A former NFL player has been charged with the murder of his mother after being arrested in California on Tuesday.

Authorities had been searching for Sergio Brown since his mother Myrtle Brown, 73, was found dead near her home outside of Chicago last month.

He will be extradited to Illinois to face charges of first-degree murder, police said.

Mr Brown played for four professional teams during a six-year career.

Police in Maywood, Illinois – about 12 miles (19km) west of Chicago – discovered Ms Brown in a creek on 16 September after family members reported her missing.

A medical examiner determined she suffered multiple assault injuries, and her death was ruled a homicide.

While on the run, Mr Brown, 35, posted rambling videos and messages online from Mexico in which he called reports of the murder “fake news”.

In the, sometimes incoherent video, Mr Brown claimed his mother was on vacation in Mexico at the time of the incident. He also accused both the FBI and Maywood Police Department of involvement.

He was deported back to the US on Tuesday and was arrested by police in San Diego.

In a statement on Wednesday, Ms Brown’s family said they were “heartened by the news that Sergio Brown has been apprehended and returned to the United States unharmed”, NBC News reported.

He has been charged with first-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Mr Brown was born in Maywood, went to a local high school and later attended Notre Dame University. He started his career as a safety in the National Football League with the New England Patriots in 2010. He also played for the Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars before leaving the NFL in 2016.