MIAMI — A 36-year-old man is facing a second-degree murder charge after police say his mother was found stabbed to death inside his Brickell high-rise apartment early Friday.

Stefano Cremasco-Cicero was arrested after Miami police said officers were dispatched at about 4:47 a.m. Friday to the Solitair Brickell Apartments, located in the 80th block of Southwest Eighth Street, for an “unknown request for police assistance,” according to the report.

Officers said they encountered Cremasco-Cicero in the lobby with blood on his shoes, hands and clothing, the report states. He told officers, “I was defending myself,” according to the report.

Police on Saturday identified the victim as Cremasco-Cicero’s mother. Her age and identity have not yet been released.

Police said when officers entered the apartment, they saw a woman behind the entry door.

The report states that she was “lying on her side in a recovery position, fully clothed, covered in blood” and suffering from multiple apparent stab wounds.

Miami Fire Rescue crews responded, and a lieutenant pronounced the woman dead at about 5:08 a.m., according to the report.

The report states that a witness who had arrived at the building to deliver food encountered Cremasco-Cicero in the lobby. According to the report, he opened the lobby door for her from inside and asked her for help.

It states that the witness told police Cremasco-Cicero asked her to call 911, although he ultimately called 911 himself and handed her the phone so she could provide the dispatcher with the building’s address.

She told investigators she noticed blood on him while they waited for police, according to the report.

After the call, the witness tried to return the phone to Cremasco-Cicero, but he refused to take it, the report states. She later gave the phone to responding officers.

Investigators then reviewed surveillance footage from cameras inside the building’s lobby and elevators, according to the report.

Video showed Cremasco-Cicero entering an elevator with the victim and later returning to the building with her at about 10:32 p.m. The two were alone in the elevator, the report states.

At about 4:26 a.m., Cremasco-Cicero was seen entering an elevator wearing a white shirt, khaki pants and white shoes with what appeared to be blood on them, according to the report. Police said he was also holding a knife.

The report states that Cremasco-Cicero exited the elevator and dropped the knife. He then picked it up, entered another elevator and went upstairs.

Investigators said they later saw him enter an elevator wearing a different long-sleeve shirt that was blue. They said he then exited the building and walked eastbound on SW 8th Street while using his phone.

At about 4:39 a.m., Cremasco-Cicero returned to the building and sat on a lobby couch before flagging down the food delivery worker, the report states. He was wearing the same white shoes covered in blood that investigators later recovered in the lobby, according to investigators.

Authorities said crime scene personnel photographed Cremasco-Cicero and collected his clothing.

According to the report, he had several small lacerations on his hands and blood residue, and his clothing also had blood on it consistent with what he was seen wearing in the surveillance video.

A search warrant was later executed at the apartment by detectives with the Miami Police Department’s homicide unit. The report states that detectives found several silver kitchen knives with blood residue, two white shirts with blood spatter, broken glass and a broken wine bottle.

Investigators also found two pairs of white shoes covered in blood, a pair of glasses, a phone charger and an orange iPhone 17 with a black case belonging to Cremasco-Cicero during a walkthrough of the lobby, according to the report.

The report states that Cremasco-Cicero and his wife have been the only people listed on the apartment’s lease since July 23, 2024. It also states that he has residency in Miami through an investor visa.

At about 6:32 a.m., a detective contacted Cremasco-Cicero’s wife by cellphone, according to the report. She told investigators she was in France attending a wedding.

The wife said the victim was visiting from Mexico and was staying with Cremasco-Cicero. She also told detectives that Cremasco-Cicero and his mother had dinner plans, according to the report.

The wife told police the defendant and his mother had not been close since his parents’ divorce and that Cremasco-Cicero was under a lot of stress because of the opening of a new restaurant in Coconut Grove, the report states.

A judge granted a residential search warrant for the apartment, which was subsequently executed by homicide detectives, according to the report.

The report states that surveillance footage showed only Cremasco-Cicero entering and exiting the elevators around the time of the incident. Investigators said the footage was also corroborated by key-fob information from the building.

Cremasco-Cicero invoked his right to counsel, according to the report. He was arrested and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Residents of the building described a frightening morning.

“It was super scary,” Zach Carson said.

Carson said he went back into his apartment, locked his balcony door and looked through his peephole for about 10 minutes before taking the stairs down 47 floors.

Another Brickell resident, Sebastian, said he was surprised by the police presence.

“I was driving up and down the street. I see police, I see news and I’m like, what’s going on?” he said. “I feel horrible about what happened, but I would love to have more information.”

As of Saturday morning, Cremasco-Cicero was being held at TGK, where his bond was listed as “to be set.”

A motive for the stabbing is unclear at this time.

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