Former New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee appeared in a Tennessee court on Tuesday as prosecutors detailed evidence linking him to the killing of his girlfriend, Gabriella Perpétuo. Lee, 30, is charged with first-degree murder over her death at their home in Ooltewah, near Chattanooga, last month.
During a preliminary hearing in Hamilton County, prosecutors played body-camera footage from deputies who found Perpétuo unconscious on the living room floor. Lee told officers he had been upstairs and had no idea why she was unresponsive. Investigators described a chaotic scene, with broken glass and items scattered across several rooms.
Crime scene photographs revealed blood on walls and a kitchen island, with additional traces detected using the forensic agent Bluestar. A preliminary autopsy by medical examiner Dr Stephen Cogswell found blunt force trauma, including facial contusions, a fractured cheekbone, broken teeth and a cervical spine fracture, alongside shallow stab wounds and a bite mark.
Prosecutors also presented messages from Lee's phone showing he consulted ChatGPT in the hours before calling 911. In one exchange, he asked about a fictional woman named 'Allie', describing a fiancée with 'two swollen eyes' who was not waking up, and whether a slip-and-fall could cause puncture-like wounds. The chatbot advised seeking immediate help and noted that falls rarely produce clean stab-style injuries.
District attorney Coty Wamp argued the messages showed Lee attempting to construct an explanation for Perpétuo's injuries. 'You have Mr Lee using ChatGPT as a legal adviser, as a defence attorney, asking ChatGPT to give him advice on how to cover up a crime scene,' Wamp told the court.
