Ex-NFL Linebacker Darron Lee Faces Murder Charge, Used ChatGPT Before Girlfriend's Death

Prosecutors at a March 9 preliminary hearing in Chattanooga revealed that former NFL linebacker Darron Lee allegedly spent two days exchanging dozens of messages with ChatGPT about what to do after his girlfriend Gabriella Carvalho Perpétuo, 29, was found dead inside their rented Ooltewah, Tennessee home. The judge ordered the case bound over to a grand jury, and Lee, 31, remains held without bond at the Hamilton County Jail on charges of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.

District Attorney Coty Wamp laid out what prosecutors say the AI conversation logs show: "He has conversations, dozens of conversations, back and forth with ChatGPT over a two-day period about what he did to Gabriella Perpétuo in detail," Wamp told the court. "He asks how to cover it up. He asks what to say to 911." Wamp described Lee's use of the chatbot as that of a "legal advisor." One message shared with the court claimed Perpétuo had stabbed herself and asked for guidance because she wasn't waking up or responding. Prosecutors say Lee asked ChatGPT what to do for an unresponsive person more than 12 hours before he called police.

When deputies with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office arrived after a CPR-in-progress call, they attempted life-saving measures before determining Perpétuo was deceased. Detective Brian Lockhart, one of the first investigators on the scene, described what he found: "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." Court testimony also revealed blood in a vehicle inside the garage.

Lockhart testified that Lee was inside the home when deputies arrived and told officers Perpétuo had narcolepsy and had likely fallen in the shower. Investigators said the evidence did not match that explanation. A preliminary autopsy, as reported by WDEF-12 News in Chattanooga, found injuries consistent with a sustained violent assault: knocked-out front teeth, a broken jaw, brain hematomas, shallow stab wounds, and a broken neck. Wamp told the court plainly: "Mr. Lee was in a home with a female that was, for lack of a better term, beaten to death. And the explanation that he gave doesn't make any sense whatsoever."

The couple had begun moving into the Ooltewah home just 10 days before Perpétuo was found dead. Sources conflict on the precise date: the Columbus Dispatch reported she was found on Feb. 5, while the Associated Press reported first responders located her on Feb. 3.

Wamp told the court the case is eligible for capital punishment, though it remains unclear whether the state will seek the death penalty. He also said Lee was on probation in both Florida and Ohio for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery, and attempted batteries at the time of Perpétuo's death. Separately, the Columbus Dispatch reported that Lee had been charged in 2023 in Franklin County Municipal Court with domestic violence following an incident involving a female family member, and that he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge in 2025, receiving a sentence of probation. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office has said additional charges could be pending.

Lee was a first-round pick, selected 20th overall by the New York Jets in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, where he played linebacker on the 2014 national championship team and earned defensive MVP honors in the 2015 Sugar Bowl. He later played for the Kansas City Chiefs, spent time on the Buffalo Bills practice squad, and was signed by the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021 before being placed on injured reserve and released. The NFL declined to comment on his arrest.

The grand jury will now determine whether to return a formal indictment, with the possibility of additional charges still on the table.