Inset: Stefano Cremasco-Cicero (Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation). Background: Law enforcement officers investigate a reported attack at a Solitair Brickell apartment on Southwest Eighth Street in Miami, Fla. (WPLG/YouTube).
A man in Florida greeting his mother for a visit stabbed her to death in his apartment building and told responding officers while covered in blood, "I was defending myself," authorities say.
Stefano Cremasco-Cicero, 36, has been charged with second-degree murder related to domestic violence, according to Miami-Dade County court records reviewed by Law&Crime.
The victim's name and age have not been released.
On Thursday, Cremasco-Cicero was at his apartment on Southwest Eighth Street in Miami. His mother was visiting from Mexico and staying with him, the defendant's wife said, according to court documents reviewed by local independent TV station WPLG.
Cremasco-Cicero and his mother had not been close since his parents' divorce, the wife — who was out of the country — stated, adding that Cremasco-Cicero was stressed because of the opening of a new restaurant.
Surveillance footage from cameras inside the building on Thursday night reportedly showed the defendant and his mother entering an elevator and then returning to the building at about 10:30 p.m. At about 4:30 a.m. the following morning, Cremasco-Cicero was apparently seen entering an elevator holding a knife and covered in blood.
He left the elevator and dropped the knife before picking it up and heading upstairs, authorities said.
The defendant is believed to have changed his clothing and left the building. About 10 minutes later, he returned and sat on a couch in the lobby and got the attention of a food delivery worker, the court documents stated.
Cremasco-Cicero allegedly asked this woman for help, eventually calling 911 himself but asking her to give the dispatcher the address. The woman said she noticed blood on him and tried to give him his phone back, but he wouldn't take it.
Officers with the Miami Police Department say they arrived at the apartment building to find the defendant with blood on his shoes, hands, and clothing. Cremasco-Cicero reportedly told them, "I was defending myself."
Police entered his apartment and saw a woman "lying on her side in a recovery position, fully clothed, covered in blood." She appeared to have multiple apparent stab wounds.
Medical personnel arrived at the scene, too, and they pronounced the victim dead at about 5:10 a.m.
Cremasco-Cicero was arrested and jailed, and his bond and future court date have yet to be set.
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