Lee, a 2016 first-round pick of the New York Jets who also played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills, was indicted Wednesday in connection with the death of his girlfriend, Gabriela Carvalho Perpétuo.NFL FACING A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC THIS OFFSEASONFormer New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee was arrested by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office on Feb.6, 2025, and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
(Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com/Hamilton County Sheriff's Office)Lee will be tried in Hamilton County Criminal Court in what is potentially a capital punishment case.Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp has stated the case is eligible for a death penalty sentence, but a final decision about seeking that sentence will be made as the case proceeds.Wamp told Chattanooga's News 9 that prosecutors dismissed a separate charge of tampering with evidence against Lee."We will focus solely on the murder of Gabriella," Wamp said.This case is tragic and also bizarre in that Lee allegedly consulted ChatGPT after Perpétuo's death to allegedly stage the scene to look as if she had died after a fall in the shower.Lee allegedly asked the AI chatbot about injuries that would be consistent with someone falling in the shower.Darron Lee of the Kansas City Chiefs walks off the field before a game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on Nov.
10, 2019.(Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)At Lee's bond hearing in February, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Detective Brian Lockhart, one of the first investigators on scene, described a violent crime scene.Lockhart testified there was blood on the staircase, handrails, walls, floors, and in nearly every room of the house.
The detective added that the microwave glass was shattered, more glass was scattered throughout the home, and alcohol bottles were present throughout.Detectives also found cleaning supplies upstairs, including bleach wipes, and a spray bottle — all pre...