Beau on trial for murder in NY designer's death

[June 24, 2013]  NEW YORK (AP) -- The boyfriend of a New York City fashion designer is on trial in Manhattan in her killing.

Sylvie Cachay was found Dec. 9, 2010, in a swanky hotel room in an overflowing bathtub. She had been strangled. Her boyfriend, Nicholas Brooks, has pleaded not guilty to murder. Brooks is the son of Joseph Brooks, an Oscar-winning composer who wrote "You Light Up My Life." The elder Brooks was arrested in 2009 on rape charges and killed himself in 2011 after his son was arrested.

Prosecutors say Brooks strangled Cachay when she tried to end their relationship. His lawyer says she took too many pills and drowned accidentally.

The trial is expected to continue until early July.

[Associated Press; By COLLEEN LONG]

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.