Nicholas Brooks Convicted Of Murder In Death Of Fashion Designer Sylvie Cachay
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The boyfriend of a New York City fashion designer found dead at an upscale Manhattan hotel has been convicted of murder.
The verdict for Nicholas Brooks was issued on Thursday as friends of the victim cheered in court. Brooks' sister was reportedly seen weeping.
Sylvie Cachay was found Dec. 9, 2010, in an overflowing bathtub in the swanky SoHo House hotel.
Prosecutors said Brooks strangled Cachay when she tried to end their relationship.
The defense argued that Cachay had taken sleeping pills and other prescription medications that could have caused her to black out and fall into the tub and that the injuries caused to the front and back of her neck could have been caused during the efforts to revive her.
"Domestic violence victims all too frequently become homicide victims. Sylvie Cachay suffered a terrible death at the hands of a man who claimed to love her," said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. "In 2010, nearly 1,100 women were murdered nationwide by a husband or boyfriend – and every death was a complete and utter tragedy, forever felt by the victim's family, friends, and community. I would like to thank the members of the jury for their work in this harrowing case of domestic violence. I hope that this verdict and the lengthy prison term the defendant faces lend some sense of closure to Ms. Cachay's loved ones."
The defendant's father was Joseph Brooks, an Oscar-winning composer who wrote "You Light up My Life."
Brooks' next court date is scheduled for July 26.
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