Former NFL linebacker Darron Lee is accused of soliciting feedback from ChatGPT before his arrest and subsequent first-degree murder charge following the death of his girlfriend earlier this year.
The 31-year-old Lee attended a preliminary hearing on Monday, over a month after the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office (Tenn.) arrested him at a rented home in Ooltewah, Tenn. Lee allegedly called police on Feb. 5 and told officers that his girlfriend, Gabriella Carvalho Perpétuo, had narcolepsy and likely fell in the shower.
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Detective Brian Lockhart testified last month that deputies found blood in “just about every room” as well as on the staircase, handrails, walls, and floors. Lockhart also said the microwave was shattered, and alcohol bottles were present throughout the home.
During Monday’s hearing, detectives shared body camera footage of Lee and Deputy Mike Mullins, who responded to the initial call seeking CPR. Jurors also saw a question that police claimed Lee asked ChatGPT, the popular artificial intelligence program.
🚨NEW: Former NFL linebacker Darron Lee allegedly asked ChatGPT how to cover up a murder after killing his girlfriend.
Investigators say Lee searched for ways to clean blood, hide evidence, and stage an accident.
One message reportedly read:
“She stabbed herself… she isn’t… pic.twitter.com/8mXqmdSNgw
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) March 10, 2026
“Don’t know what to do right now,” Lee wrote. “Fiancee [sic] did her crazy thing again and now she’s messed up, I wake up and she has two swollen eyes (i didn’t do anything, self inflicted) she stabbed herself, slit her eye? Idk but she isn’t waking up or responding, what do I do?”
ChatGPT responded, “Here’s what to say without framing it as police trouble.”
District Attorney Coty Wamp accused Lee of using ChatGPT to give him advice on how to “cover up” a murder scene.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Lee, who has prior convictions in Florida and Ohio and a history of violence. He was arrested on two counts of assault and domestic violence after he allegedly attacked his mother in 2023. The mother of Lee’s son also told police that he had attacked her the previous October.
NEW: Ex-NFL star Darron Lee charged with girlfriend’s m*rder after her body is found in a Tennessee home
Lee, 31, is a former first-round New York Jets draft pick from 2016
Police were called to the home on a report of CPR in progress
First responders tried life-saving… pic.twitter.com/74jP765JuL
— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) February 7, 2026
Lee pleaded guilty to a lesser offense last year and received a 90-day jail sentence, with 88 days suspended. Lee was also placed on probation through February 2027. A Chattanooga, Tenn., judge denied Lee bond during a court hearing last month.
Perpétuo’s family previously filed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against Lee, seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
It is worth noting that Lee isn’t the first person to use ChatGPT for questions tied to death or legal issues. ChatGPT and other AI programs have been linked to numerous suicides in recent years, including the highly publicized death of a California teenager last year. The parents of Adam Raine filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing ChatGPT of offering the 16-year-old advice on how to take his own life, as well as how he could write a suicide note.
