The manager of an upscale Miami steakhouse was arrested in connection with his mother’s killing Friday morning after police said they found him covered in blood at his luxury high-rise and discovered her body inside his apartment with multiple stab wounds.
Stefano Cremasco-Cicero, 36, allegedly told officers he had acted in self-defense after his mother was fatally stabbed inside his 47th-floor residence, the Miami Herald reported.
Officers were called to the apartment building in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood shortly before 5 a.m. for what was described as an “unknown request.” When they arrived, they found Cremasco-Cicero with blood on his clothing, hands and shoes, according to his arrest affidavit.
Cremasco-Cicero reportedly told police, “I was defending myself,” before taking officers up to his apartment on the 47th floor.
Inside the unit, investigators found his mother — whose name has not been publicly released — lying on her side with numerous stab wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
After obtaining a search warrant, police recovered several blood-covered kitchen knives, a shattered glass, a broken wine bottle and two white shirts stained with blood, authorities said.
Cremasco-Cicero’s mother had been staying with him while visiting from Mexico, his wife told police during a phone call.
His wife, who was in France when the killing occurred, said Cremasco-Cicero was not close with his mother following his parents’ divorce, according to the Herald.
The son’s wife told cops she didn’t believe her husband suffered from any mental illnesses but noted he had been under a lot of stress while opening a new restaurant in Coconut Grove.
Cremasco-Cicero was born in Mexico but is of Argentine descent and works as the US operating manager of the high-end 1986 Steak House in Miami, the publication reported.
The mother and son had returned to the high-rise apartment the night before the brutal knifing around 10:30 p.m., according to surveillance footage and building key-fob logs.
In the morning, Cremasco-Cicero was seen entering an elevator around 4:25 a.m. wielding a knife and covered in blood, wearing a white T-shirt, khaki pants and white shoes.
Surveillance footage showed he dropped the knife after he exited the elevator.
He then picked up the weapon and got into another elevator to return upstairs, according to the video.
Cremasco-Cicero was seen returning to the elevator, wearing a different long-sleeved blue shirt and exited the building while using his phone.
Just before 4:40 a.m., he returned to the building lobby and sat down on a couch wearing the same bloodied white shoes.
He then opened the lobby door for a food delivery driver and asked her to call 911, the courier told police.
He then called police himself and handed the phone to the delivery driver to speak with the dispatcher, the Herald reported.
While on the phone with 911, the courier noticed blood on Cremasco-Cicero, who refused to take back the phone when she tried to hand it back.
The alleged killer son was arrested and charged with second-degree murder with a weapon.
He was taken to Turner Guildford Knight Correctional Center and is on an immigration hold, as he was in the US on an investor visa, according to police.
Cremasco-Cicero appeared in front of a Miami-Dade County judge Saturday morning wearing a green anti-suicide smock and was denied bond, Local10 News reported.
He is slated to return to court Tuesday morning.
