Neighbors identified the suspect as Haitian-American actor Michael L.Brea, who has had roles on the TV series "Ugly Betty" and movie "Step-Up3-D." He was also the face of a campaign for the energy drinkCoca-Cola: Full Throttle, according to Haiti Internet movie databasewebsite belfim
Neighbors on the first and third floors of 501 Park Place in ProspectHeights heard screams coming from the apartment on the second floor atabout 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.
"I hear the brother chasing her [his mother] through the house and he'sjust saying a bunch of like [Bible] passages like, 'Repent, Repent,Repent,'" said neighbor Gregory Clare. "I heard him chasing her throughthe house and I hear a loud scream and so I have my father call thecops, call 911."
When responding officers arrived, they encountered the mentallydisturbed 31-year-old Brea. He was very combative toward the firstresponders, who had to taser the man in order to subdue him.
Brea was transported to Kings County Hospital with a police guard assigned to him.
Officers described the crime scene as "extremely bloody" where thevictim was discovered and immediately pronounced dead. She wasidentified as 55-year-old Yannick Brea.
Sources close to the investigation told PIX 11 News that Brea used asamurai sword to attack his mother, whose body was found badly hacked,decapitated and stabbed multiple times in another room.
"'Somebody was getting murdered or something to me, that's what it [the screams] sounded like," one neighbor told PIX 11 News.
"I had just dozed off to go to sleep and then I woke up to somebodyscreaming," said Bernard Bent, another resident. "It sounded likelady's voice and after I while I just didn't hear the woman's voiceagain."
Neighbors described Brea and his mother as "quiet people." They alsosaid Brea did not give any outward indication of mental illness, and itis unknown what made the actor snap. He apparently had an affinity formartial arts.
Some neighbors complained cops didn't move fast enough to subdue Breawith a Taser. Police responded, saying that residents may not know thatstandard procedure with a barricaded suspect is to isolate and containthe suspect, then wait for the patrol supervisor and Emergency ServicesUnit to arrive.
Those Emergency Services officers have special training for dealing withbarricaded suspects. Police say Michael Brea has no prior arrest recordand there were no previous domestic incidents reported at the locationin Brooklyn where the deadly attack occurred...
Brea is a native New Yorker, and has a twin brother. He attended BaruchCollege and, in 2007, opened a Subway Restaurant, located at 1709Broadway in Brooklyn, according to BelFim.com.
For Thanskgiving 2008, the website says Brea gave away 300 turkey foot-long sandwiches for free.
"I remember growing up and my mother was always feeding people who wereless fortunate," Brea told BelFim.com in a July 2009 interview. "Myparents [Marcel and Yannick] raised me to always share and to givecharity in the name of God!"
Charges are pending against Brea as the investigation continues.
