Former NFL linebacker Darron Lee was indicted on a murder charge in Hamilton County, Tennessee, in the death of his partner, Gabriella Perpetuo, ESPN reported via the Associated Press.
Darron Lee Indicted In Hamilton County
A Hamilton County grand jury returned the indictment Tuesday, according to the report. District Attorney Coty Wamp said prosecutors dismissed a tampering with evidence charge so they could focus on the more serious allegation.
Prosecutors are pursuing a first-degree murder conviction, which carries a life sentence. Wamp said a decision on whether to pursue the death penalty against Lee would be made in the coming weeks.
Lee remains in the Hamilton County Jail without bond, ESPN/AP reported.
Prosecutors Cite February Death Of Gabriella Perpetuo
Lee is accused of killing Perpetuo, 29, in February. ESPN/AP reported that a medical examiner listed her cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries, with an autopsy report listing 12 injuries, including hematomas, bone fractures and stab wounds.
The report also said Lee was on probation in Franklin County, Ohio, and Alachua County, Florida, at the time of his arrest after charges in three separate alleged assaults involving another man, Lee's mother and the mother of his child.
Prosecutors alleged that Lee asked ChatGPT how to get medical help without calling police and whether a fall could explain bruising around both eyes and stab-like wounds, according to evidence presented in court and cited by ESPN/AP.
Former Jets First-Round Pick Played 58 NFL Games
Lee, 31, played 58 NFL games for the New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills from 2016 to 2020. The Jets selected him with the 20th pick in the 2016 NFL draft after his college career at Ohio State.
The football background explains why the case has drawn sports attention, but the substance is now in the court record rather than on a roster transaction page. The next major developments will come from prosecutors, defense filings and the court schedule in Hamilton County.