One charge against Darron Lee, the ex-NFL player accused of intentionally killing his partner, was dismissed before his Tuesday indictment, prosecutors said.
Hamilton County sheriff’s deputies arrested Lee, 31, after he called 911 around 1:30 p.m. Feb.5. At the Ooltewah home he was moving into, officers found his partner, Gabriella Perpetuo, 29, dead on the living room floor.
Investigators found cleaning products in abnormal places and blood splatter throughout the residence, according to an arrest report. Lee was booked into jail on charges of first-degree murder and evidence tampering.
Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp said prosecutors dismissed the evidence tampering charge to focus solely on the murder charge, for which the grand jury returned an indictment.
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The state is pursuing a first-degree murder conviction, which carries a life sentence, Wamp said. The decision on whether to pursue the death penalty against Lee will be made in the coming weeks, she said.
She’s limited in what she can comment on while the case remains pending, she said.
Lee’s defense attorney, Mike Little, said by email that the court will determine at Lee’s arraignment whether he is indigent. Little said he had no comment when asked for his reaction to the charge dismissal.
The former linebacker told police when arrested that his partner had narcolepsy and may have slipped in the shower, according to the arrest report.
Prosecutors accused Lee of asking an artificial intelligence chatbot how to get medical help without calling the police. In court, Wamp accused Lee of using ChatGPT as if it were a defense attorney to get advice on covering up a crime scene.
He asked the artificial intelligence assistant whether a fall could cause bruising to two eyes and “two stabby looking wounds,” according to evidence shown in court.
A medical examiner’s report listed Perpetuo’s cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries, and the autopsy findings listed 12 different injuries, including multiple hematomas, bone fractures and stab wounds.
(READ MORE: Family of Darron Lee’s girlfriend sues for $50M in her Ooltewah killing)
At the time of Lee’s arrest, he was on probation in Franklin County, Ohio, and Alachua County, Florida, after he was charged in three separate alleged assault incidents involving another man, Lee’s mother and the mother of his child, court records showed.
Around nine months before she died, Perpetuo paid Lee’s remaining court costs tied to his Ohio conviction on attempted assault, according to online court records.
Lee remains in Hamilton County Jail without a bond. His next court appearance, an arraignment in Hamilton County Criminal Court, is scheduled at 9 a.m. June 17 before Judge Barry Steelman, according to online court records.
Contact courts reporter Mason Edwards at medwards@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6409.
