Former NFL linebacker Darron Lee has been indicted on a charge of first-degree murder in the case of his girlfriend's death earlier this year.
A grand jury returned the indictment on Tuesday, USA Today and others reported. Hamilton County (Tenn.) District Attorney Coty Wamp told local outlet WTVC that prosecutors dismissed a charge of tampering with evidence and "will focus solely on the murder."
Wamp also said that the death penalty is still under consideration for Lee, with a pending decision in the coming
weeks.
At a preliminary hearing in March, prosecutors presented evidence that included Lee's ChatGPT logs. Those showed he had asked the AI chatbot how to deal with an unresponsive person, as well as what injuries would be consistent with someone falling in the shower.
The victim, 29-year-old Gabriella Perpetuo, was found by first responders on Feb. 5 at the couple's rental home in the small town of Ooltewah, Tenn., about 20 minutes from Lee's hometown of Chattanooga.
Paramedics had arrived on the scene and attempted life-saving measures, but the victim succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead on the scene. Lee was identified as a suspect and taken into custody.
Detective Brian Lockhart gave testimony that the victim sustained "severe injuries, including severe brain trauma, a broken neck, bruising across her body, a large bite mark on her shoulder and thigh, stab wounds to her legs and significant facial trauma."
Lee told investigators that Perpetuo had narcolepsy and likely fell in the shower. Lockhart described a different scene.
"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 testified.
Lee previously faced legal issues in 2023, when he was charged in three assaults involving his mother, the mother of his child and another man. He also was charged with a felony drug possession charge when he failed to show up for his court date related to that case later in the year. He pleaded guilty to two lesser counts in 2025.
Lee, 31, was part of the Ohio State team that won the 2014 national championship before he was selected 20th overall in the 2016 NFL Draft by the New York Jets.
Lee played parts of five seasons with the Jets (2016-18), Kansas City Chiefs (2019) and Buffalo Bills (2020).
--Field Level Media
