Photo: Maywood Police Department
Former NFL safety Sergio Brown has been extradited back to Illinois and will appear before a judge on Wednesday (October 25) in relation to charges in the death of his mother, the Maywood Police Department said in a statement to TMZ Sports.
Brown, 35, faces charges of first-degree murder and concealment of a body. The department also released an updated mugshot, which shows the former NFL player wearing a Ben Roethlisberger Pittsburgh Steelers jersey while being processed.
Brown was initially deported from Mexico on October 10 and taken into custody by U.S. law enforcement officers near San Diego, where he remained before finally being extradited back to Maywood, a suburb of Chicago, where his mother, Myrtle Brown, 73, was found dead at the home the two shared last month. Earlier this month, a video obtained and shared by TMZ Sports showed a shirtless Brown with women on a sandy dance floor.
A witness told the website that the former NFL safety was at the venue for several hours and buying people alcohol before leaving the venue. Brown's mother was found dead by authorities on September 17.
On September 19, the former safety shared a video in which he appeared to be in Mexico and claimed he thought his mother was on vacation at the time of her reported death. Brown also seemed to accuse local police and the FBI of potentially being responsible for his mother's death.
The Maywood Police Department, which hadn't labeled Brown a suspect in his mother's death at the time, previously said it was "aware of the video" and was investigating "its authenticity" in an emailed statement to the Chicago Sun-Times on September 19.
“Maywood Police Department detectives are aware of a video that has surfaced on social media in relation to Mr. Sergio Brown, who is still considered a missing person and are also looking its’ authenticity,” a department spokesperson said.
Carlos Cortez, a neighbor who said he last saw Sergio and Myrtle Brown in person on September 14, provided police with Ring doorbell footage, which reportedly shows Sergio Brown "taking out the trash" and having "a bonfire where he burned all her clothes."
"They said he wasn't himself the last few months. He was out of his mind," Cortez told CBS News.
Myrtle Brown was reported to be unresponsive near a creek behind her home on September 17 while authorities were searching for her and her son, police in Maywood, Illinois announced via NBC News. The elder Brown was reported to have been killed by "multiple injures due to assault" and her death was characterized as a homicide, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed in an email on September 17.
Myrtle and Sergio Brown were both reported missing on September 16 after family members claimed they couldn't find or contact them, the Maywood Police Department said in a statement obtained by NBC Chicago. The elder Brown was located by authorities after the second round of a search launched to find the two individuals.
The initial police probe was characterized as a homicide investigation, however, the department's statement didn't categorize what led to that determination.
"Currently the Maywood Police Department is attempting to locate Mr. Sergio Brown," the department said at the time.
Brown signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2010 and spent his first two seasons with the franchise before signing with the Indianapolis Colts in 2012. The former Notre Dame standout spent three seasons with the Colts, as well as the 2015 season with the Jacksonville Jaguars and 2016 season with the Buffalo Bills.