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Designer Sylvie Cachay's Death Leads to Murder Conviction of Boyfriend Nicholas Brooks

Sylvie Cachay was found dead in a Soho House bathtub in New York, and her boyfriend Nicholas Brooks was later convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years-to-life.

On December 9, 2010, Sylvie Cachay's corpse was located in a flooded bathtub at Soho House in New York City following a reported water leak. Earlier that evening, she and her boyfriend Nicholas Brooks had checked into the hotel after a fire incident at her West Village apartment. Security footage captured their arrival and Brooks' repeated trips to the room throughout the night.

After staff entered the room at 2:51 a.m. due to the leak, Cachay was found submerged and later pronounced dead. Brooks was taken into custody the next morning, charged, and in July 2013 a jury convicted him of second-degree murder, imposing a 25-years-to-life sentence.

Why it matters

The case highlights how forensic evidence and hotel surveillance helped solve a high-profile murder of a rising fashion designer.

In this story

Sylvie Cachay deathNicholas Brooks murderSoho House bathtubwater leak evidencefashion designersecond-degree murder25 years-to-life sentence