Sergio Brown, former NFL player, denies charges in mother’s murder case

Former NFL player Sergio Brown pleaded not guilty Wednesday when he was arraigned on charges of killing his mother and trying to hide her body. Myrtle Simmons-Brown, 73, was found dead in a creek near her home in the west Chicago suburb of Maywood on Sept. 16. She shared the home with her son, but Sergio Brown was nowhere to be found at the time. He was spotted in Mexico, and three weeks after Simmons-Brown was found dead, her son was arrested in Mexico City. He was taken from there to Tijuana, where he was handed over to U.S. authorities who transported him across the border to San Diego. Brown, 35, was formally charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of concealing a homicide. Investigators found evidence that a bathtub in the house had recently been heavily cleaned. Cameras near the home also captured Brown burning items in a firepit on Sept. 14, police said. Cops later found burnt fabric in the pit. Brown and his mother’s cellphones were in the same locations on Sept. 14 and 15 but stopped pinging after that, according to police. When Brown was arrested in Mexico, he was carrying his mom’s phone, iPad and credit card, cops said. He had allegedly been using the card to purchase things while in Mexico. Brown played seven seasons in the NFL from 2010 to 2016. He signed with the New England Patriots in 2010 as an undrafted free agent from Notre Dame and played two seasons with the team. He also played for the Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills.