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Ex-Jets linebacker, charged with first-degree murder, allegedly consulted ChatGPT about cover-up
By Scott Thompson
Published March 10, 2026
Darron Lee, the New York Jets’ former first-round pick, allegedly consulted ChatGPT about how to "cover up" the murder of his ex-partner, who he allegedly stabbed to death last month.
Prosecutors said Lee, 31, allegedly tried to use AI to help carry out the brutal murder of Gabriella Carvalho Perpétuo, who was found dead in a home in Ooltewah, Tennessee, during a preliminary hearing on Monday, per WCTV.
Prosecutors read aloud the prompt that Lee allegedly sent to ChatGPT.
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Former New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee, 31, was arrested by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 6, 2025, and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with fabricating evidence. (Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com/Hamilton Country Sheriff's Office)
"Don’t know what to do right now," he allegedly wrote to the chat bots. "Fiancée 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?"
The chat bot responded, saying, "Got it. Here’s exactly what [redacted] is the safest way to handle it without framing it as ‘police trouble,’" according to WDEF.
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Lee continued the conversation with ChatGPT, asking if someone who has slipped and fallen could suffer "puncture wounds."
"Yeah – it can happen**, but there’s [redacted] to make," the bot responded. "Can a slip-and-fall cause puncture wounds? Yes, but usually only under specific conditions?"
District Attorney Coty Wamp said to the court that Lee was using ChatGPT as a "legal advisor," having "dozens of conversations" over a two-day span where he detailed what he allegedly did.
Darron Lee of the Kansas City Chiefs walks off the field before a game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on Nov. 10, 2019, in Nashville. (Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
"He asks how to cover it up. He asks what to say to 911," Wamp added.
Judges ordered Lee be held without bond last month, as he faces charges of first-degree murder and tampering with or fabricating evidence.
Wamp made it clear last month that there was no final decision concerning the pursuit of the death penalty, but he did cite factors that could result in the case becoming eligible for capital punishment.
"Mr. Lee was in a home with a female (who) was, for lack of a better term, beaten to death," Wamp said in court last month, arguing for the judge to withhold bond. "And the explanation that he gave doesn't make any sense whatsoever."
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Detective Brian Lockhart detailed the home they found Perpétuo in.
"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. On the floor in the hallway and the stairs."
The detective added that he was present during the autopsy, which found the potential cause of death was blunt force trauma homicide.
Darron Lee of the Kansas City Chiefs on the bench during the Lions game at Ford Field on Sept. 29, 2019, in Detroit, Michigan. (Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
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Authorities carrying out a search warrant found multiple types of trauma to the woman's body, including a stab wound to her abdomen, an apparent human bite mark on her shoulder, a large bruise on her head, black eyes with heavy swelling, and dried blood on her face and neck, according to the affidavit.
Lee, who was taken in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Jets, played three seasons at linebacker following his time at Ohio State. He would later play with the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.
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https://www.foxnews.com/sports/ex-jets-linebacker-charged-first-degree-murder-allegedly-consulted-chatgpt-about-cover-up