Former NFL linebacker Darron Lee has been indicted on a murder charge in the death of his partner.
A grand jury in Hamilton County returned an indictment Tuesday. Prosecutors dismissed a tampering with evidence charge to focus solely on the more serious allegation, Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp said.
The state is pursuing a first-degree murder conviction, which carries a life sentence. The decision on whether to pursue the death penalty against Lee will be made in the coming weeks, Wamp said.
Lee is accused of killing Gabriella Perpetuo, 29, in February. A medical examiner listed Perpetuo’s cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries, and the autopsy report listed 12 different injuries, including multiple hematomas, bone fractures and stab wounds.
At the time of Lee’s arrest he was on probation in Franklin County, Ohio, and Alachua County, Florida, after he was charged in three separate alleged assaults involving another man, Lee’s mother and the mother of his child, court records showed.
Prosecutors accused Lee of asking ChatGPT how to get medical help without calling the police.
Former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Darron Lee was this week indicted on a murder charge
The ex-linebacker used ChatGPT to ask for advice after killing his girlfriend, prosecutors claim
He asked the artificial intelligence assistant whether a fall could cause bruising to two eyes and ‘two stabby looking wounds,’ according to evidence presented in court.
In addition, he is alleged to have asked ChatGPT about injuries that would be consistent with someone falling in the shower.
Bodycam footage from cops at the scene showed the former first-round draft pick telling an officer that the victim ‘may have slipped and fallen in the shower’ but that he ‘didn’t know what had happened to her’.
Lee remains in the Hamilton County Jail without bond.
The 31-year-old Lee played 58 games with the Jets, Kansas City and Buffalo between 2016 and 2020. The former Ohio State standout was the 20th pick in the 2016 draft by the Jets.
In February, gruesome details from the crime scene were revealed after prosecutors said that there was ‘blood in just about every room’ – including even in a car in the garage – inside the Tennessee home where Perpetuo was discovered dead.
Gabriella Carvalho Perpetuo was discovered dead at a home in Tennessee in February
Investigators detailed the extent of the horrific injuries to Perpetuo (pictured right)
‘The scene was in disarray,’ Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Detective Brian Lockhart, one of the first investigators on scene, said.
‘You walked in the door, there were boxes. A lot of stuff in the living room. The deceased was in the floor lying on her back.’
‘There was blood going up the staircase, on the hand railing there was blood, on the walls there was blood, on the floor in the living room there was blood, in the floor on the hallway and the stairs.. there was blood in just about every room except one,’ Lockhart told the court.
Perpetuo was discovered topless and had suffered severe injuries, including severe brain trauma, a broken neck, bruising across her body and a large bite mark on her shoulder and thigh.
She also had stab wounds to her legs, according to the autopsy, which determined that she died from blunt force trauma.
The microwave is said to have been shattered, while glass and alcohol bottles were scattered throughout the home. Detectives discovered cleaning supplies upstairs, including bleach wipes and a spray bottle.
Lee was reportedly the one to call 911 from the home outside of Chattanooga, which is located around two-and-a-half hours outside of Nashville.
The victim’s body was found at a home near near Ooltewah Elementary School in February
After winning the national championship with Ohio State, Lee was drafted by the New York Jets
He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
On the football field, Lee won the national championship with Ohio State in 2014, and was then drafted by the Jets with the 20th overall pick in 2016 before spending three years in New York.
He registered 241 tackles, 17 for a loss and four sacks for the team before he was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick.
In one season with the Chiefs Lee produced 31 tackles in 16 games, but did not do enough to earn a new deal. He then played two games for the Buffalo Bills and spent brief time with the Las Vegas Raiders before being released in 2021.
