Former NFL linebacker Darron Lee remains in custody a week after he was arrested and accused of killing his girlfriend in a home the two rented together in Ooltewah, Tenn.
Judge Tori Smith denied Lee bond Wednesday, according to Hamilton County court records, after authorities said they responded to an emergency call Feb. 5 and found 29-year-old Gabriella Perpétuo dead at a home the couple had been living in for 10 days.
Lee, the New York Jets’ first-round draft pick in 2016, faces a first-degree murder charge and a charge of tampering with or fabricating evidence, according to court records.
Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp said Lee could face the death penalty, but the DA’s office hasn’t yet decided whether to pursue it. Hamilton County public defender Mike Little, who is representing Lee, told The Athletic that it was too early in the case for him to make any public statements. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 9.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by The Athletic, the sheriff’s office said it received a call Feb. 5 about someone performing CPR on a woman at a home in Ooltewah. Perpétuo was pronounced dead when police arrived, and Lee told them he found her unconscious on the couch. Police said that while investigating the home, they observed “multiple concerning conditions,” including broken glass scattered across the kitchen.
Lee told police he believed Perpétuo may have fallen in the shower, according to the affidavit. Yet police said they found extensive blood throughout the home, including blood spattered on the walls and flooring in multiple locations.
Lee, 31, was then arrested and taken into custody.
According to the affidavit, police later observed that Lee sustained injuries “consistent with a violent altercation,” including a facial injury, lacerations to his hands and wounds to his chest, and found blood inside Lee’s cellphone case. Crime scene investigators also found attempts had been made to clean up blood in multiple areas of the house, the affidavit stated, in addition to cleaning supplies near where testing confirmed blood stains but no blood could be seen.
The affidavit stated Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department Detective Brian Lockhart observed an autopsy of Perpétuo performed by the county’s medical examiner’s office that revealed brain trauma, a broken neck, bruising across her body, bite marks on her shoulder and thigh, stab wounds on her legs and facial trauma. The autopsy has not been made public.
Investigators also found alcohol, narcotics and a gun, according to the affidavit.
A five-year NFL veteran who played at Ohio State, Lee was selected by the Jets with the No. 20 pick in the 2016 draft. He spent three years with the team before being traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019. The Chiefs won Super Bowl 54 that season, defeating the San Francisco 49ers 31-20, though Lee did not play in the game. He made two appearances for the Buffalo Bills the next season, followed by a short preseason run with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021.