Former NFL linebacker Darron Lee has been indicted on a murder charge in the death of his partner, Gabriella Perpetuo. A grand jury in Hamilton County, Ohio, returned the indictment on Tuesday, with prosecutors dropping a tampering with evidence charge to focus solely on the more serious allegation, according to district attorney Coty Wamp.
The state is pursuing a first-degree murder conviction, which carries a life sentence. A decision on whether to seek the death penalty against the 31-year-old will be made in the coming weeks.
Lee is accused of killing Ms Perpetuo in February. The medical examiner listed her cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries, and the autopsy report detailed 12 separate injuries, including haematomas, bone fractures and stab wounds.
At the time of his arrest, Lee was on probation in Franklin County, Ohio, and Alachua County, Florida, after facing charges in three separate alleged assaults involving another man, his mother and the mother of his child. Prosecutors also accused Lee of asking ChatGPT how to get medical help without calling the police, including whether a fall could cause bruising to both eyes and “two stabby looking wounds”.
Lee was a standout college player at Ohio State and was selected by the New York Jets with the 20th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, signing a four-year contract with $7.9m guaranteed. He left the Jets in 2019 due to disciplinary issues and poor performance. He was part of the Kansas City Chiefs squad that won the Super Bowl in February 2020, though he did not play in the game, and his final NFL appearance was for the Buffalo Bills in November 2020.
