Parents Remember Daughter 2 Years After Miami Beach Hotel Death – NBC 6 South Florida
Holding a blanket covered with photos of their daughter, Doreen and Tom Englehardt stood outside the Miami Beach hotel where she died more than two years ago.
Wednesday was the first time they’ve been there, ever.
“I can’t believe this is where my daughter lost her life,” Tom Englehardt said.
“We were so close, everybody said we were attached at the hip, she was my only child. We did everything together, everything,” said Doreen Englehardt.
Christine Englehardt was 24 years old when she died of a drug overdose inside a room at the Albion Hotel. It was March 18, 2021. Thousands of people had descended on Miami Beach for Spring Break to let loose one year into the pandemic.
“Right before she passed I said ‘goodnight, I love you and I’ll text you tomorrow’ and she wrote ‘goodnight, I love you too,'” Doreen said of the last time she heard from Christine.
Dorian Taylor and Evoire Colier are in jail, accused of drugging and raping Christine and leaving her to die.
Miami Beach Police released video of the two men following Christine to her hotel room the night she died.
For Doreen and Tom, their pain is constant.
“It’s hard, we think of our daughter every day, we’re at the cemetery every day, at least once a day. It never ends,” said Tom.
Now they’re using their story to send a message.
“We don’t want this to happen to any other families,” said Tom.
The State Attorney’s Office released new video Monday in the case against two North Carolina men accused of drugging and raping a Pennsylvania woman who was later found dead in her South Beach hotel room. NBC 6’s Alyssa Hyman reports
With Memorial Day weekend and months of the South florida summer upon us, they urge everyone to be aware.
“If you’re out there and you see somebody that looks like they’re in trouble, don’t be a passerby, go over and do something,” said Tom.
The couple can’t help but think if someone would’ve stepped in to ask questions when their daughter walked to her hotel room that night, her life could’ve been spared.
“The businesses need to take the responsibility of adding security and understanding their risk. This should’ve never happened,” said Michael Haggard, the attorney who represents the Englehardt family.
“I don’t know, it’s just hard, we have no closure,” said Doreen.
Taylor and Collier are charged with murder. Police say they’re responsible for Christine’s Fentanyl-induced death. They’re both expected to be in a Miami-Dade County courtroom next week for a hearing. Their trial is expected to begin sometime next year.
