MIAMI, FL — A 36-year-old Miami man was arrested and charged with second-degree murder Friday night after his mother was found stabbed to death inside their luxury apartment on the 47th floor of Solitair Brickell, a 50-story high-rise tower in Miami’s financial district.
Stefano Cremasco-Cicero was booked into jail on the evening of Sept. 4, 2026, hours after Miami police officers responded to a reported domestic incident at the building, located at 86 SW Eighth St., around 4:45 a.m. The victim — described by authorities as a woman in her late 50s or early 60s visiting from Mexico — was pronounced dead at the scene. The case has drawn attention not only because of its domestic nature but also because it marks the second fatal stabbing at a luxury Brickell high-rise in roughly one year, renewing questions about security inside the neighborhood’s upscale residential towers.
Officers from the City of Miami Police Department were first called by someone in the building’s lobby, according to Miami Police Officer Kenia Fallat. Responding units made their way to the 47th-floor apartment and found the woman lying on her side, fully clothed and suffering from multiple stab wounds. Miami Fire Rescue officials pronounced her dead at the scene. According to an arrest report reviewed by local news organizations, Cremasco-Cicero was captured on the building’s surveillance system inside the elevator lobby with apparent blood on his clothing and holding a knife. Investigators also noted that he had blood visible on his shoes, clothing, and hands when officers encountered him. He was initially detained while detectives continued their investigation, and he was formally arrested later that evening. A witness at the scene — a food delivery worker who had arrived at the building during the early morning hours — told detectives that Cremasco-Cicero opened the lobby door and asked her to help him call 911, and that she noticed blood on him at that time.
Detectives pieced together a timeline using footage from multiple cameras inside the building. Surveillance video showed Cremasco-Cicero and his mother entering an elevator together, and later leaving together. At a subsequent point, he was seen alone in an elevator, appearing to have blood on his clothes and carrying a knife. The footage then showed him dropping the knife, picking it up, and riding to another floor. He later appeared on camera wearing different clothes, exiting the building, and walking along Southwest Eighth Street while on his phone, before returning to the lobby and sitting on a couch, where he spoke with the delivery worker. A search of the apartment turned up several kitchen knives with blood residue and two shirts with blood spatter, according to the arrest report. When detectives questioned Cremasco-Cicero, he told them, “I was defending myself,” though authorities have not publicly disclosed the circumstances surrounding that statement or what events preceded the confrontation. His wife, who was in France attending a wedding at the time, was reached by phone by investigators. She confirmed that Cremasco-Cicero’s mother had been visiting from Mexico and staying at the apartment, and that the two had made dinner plans. She told detectives that her husband and his mother had not been close since his parents’ divorce, but said she was not aware of any mental illness. She also noted that Cremasco-Cicero had been under stress related to the planned opening of a new restaurant in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood. Detectives confirmed that Cremasco-Cicero and his wife have been listed on the apartment lease since July 2024 and that he resides in the United States on an investor visa.
The Solitair Brickell tower, completed in 2018 by developer ZOM Living, is a 555-foot, 438-unit building with an exterior designed by architecture firm Stantec to evoke the shape of a Medjool date palm tree. It sits directly across from Brickell City Centre in one of Miami’s densest residential corridors. Friday’s killing is the second violent death at a luxury Brickell high-rise in approximately a year. On June 8, 2025, 17-year-old Dominic Ferrell was stabbed to death on the 34th floor of the nearby Icon Residences tower. A law enforcement report released in 2026 later determined that case was a murder-suicide. That investigation also raised questions about building access, with a subsequent report finding that the suspect in the Icon Residences killing gained entry to upper residential floors by following keycard-holding residents through security doors without being challenged by staff. That case led to negligent-security litigation and resident calls for stricter front-desk enforcement. Citywide, Miami recorded 1,604 aggravated assaults and an overall violent crime rate of 473.3 per 100,000 residents in 2024, with total violent crime down 3.8% from the prior year, according to OpenCrime data.
Cremasco-Cicero faces a charge of second-degree murder with a weapon under Florida law. Second-degree murder in Florida generally applies to an intentional killing that was not premeditated, and the added weapon designation carries enhanced sentencing exposure. He has not entered a plea, and the charge represents an accusation that has not been proven in court. Fallat confirmed during the investigation that police characterized the incident as an isolated, domestic-related event and said there was no broader threat to the public. The victim’s identity had not been officially released by authorities as of early Saturday, Sept. 5. Investigators said they were continuing to examine the apartment and lobby as separate crime scenes, and that surveillance footage from the building remained central to the investigation. No additional charges had been announced. Detectives have not publicly stated a motive. The case is expected to move into Miami-Dade’s criminal court process in the coming days, where Cremasco-Cicero will face a first appearance and bond hearing.
Residents of the tower described an unsettling early morning. Zach Karson, who lives on the same floor where the victim was found, said he was heading out for a run when he came upon the scene. “I heard some noises this morning, like 4:30, woke up to it, didn’t know what I heard. I rounded the corner. I just saw the yellow police tape and then I heard some keys, then I saw four cops and a body with a pool of blood,” Karson told local reporters. He said he immediately returned to his apartment, locked both his door and his balcony, and watched through his peephole for about 10 minutes before deciding to take the stairs all 47 floors down to exit the building. He also noted that only one elevator was functioning in the building that morning. Another resident, Sebastian, said he noticed the heavy police presence while driving through the area. “I was driving up and down the street. I see police, I see news and I’m like, what’s going on?” he said. Passerby Victor Vertiz, speaking near the building Friday morning, said the scale of the police response caught him off guard. “I would think the reason for the cops being there is they were taking someone who was drunk — not someone who been stabbed,” he said. “You wouldn’t expect to see something like that here.”
As of Saturday morning, Cremasco-Cicero remained jailed on the second-degree murder with a weapon charge, and his mother’s identity had not been officially confirmed by authorities. Detectives said the investigation was ongoing, and a court appearance is expected in the days ahead where the formal legal process — including a potential bond hearing — will begin.
