Stefano Cremasco-Cicero, 36, the manager of a high-end Miami steakhouse, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder with a weapon in the death of his mother. Police responded to his luxury high-rise apartment in the Brickell neighborhood early Friday morning after receiving an "unknown request."
Officers found Cremasco-Cicero, who manages the 1986 Steak House in Miami, drenched in blood on his clothing, hands, and shoes. He told officers he was acting in self-defense before leading them to his 47th-floor apartment. Inside, they discovered his mother, who had been visiting from Mexico, with multiple stab wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The Miami Herald reported that police are not publicly identifying the mother at this time.
During a search of the apartment, authorities found several bloodied kitchen knives, a shattered glass, and a broken wine bottle. Cremasco-Cicero's wife, who was out of the country at the time, told police that her husband and his mother had a strained relationship following his parents' divorce. She also mentioned that Cremasco-Cicero had been under significant stress due to opening a new restaurant.
Surveillance footage and building key-fob logs indicated that Cremasco-Cicero and his mother returned to the apartment building around 10:30 p.m. the night before the incident. Around 4:25 a.m. Friday, Cremasco-Cicero was seen on video entering an elevator with a knife and covered in blood, wearing a white T-shirt and khaki pants. He reportedly dropped the knife after exiting the elevator, then picked it up and returned to his apartment. He was later seen exiting the building wearing a different blue shirt.
Shortly before 4:40 a.m., he re-entered the building lobby and sat on a couch, still wearing the bloodied shoes. He opened the lobby door for a food delivery driver and asked her to call 911. The courier told police she noticed blood on Cremasco-Cicero. He then called the police himself and handed the phone to the delivery driver to speak with the dispatcher.
Cremasco-Cicero was arrested and taken to Turner Guildford Knight Correctional Center. He is reportedly on an immigration hold, as he was in the U.S. on an investor visa. He appeared in Miami-Dade County court on Saturday, wearing an anti-suicide smock, and was denied bond. His next court date is scheduled for Tuesday.