A former NFL linebacker is facing murder charges after prosecutors say he turned to artificial intelligence for guidance following the death of his ex-partner.
According to Fox News, Darron Lee, a former first-round draft pick of the New York Jets, is accused of killing Gabriella Carvalho Perpétuo inside a home in Ooltewah, Tennessee, last month.
During a preliminary hearing on Monday, prosecutors revealed that Lee allegedly consulted ChatGPT multiple times in the aftermath of the incident.
Lee, 31, is charged with first-degree murder and tampering with or fabricating evidence. A judge previously ordered that he remain behind bars without bond.
According to prosecutors, Lee sent messages to the AI chatbot describing the situation and asking for advice about what to do next.
Prosecutors read one of the prompts aloud during the hearing.
“Don’t know what to do right now,” Lee allegedly wrote. “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 chatbot responded with what prosecutors described as guidance on handling the situation.
“Got it. Here’s exactly what [redacted] is the safest way to handle it without framing it as ‘police trouble,’” the response stated, according to WDEF.
Authorities say Lee continued asking questions as the conversation progressed.
At one point, he reportedly asked whether someone who slipped and fell could end up with puncture wounds.
“Yeah – it can happen**, but there’s [redacted] to make,” the chatbot replied. “Can a slip-and-fall cause puncture wounds? Yes, but usually only under specific conditions?”
Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp told the court that Lee had “dozens of conversations” with the chatbot over two days.
“He asks how to cover it up. He asks what to say to 911,” Wamp said.
During an earlier court appearance, Wamp described the scene investigators encountered inside the home.
“Mr. Lee was in a home with a female (who) was, for lack of a better term, beaten to death,” Wamp said. “And the explanation that he gave doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.”
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Detective Brian Lockhart also testified about what investigators found when they arrived.
“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.”
Authorities later documented multiple injuries on Perpétuo’s body, including blunt force trauma and a stab wound to her abdomen.
Investigators also reported finding an apparent human bite mark on her shoulder, a large bruise on her head, swollen black eyes, and dried blood on her face and neck.
Detective Lockhart said the autopsy indicated the potential cause of death was blunt force trauma homicide.
Lee played three seasons with the New York Jets after being selected in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. He later spent time with the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.
