Sergio Brown, a former NFL player, is reportedly missing in the aftermath of his mother’s death from injuries relating to an assault.
According to reporting from CNN, Brown’s 73-year-old mother Myrtle was found near a creek behind her home on September 16. Relatives alerted the Maywood Police Department that they could not contact either Brown or his mother, and officers roped off a residential street in the Illinois city as they responded to the reports from the family.
The elder Brown’s neighbor, Carlos Cortez, told WBBM, a CNN affiliate, “Myrtle, she was an outstanding woman, and I’m hoping she’s in the right place and she’s with God. I never would’ve expected this in a million years.”
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that Brown died by homicide, and Cortez also told WBBM, “Her family came and knocked on the door and was looking for her cause they put out a police report because she was missing for 72 hours.”
In a Ring surveillance video, the police department discovered video evidence of the football player acting strangely. According to Cortez, “They see him taking out the trash, and they see him have a bonfire, where he burnt all her clothes.”
Sheila Simmons, Brown’s aunt, told WGN TV she last talked to her sister on September 14, and on the 16th, when she went to her sister’s house, things were out of the ordinary. Simmons said, “We’re going to find out what happened because it’s not normal for my sister to not answer her phone, not to respond to text messages. People have been reaching out to her since Friday. No one was able to reach her.”
“Now, I got the call this morning saying that she’s missing, so immediately I came out here and [found] out my sister is dead,” she continued.
Family members also told WGN-TV that they had not heard from the former football player while waiting for an update.
The Maywood Police Department is currently looking for Brown and has asked that anyone with information about his current location use an anonymous tip line if they are nervous about talking to the police.
Cortez also told WBBM that the athlete had been acting strange for the last few months, according to information he received from his family. No suspect has been officially named, but Brown remains at large. Brown played seven seasons in the NFL for the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Buffalo Bills. His last active season was 2016.