A 31-year-old man is charged in the killing of a young woman who was found in a Tamarac apartment that was set on fire just after Christmas, deputies say. The two had dated for years and she had broken up with him that month, according to friends and family.
Laren Lenworth Emile, of Lauderhill, was arrested Thursday morning on charges of first-degree murder and arson, the Broward Sheriff’s Office announced in a media release.
The victim, Keera Brabham, 29, was a young entrepreneur whose career as an esthetician was just beginning to take off, friends and family said. She had just opened a bigger salon in Sunrise, and served people from across the world. She also had a 4-year-old son, Niko.
“He took away someone we truly love,” said Brabham’s best friend, Arnitria Mcfadden. “Took someone that took care of him, took care of his kids.”
Brabham had just returned home from visiting her family for Christmas when she was killed in the apartment on Dec. 26. Deputies responded to an early morning fire at the apartment and found her body inside. Homicide Unit detectives began investigating but did not release any updates after her death.
The release on Thursday did not provide a motive for the killing or say whether she had been killed before the fire or if the fire was the cause of death.
But Mcfadden and Brabham’s sister, Stephanie Gladman, told the Sun Sentinel that the two had dated for two years, and Brabham had broken up with him the month that she died.
“For two years I have been trying to get her to leave him alone,” Mcfadden said Thursday. She said that they had gone out together the night before she died, and he had been sending Brabham threatening texts.
After she heard about the murder, she said she suspected him immediately, but didn’t tell the media because she didn’t want him to run.
Gladman said her sister kept many of the details of their relationship from her, though she shared them with her best friend.
“I told her she needs to leave him alone,” she said. “Unfortunately they started dating again.”
Asked what she wanted people to know about her sister, Gladman said that she was a successful business owner of the salon, Shaded Aesthetics, who “cared deeply for her clients,” and had a 4-year-old son who the family is now caring for.
“She was in her glory,” Brabham’s father, Curtis Brabham, told the Sun Sentinel in December, after her death.
A judge signed a warrant for Emile’s arrest on Feb. 9, according to a copy of the document. BSO’s V.I.P.E.R detectives made the arrest, the release said.
“BSO’s Homicide and Crime Scene units responded to investigate and speak to witnesses and family members,” the release states. “Through their investigation, detectives determined Laren Lenworth Emile was responsible for the homicide and fire.”
Emile has a felony history, court records show. He was charged with attempted first-degree murder and attempted robbery in 2008. He pleaded no contest to the robbery charge, while the attempted murder charge was dropped.
Brabham’s birthday is coming up on Feb. 24. It will be a difficult day, Gladman said. In the nearly two months that passed since Brabham’s death, her sister said that she and her family have had many sleepless nights and have struggled to work and eat.
“Hopefully we can have some relief now,” she said. “What was hurting us is knowing she’s 6 feet under, he’s out here living his life.”
