Former NFL linebacker Darron Lee has been indicted on charges of first-degree murder, marking a dramatic turn in the athlete’s life post-football.
Lee, who once donned the jerseys of the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, and Kansas City Chiefs, is accused of murdering his girlfriend, Gabriella Perpetuo. This grim development was confirmed by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee, where the alleged crime took place.
Initially, Lee faced charges not only of murder but also of tampering with or fabricating evidence. However, the latter charge has since been dismissed. As stated by Hamilton County District Attorney Cody Wamp, the focus is now entirely on the murder charge. “We will focus solely on the murder of Gabriella,” Wamp asserted on June 11, according to the Associated Press.
If found guilty, Lee could be sentenced to life in prison. Further, the state is currently weighing the possibility of pursuing the death penalty, a decision that is expected to be made in the coming weeks.
As of now, it remains unclear whether Lee has entered a plea regarding the charges. When approached for comments, his defense attorney, Mike Little, chose not to provide any statements to the media outlet Oxygen.
On Feb. 5, authorities responded to a CPR call at a home in Ooltewah where they discovered Perpetuo dead, according to an arrest report obtained by Oxygen.
Perpetuo’s injuries were severe: A stab wound to her abdomen, body bruises, black eyes with heavy swelling, dried blood on her face and neck and a large circular bitemark on her shoulder, according to the report.
At the time, Lee told authorities that he had discovered Perpetuo unconscious on the couch and suggested that she might have fallen in the shower earlier.
However, physical evidence did not support his story.
There was broken glass scattered across the kitchen and extensive amounts of blood throughout the home, including spatter on the walls and flooring, according to the report.
Using forensic testing, crime scene investigators later discovered suspected blood evidence in areas of the home they believed had been cleaned up after the crime.
Lee was detained, but he refused to speak to authorities.
Later, while collecting Lee’s clothing, investigators observed blood inside his cell phone case, according to the arrest report. They also observed what they described as injuries consistent with a physical altercation, including a facial injury, hand lacerations and chest wounds.
Lee was arrested on Feb. 6 and booked into the Hamilton County Jail.
In March, prosecutors presented evidence in court that Lee had allegedly used ChatGPT to cover his tracks.
He allegedly wrote on the AI platform, according to NBC News, that his fiancée had done “her crazy thing again and now she’s messed up.”
“She has two swollen eyes (I didn’t do anything, self inflicted) she stabbed herself, slit her eye?” he allegedly wrote, according to the news outlet. “Idk but she isn’t waking up or responding, what do I do?”
Prosecutors also alleged that Lee asked ChatGPT how to obtain medical assistance without alerting authorities, and whether falling could cause bruising and “two stabby looking wounds,” according to the Associated Press.
When Lee was arrested, he was on probation in Ohio and Florida for three alleged assaults that pertained to his mother, the mother of his child and another man, according to court records obtained by the Associated Press.