Former NFL linebacker Darron Lee has been indicted on a murder charge in the death of his partner, Gabriella Perpetuo.
A Hamilton County grand jury returned the indictment Tuesday. Prosecutors said they dismissed a tampering with evidence charge so they could focus on the more serious allegation against Lee.
Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp said the state is pursuing a first-degree murder conviction, which carries a life sentence. Prosecutors are expected to decide in the coming weeks whether to seek the death penalty.
Lee, 31, is accused of killing 29-year-old Perpetuo in February at a Tennessee home near Chattanooga.
A medical examiner listed Perpetuo’s cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries. Her autopsy report detailed 12 separate injuries, including multiple hematomas, bone fractures and stab wounds.
Prosecutors also accused Lee of using ChatGPT after Perpetuo’s death to ask how to get medical help without calling police.
According to evidence presented in court, Lee allegedly asked whether a fall could cause bruising to both eyes and “two stabby looking wounds.” Prosecutors said he also asked about injuries that would be consistent with someone falling in the shower.
Bodycam footage from the scene reportedly showed Lee telling an officer that Perpetuo “may have slipped and fallen in the shower,” while also saying he “didn’t know what had happened to her.”
Lee remains jailed in Hamilton County without bond.
At the time of his arrest, Lee was already on probation in Franklin County, Ohio, and Alachua County, Florida, after being charged in three separate alleged assaults involving another man, his mother and the mother of his child, according to court records.
Grisly details from the crime scene were revealed earlier this year, when prosecutors said there was “blood in just about every room” of the Tennessee home where Perpetuo was found dead, including in a car in the garage.
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Detective Brian Lockhart, one of the first investigators at the scene, described the home as chaotic.
“The scene was in disarray,” Lockhart 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,” Lockhart told the court. “There was blood in just about every room except one.”
Investigators said Perpetuo was found topless and had suffered horrific 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.
Authorities said the microwave had been shattered, while glass and alcohol bottles were scattered throughout the home. Detectives also found cleaning supplies upstairs, including bleach wipes and a spray bottle.
Lee reportedly called 911 from the home outside Chattanooga, about two and a half hours from Nashville.
He was later arrested and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. The tampering charge has since been dismissed as prosecutors move forward on the murder case.
Lee was a standout at Ohio State, where he won a national championship in 2014. He was selected by the New York Jets with the 20th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
He played three seasons with the Jets, recording 241 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and four sacks before being traded to the Kansas City Chiefs for a sixth-round draft pick.
Lee played 16 games for the Chiefs and later appeared in two games for the Buffalo Bills. He also spent brief time with the Las Vegas Raiders before being released in 2021.
Across his NFL career, Lee played in 58 games for the Jets, Chiefs and Bills between 2016 and 2020.