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Sylvie Cachay Was Strangled Underwater Until She Drowned, Sources Say

By DNAinfo Staff on January 3, 2011 10:52am  | Updated on January 4, 2011 7:19am

By Shayna Jacobs and Murray Weiss

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — Nicholas Brooks allegedly dumped his barely-conscious girlfriend, Sylvie Cachay, into a SoHo House bathtub and choked her as he held her underwater until she drowned, law enforcement sources said Monday.

The sources provided the new details Monday after it was revealed that Brooks had been charged with second-degree murder in the brutal death of the swimsuit designer. Toxicology reports showed she was rendered virtually helpless to fight back by a combination of Xanax and alcohol, sources said.

Brooks, 24, was indicted last week on upgraded murder charges that could send him to jail for 25 years to life. He had previously faced attempted murder and strangulation charges, but autopsy results released last week showed Cachay was strangled and drowned.

It was unclear whether the jury had to be recalled to hear additional evidence about Cachay's full autopsy results. Prosecutors declined to comment.

The charge against Brooks will be formally unsealed Tuesday when Brooks is arraigned at Manhattan Supreme Court.

Cachay's lifeless body was found in a SoHo House hotel room just after 2 a.m. on Dec. 9, while her boyfriend Brooks was at the hotel bar drinking shots with a man he met earlier that night, prosecutors said.

Surveillance video recovered from the hotel showed Brooks and Cachay were the only individuals to enter and exit the room, prosecutors said. Cachay was strangled by Brooks in a fit of rage after she tried to end their troubled relationship, prosecutors said.

An apology note from Brooks to Cachay was recovered from the crime scene, prosecutors said at his criminal court arraignment.

Last week the medical examiner formally ruled Cachay's death a homicide. Investigators had suspected strangulation after finding signs of trauma to Cachay's neck, but the medical examiner's office had been waiting on toxicology results before determining the official cause of death last Wednesday.

Brooks is the hard-partying son of disgraced "You Light Up My Life" composer Joseph Brooks, who's facing rape and sexual assault charges.

His murder charge carries a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison. Brooks was ordered held without bail at his arraignment.

Brooks' attorney, Jeffrey Hoffman, did not return a call for comment.

Nicholas Brooks, 24, was indicted on a second-degree murder charge in connection to Sylvie Cachay's death, according to the indictment.
Nicholas Brooks, 24, was indicted on a second-degree murder charge in connection to Sylvie Cachay's death, according to the indictment.
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DNAinfo/Paul Lomax