SAN DIEGO — Former NFL player and Maywood native Sergio Brown is in custody on a first degree murder warrant in connection to the murder of his mother.

Myrtle Simmons-Brown, 73, was discovered dead in a creek behind her home, in Maywood’s 1000 block of Nichols Lane on Sept. 16. Police said Brown lived there as well.

Last month, Maywood police have stopped short of naming Brown as a person of interest, but stated they’d like to talk to him. Both Brown and his mother were originally classified as missing persons.

A photo of Myrtle Simmons-Brown (Courtesy: Christian A. Conway)

Brown is a former safety for Notre Dame who played seven seasons in the NFL.

He has been in U.S. custody in San Diego since Tuesday after re-entering the country from Mexico, when the warrant was issued for his arrest, according to police.

A few days after Simmons-Brown’s body was found, videos of Brown surfaced on social media, where he appeared to be outside of the United States.

In one of the videos, Brown claimed to have been kidnapped twice, while in another he appeared to be laughing, while surrounded by messages from the movie “Finding Nemo.”

He is awaiting extradition from San Diego and will be officially charged with first-degree murder once back in Cook County.

Family of Simmons-Brown shared a letter with WGN News Wednesday, thanking the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office for their actions in the case of Simmons-Brown.

“Our family is thankful that the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office answered our call for urgent and immediate action in the case of our beloved Myrtle Jean Simmons-Brown. We are also heartened by the news that Sergio Brown has been apprehended and returned to the United States unharmed. Our family is prayerful that, as the investigation progresses, more answers will become available, shedding light on the circumstances surrounding this heartbreaking incident.”

Christian A. Conway — Family Representative

Family previously shared a letter with WGN News last week demanding an update on the case and justice for Simmons-Brown — who family described as a “beautiful, loving and inspirational soul.”