Sergio Brown, Myrtle Jean Simmons-Brown (Images via intplayerwithapassport/Instagram Nick Brown/Instagram)
A NFL player-turned-fugitive is under arrest in the United States weeks after his 73-year-old mother was found dead in an Illinois creek and weeks after he posted bizarre videos from Mexico.
Sergio Stephen Brown, 35, had been sought by authorities in the Chicago-area Village of Maywood after Myrtle Brown was assaulted and killed, and her body was discarded less than 100 yards behind her home. The victim, who had just turned 73 on Sept. 8, was found dead on Sept. 16, a Saturday.
Brown was reported to be in U.S. custody for the first time on Wednesday — specifically in San Diego, California — in relation to an Illinois warrant connected to Myrtle Brown's death. San Diego County Jail records reviewed by Law&Crime show that Sergio Brown was booked Tuesday at 4:08 p.m. local time following his "fugitive arrest."
Initially considered a missing person, Sergio Brown reemerged in Mexico, posting Instagram videos saying "my f— momma was on vacation in Sinaloa" and repeating "Fake news. Fake news. Fake news," seemingly dismissing the idea that he was involved in his mother's death days after the fact. In addition to the incoherent online rants claiming that the FBI and the Maywood Police Department had previously kidnapped him, Brown was apparently spotted partying in Mexico.
While Brown was still on the run, a next-door neighbor in Maywood revealed that the former football player's family members said he "wasn't himself the past few months" and that he "was out of his mind."
Carlos Cortez told Chicago CBS affiliate WBBM that his Ring doorbell camera was recording when Brown burned his mother's clothes in a bonfire.
"Myrtle, she was an outstanding woman, and I'm hoping she's in the right place and I hope she's with God," the neighbor said. "And like I said, I would've never expected this in a million years."
Sergio Brown is a former defensive back for the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Buffalo Bills who played professional football from 2010 to 2016. He also played collegiate ball at the University of Notre Dame.
Alberto Luperon contributed to this report.
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