Ex-Jet Darron Lee's ChatGPT Messages Just Caused a Frenzy of Drama Amid Murder Charges
A Monday preliminary hearing in the murder case against former NFL linebacker Darron Lee took a stunning turn when prosecutors revealed the contents of messages extracted from his phone — conversations with ChatGPT that prosecutors say amount to a digital roadmap of an attempted cover-up.
What Happened to Gabriella Perpétuo?
Lee, 31, was arrested February 5 after deputies found his girlfriend, Gabriella Carvalho Perpétuo, 29, dead at the home the couple shared in Ooltewah, Tennessee. He is charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. Prosecutors have not ruled out seeking the death penalty.
At Monday's hearing, investigators testified that a forensic download of Lee's phone revealed dozens of conversations with ChatGPT, including questions about how to get medical help for someone without calling the police, and whether a fall could cause bruising to two eyes and "two stabby looking wounds." The searches were made the day before he called 911.
Lee set up his ChatGPT account under the name "Xander Lee" — a condensed version of his middle name, Alexander — and referred to the AI assistant as "Allie." Prosecutors say he created a fictional woman named Allie as a stand-in while asking the chatbot questions about the situation.
District Attorney Wamp was blunt about what the messages represented. "If that's not enough, you have Mr. Lee using ChatGPT as a legal adviser, as a defense attorney," she said in court, "asking ChatGPT the exact questions someone would ask ChatGPT who has just murdered his fiancée with blunt force trauma and stab wounds."
What Did Body Camera Footage Reveal About the Former NFL Player?
Body camera footage played in court showed Lee telling officers he woke up to find Perpétuo unresponsive and had no idea what happened. He claimed she had narcolepsy and may have fallen in the shower. Detectives testified that BlueStar technology revealed the presence of blood throughout the home — on the walls, on the center island in the kitchen, on the staircase, and in a vehicle registered to both Lee and Perpétuo in the garage.
The preliminary autopsy report listed 12 separate injuries constituting blunt force trauma, including a fractured cheekbone, knocked-out front teeth, a broken neck at the C1/C2 vertebrae, multiple stab wounds to the chest and left thigh, and a bite mark on her left shoulder. District Attorney Wamp told the court it was possible Perpétuo suffered violence for multiple days before her death.
@moon1ightst Shocking: Ex-NFL Star & Super Bowl Champion Darron Lee Denied Bond in Girlfriend’s Murder Case ????????
♬ 原創音樂 - Moon1ightSt
Judge Tori Smith bound the case over to a Hamilton County grand jury, saying from the bench: "I'm even more convinced now that the offense was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel and that it involved torture or physical abuse beyond that necessary to produce death." Lee will remain jailed without bond.
Lee was a first-round pick of the New York Jets in 2016 and also played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills. He has not played in the NFL since appearing on the Las Vegas Raiders' practice squad in 2021. In addition to the criminal charges, Perpétuo's family has filed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against Lee.