Sergio Brown's Mother Found Dead As Search For Ex-NFL Star Continues
A search initially launched to locate the whereabouts of former NFL star Sergio Brown and his mother, Myrtle Brown, escalated into a convoluted case when authorities discovered Myrtle's lifeless body in a creek near her home in Illinois.
CNN reported that on Saturday, September 16, 2023, police chanced upon Myrtle's remains during a missing person search for her and her son, spurred by reports from their relatives who had been unable to contact them in the days prior. Upon further examination, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office concluded that the 73-year-old died from injuries in line with a physical assault. Her death was also later classified as a homicide, per Natalia Derevyanny, a spokesperson for the office. "Myrtle, she was an outstanding woman, and I'm hoping she's in the right place and she's with God," her neighbor, Carlos Cortez, told CBS News Chicago. "I never would've expected this in a million years."
Meanwhile, authorities are still deep in their search for the retired athlete, who has also been out of reach since days before his disappearance. Cortez noted that he had seen him the Thursday prior, and that, in recent months, the former New England Patriots safety had been exhibiting unusual behavior.
Sergio Brown had allegedly been acting strange before he went missing
As of this writing, the police have yet to identify a suspect. They have also not confirmed whether Sergio Brown is a person of interest or not, per local news station WGNTV.
However, neighbor Carlos Cortez told CBS News Chicago that authorities found something out of the ordinary from the footage they retrieved from his doorbell camera. "They seen him [Sergio] taking out the trash, and they seen him have a bonfire where he burned all [of Myrtle's] clothes," he explained. What's more, Brown's relatives also divulged to Cortez that they observed a concerning change in Sergio's behavior in recent months. "They said he wasn't himself the past few months. He was out of his mind," Cortez said.
The rest of the Brown family have yet to corroborate these claims, although fans speculated that Sergio may have been suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative condition that many football players are diagnosed with. "CTE is no joke! It really changes these football players' minds for the worse. She might've been the only one trying to intervene and help him and became a victim herself," one user noted on YouTube. "Hopefully the dude didn't hurt his mom. However, CTE with former NFL players could be an underlying issue," another said.
Sergio's brother, Nick Brown, pleaded with the public to help with the search. "My brother Sergio is still missing. If anyone knows where he is I want him to know that I love you and please come home," he wrote on Instagram. "If you have any information on Sergio's whereabouts please send them to the Maywood Police Department."