Ex-NFL player Sergio Brown in custody on first-degree murder charge in mother's slaying

Former NFL player Sergio Brown, who police reported missing last month following the fatal bludgeoning of his mother was in police custody in Southern California Wednesday in connection to her slaying, officials said.

Brown was taken into custody while re-entering the United States through San Diego, from Mexico, according to the Maywood Police Department, the agency who reported Brown as a missing person last month.

Aided by other local and federal law enforcement agencies, the San Diego Police Department arrested Brown after a warrant was issued for first-degree murder for the death of his 73-year-old mother Myrtle Brown, Maywood police wrote in a statement obtained by USA TODAY.

On Wednesday, police said in the release, Brown was awaiting extradition to Illinois to face the homicide charge.

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Brown remains jailed without bond

San Diego Central Jail records show Brown was booked into the jail just after 3 p.m. Tuesday and being held without bail as a fugitive from justice.

Authorities had been searching for the ex-Indianapolis Colts player, after his mother was found dead on Sept. 16 in a creek near her home in Maywood, a village in suburban Chicago west of downtown.

Police previously had not said whether Brown − who lived with his mother at the time of her slaying − was a person of interest or suspect in connection to her death.

On Wednesday police did not reveal what led them to Brown being a suspect in his mother's killing.

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Medical examiner: Myrtle Brown died as a result of assault

Prior her death, police said the department was informed by family members they could not locate or make contact with the woman or her son.

After her body was located, she was transported to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office

Natalia Derevyanny, a spokesperson for the medical examiner's office, told USA TODAY last month an autopsy revealed she died from multiple injuries related to assault. Her manner of death was ruled a homicide, Derevyanny said.

Former football star played for 4 NFL teams

Sergio Brown played for the Colts 2012-14, as well as three other NFL teams.

He was a star defensive back at Notre Dame before he signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2010. Brown played seven seasons in the NFL with the Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills, with whom he played his final season in 2016.

This is a developing story.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.