Originally posted on February 15, 2025 @ 4:21 pm
Death by Fame Recap for A Crime of Fashion
-This week’s Death by Fame is titled A Crime of Fashion and tells the story of the murder of fashion designer Sylvie Cachay.
-Heather Hadwen, another fashion designer talks about her career and living/working in NYC. She got her start interning for Sylvie and was thrilled to have an amazing mentor and friend in the business. The two of them would not only work together, but also have fun.
-Sylvie was from Peru and spoke four different languages. She went to the Parsons School of Art and Design in Paris and after graduation, moved to NYC to work with Tommy Hilfiger. This would be a big break for her and allowed her to make her mark in the industry.
-Rosemary Feitelberg of Women’s Wear Daily recalls Sylvie collecting bikinis and wanting to start her own swimwear line.
-Sylvie would go on to design swimsuits for Victoria’s Secret and then launch a swimwear line of her own called Syla.
-The line was instantly successful and featured in many major publications, including Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition. Sylvie was on top of the world, until 2008, when Syla closed due to the economic downturn.
-Sylvie began working for Anne Cole, which was a major brand in many retailers, including Macy’s and Lord and Taylor.
-Despite the new job, Sylvie would lose her spark for life without her company.
-On December 9th, 2010, Sylvie never showed up for work. Heather assumed she was running late, but as late morning rolled around no one had seen or heard from her. Heather received a call from Sylvie’s friend Michaela.
-Pete Panuccio, a retired NYPD Sergent, recalls working on the case. He gives a tour the Meatpacking District where many celebrities and fashion industry people worked and spent time. It was also home to the SoHo House, which is where Sylvie had been staying.
-He remembers getting the call on the morning of December 9th about a bathtub overflowing and Sylvie’s body being found. She was wearing a turtleneck sweater, panties and a Rolex, causing authorities to wonder what happened. Nothing else seemed amiss, apart from pill bottles…until further investigation showed bite marks on her body, red marks on her neck and broken capillaries in her eyes. A pair of men’s socks were also at the scene.
-This is now a homicide investigation.
-Sylvie’s boyfriend had called to report a fire at her apartment, which is why they were at the hotel. Staff recall Sylvie coming in with her boyfriend and stumbling, as well as some tension between the couple. She had gone to the room while the boyfriend did paperwork at the front desk.
-Sylvie had been agitated over a fight with her boyfriend over a romantic night gone awry, causing the fire. Other guests recall hearing fighting and how it suddenly stopped….and how the boyfriend had not been seen since the arrival.
– Tommy Jones, another retired NYPD cop says that Sylvie’s boyfriend met with another man and was seen in the lobby with him. He had left and returned in the early morning house three sheets to the wind.
-The boyfriend, identified as Nicholas Brooks, was questioned at the precinct once he sobered up and napped. He had defensive wounds and scratches, and his socks were missing. Nicholas remained emotionless during questioning and getting the news of Sylvie’s death. This makes him the prime suspect in the murder case.
-Heather talks about getting the news and how the story went from a drowning to foul play. She was left completely confused and upset over the entire thing, not knowing what to think or believe.
-A background check was done on Nicholas. He was ten years younger than Sylvie and a trust fund baby from a dysfunctional family. He was also the son of Academy Award winning songwriter Joseph Brooks, who brought us You Light Up My Life.
-Joseph was very problematic and threatened his children if they kept in touch with their mother. He was also very abusive and an absent father, even putting Nicholas up in an apartment and introducing him to escort services at a very young age. He was also known for having his way with up-and-coming actresses on his casting couch. This would ultimately lead to his arrest.
-Heather recalls Sylvie calling her the night she met Nicholas, which was the same night her dog got hit by a car and died. The two of them fell in love, despite the age difference. Things went well for a while, but soon things went sour when he began using her as a sugar mama, so to speak. Things got worse when he would use her credit card to pay for escorts. This worried Sylvie, who wondered if Nicholas was like his father.
-Nicholas had told police that Sylvie was stumbling due to her meds and that Sylvie wanted to take a bath. However, he claims she went to bed and he went out for drinks with a man named David Raleigh.
-David claims that Nicholas told him Sylvie was sleeping, and he was a bit antsy, which is why he wanted to go out. He thought Nicholas seemed cool, so they had a few drinks before Nicholas called Sylvie to check on her. Sylvie didn’t answer, so David assumed she was indeed sleeping.
-The next day, David was questioned since Nicholas had his credit card. He was freaked out when he realized what happened because he thought Nicholas seemed like a normal person. Little did he know that he was being used to create an alibi.
-Sylvie’s apartment is checked and it seemed like the fire was an accident. However, neighbors claimed to have heard arguing that night, making authorities wonder if this could be connected to her murder. Several letters were also found at the apartment to Nicholas from Sylvie, making authorities see their relationship in a more disturbing light. She would tell him not to drink or do drugs and how to act right, which authorities found odd.
-There was also an email where Sylvie broke up with Nicholas right before her death.
-Hotel video footage shows confirms the events that Nicholas told police. However, the deeper authorities dig into this, the more Nicholas’s alibi unravels. It turned out he was actually in the room until around 2:18 am, when the bathtub began overflowing. So, the story was correct, but the timing was not. A call about the leak came in at 2:11 am, putting another hole into the alibi.
-This leads to Nicholas’s arrest and him being charged for murder. He asked how long he would be in for and said he needed to get money from the bank because he watched Oz and knows what happened in jail. The police knew he wasn’t dealing in reality.
-Heather was disgusted by Nicholas’s lack of remorse in court. He was sentenced to prison for 25 years to life.
-During this time, Joseph had died by suicide.
-Authorities and Sylvie’s loved ones are upset knowing Nick could one day be a free man.
Heather started her own swimwear line in Sylvie’s honor.
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