Source: Icon Sports Wire / Getty
Ex-NFL player Sergio Brown has pled not guilty to first-degree murder and concealing homicide in the case of the death of his mother, Myrtle Brown.
Sergio, 35, made his plea Nov. 6 in front of Judge Gary Kull in Maywood, Illinois, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
NBC News noted prosecutors’ allegation that investigators collected similar DNA samples from a toothbrush in Sergio’s bathroom and what was found under his mother’s fingernails.
The former athlete’s public defender, Robert Fox, reportedly said, “There’s no direct evidence. It’s all circumstantial,” at a detention hearing for Sergio in October.
The ex-NFLer awaits his trial from Cook County Jail.
Myrtle’s body was found Sept. 16 by a group of her loved ones, including her sister, during a secondary search around the property of the Maywood home where she and Sergio lived.
The late 73-year-old’s remains were discovered in a creek less than 100 feet away from the residence. Her death was ruled a homicide.
One of the woman’s neighbors claimed that he saw Myrtle and Sergio at the home two days before her body was found. The neighbor, a man named Carlos Cortez, also told CBS News Chicago that he saw Sergio burning his mother’s clothes.
Cortez also told the outlet that Myrtle’s family said the former athlete “wasn’t himself the last few months. He was out of his mind.”
The 73-year-old’s sister, Sheila Simmons, claimed to have last spoken to Myrtle on Sept. 14.
On Sept. 17, Sergio’s brother, Nick Brown, posted several photos of the matriarch on Instagram. His lengthy caption sought answers regarding his mother’s murder and Sergio’s whereabouts.
“It’s a sad but hopeful time, and we will all get through this together. Mom always told me, ‘Tough times don’t last,’ and our last conversation about tough times being temporary is my beacon of hope,” Nick wrote.
Sergio was arrested Oct. 10 in San Diego after being extradited there from Mexico. He was recorded partying during his South of the Border stint days after his mother’s death. NBC News reported that the ex-NFL player used his mother’s credit card while he was in Mexico.
The former athlete also posted a series of confusing posts on Instagram about how he’d been targeted by Maywood police and the FBI.
Brown started his NFL career in 2010. His seven-season run included stints with the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills.
The former athlete’s next court date is set for Jan. 24.
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