hotel in Miami Beach.

According to police, she had been drugged and raped.

Police said Taylor was caught on surveillance cameras using the victimā€™s credit card at a South Beach liquor store after the two were reportedly seen leaving the victimā€™s hotel.

On Monday, Collierā€™s lawyers pushed to have certain pieces of evidence, such as surveillance footage from inside the hotel, a recorded conversation, and possible confessions and admissions Collier made to detectives, out of public view.

His lawyers argued they donā€™t want their client tried in the court of public opinion.

ā€œWeā€™re only interested in one thing,ā€ said attorney Philip Reizenstein. ā€œOur client having a fair trial.ā€

A number of lawyers representing different media outlets objected, including one representing Local 10 News.

She referenced the case in the death of George Floyd, in which video of the incident has been viewed countless times and yet a jury was still able to be selected.

The judge on Wednesday ultimately denied the defenseā€™s motion. The judge is however allowing the defense to file a motion to stay his decision, giving the defense time to have an appeals court review the matter and to keep that discovery from being released, for now.

That motion will be taken up Tuesday afternoon at a different hearing.

There is still no official cause of death for the victim from the medical examinerā€™s office.


About the Author:

Layron Livingston made the move from Ohio's Miami Valley to Miami, Florida, to join the Local 10 News team.