'Ugly Betty' Actor Suspected of Murdering Mother With Samurai Sword!

[Brian Damage]

Michael Brea, a 31-year-old actor seen on 'Ugly Betty' and 'Step Up: 3D,' allegedly stabbed his mother to death with a samurai sword in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Prospect Heights on Tuesday morning, police tell local TV station NY1.

Neighbors heard Brea yelling what they believed to be biblical passages and repeating the word "repent" during an argument in the night. Michael's Haitian mother, Yannick Brea, 55, was later found dead with multiple stab wounds. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told NY1 that Brea was holding a Bible when police entered the apartment.

"I would say he was a down-to-earth, cool, hard working person," a neighbor told NY1. "I couldn't see this coming at all."

Police say the scene was "extremely bloody," according to TMZ. The same site claims Brea decapitated his mother and that police used a taser to subdue Brea when they arrived at the scene at around 2:20AM. These claims have not been verified by other sources.

The A.V. Club casts doubt on Brea's status as a professional actor -- he doesn't, after all, have an IMDb page -- justifying skepticism by "a complete lack of supporting Internet evidence." Other outlets are referring to Brea as an "aspiring actor."

In an interview with Haitian film site BelFilm in 2009, Brea said: "I remember growing up and my mother was always feeding people who were less fortunate. My parents raised me to always share and to give charity in the name of God." The same site notes Brea owned a Subway restaurant in Brooklyn with his brother.

Neighbors described the mother and son as "quiet people" to WPIX. "They also said Brea did not give any outward indication of mental illness, and it is unknown what made the actor snap. He apparently had an affinity for martial arts," the site writes.

"I heard a shriek, someone yelling, and after that probably like a, 'Help me.' And probably about five minutes after that the sound went away," another neighbor told NY1.

http://www.popeater.com/2010/11/23/m...-murder-sword/