Former NFL linebacker Darron Lee used ChatGPT to ask for advice on how to deal with an ‘unresponsive person’ after killing his girlfriend, according to prosecutors ahead of his murder trial.
Lee, 31, appeared in court on Monday for a preliminary hearing ahead of his trial for the first-degree murder of Gabriella Perpetuo and tampering with evidence.
According to Local 3 News, the prosecution offered some surprising testimony alleging that Lee consulted ChatGPT to ask how to deal with a person who is unresponsive. They claim the messages were sent to the AI bot from Lee’s phone.
In addition, he is alleged to have asked ChatGPT about injuries that would be consistent with someone falling in the shower.
Bodycam footage from cops at the scene showed the former first-round draft pick telling an officer that the victim ‘may have slipped and fallen in the shower’ but that he ‘didn’t know what had happened to her’.
Perpetuo, 29, was found with multiple stab wounds, black eyes, bite marks and blood coming from her nose and mouth, authorities said.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against former NFL linebacker Darron Lee
The ex-linebacker used ChatGPT to ask for advice after killing his girlfriend, prosecutors claim
Prosecutors in the case have not ruled out the death penalty for Lee if he is found guilty of the murder.
In addition to the criminal prosecution, Lee is facing a $50 million wrongful-death lawsuit.
Last month, gruesome details from the crime scene were revealed after prosecutors said that there was ‘blood in just about every room’ – including even in a car in the garage – inside the Tennessee home where Perpetuo was discovered dead.
‘The scene was in disarray,’ Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Detective Brian Lockhart, one of the first investigators on scene, 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.. there was blood in just about every room except one,’ Lockhart told the court.
Perpetuo was discovered topless and had suffered severe injuries, including severe brain trauma, a broken neck, bruising across her body and a large bite mark on her shoulder and thigh.
Gabriella Carvalho Perpetuo was discovered dead at a home in Tennessee last month
Investigators detailed the extent of the horrific injuries to Perpetuo (pictured right)
She also had stab wounds to her legs, according to the autopsy, which determined that she died from blunt force trauma.
The microwave is said to have been shattered, while glass and alcohol bottles were scattered throughout the home. Detectives discovered cleaning supplies upstairs, including bleach wipes and a spray bottle.
Lee was reportedly the one to call 911 from the home outside of Chattanooga, which is located around two-and-a-half hours outside of Nashville.
He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
On the football field, Lee won the national championship with Ohio State in 2014, and was then drafted by the Jets with the 20th overall pick in 2016 before spending three years in New York.
He registered 241 tackles, 17 for a loss and four sacks for the team before he was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick.
In one season with the Chiefs Lee produced 31 tackles in 16 games, but did not do enough to earn a new deal.
The victim’s body was found at a home near near Ooltewah Elementary School in February
After winning the national championship with Ohio State, Lee was drafted by the New York Jets
He then played two games for the Buffalo Bills and spent brief time with the Las Vegas Raiders before being released in 2021.
Lee has been in trouble with the law in the past, with the ex-Jets and Chiefs star booked for assault and domestic violence in Ohio back in 2023.
According to a 2023 arrest report, via FOX17 News, he was accused of pushing a woman ‘against the wall, throwing her to the floor and striking her face and head 8 to 9 times with his closed fists’.
Lee eventually pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal.
