Former Chiefs linebacker Darron Lee stares intently.
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Former Chiefs linebacker Darron Lee faces the death penalty after being charged with murder.
Disturbing new details emerged Wednesday in the murder case against 2019 Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl champion linebacker Darron Lee, who has now been charged with first-degree murder in the violent death of a woman in Tennessee, according to a report by WVTC-TV in Chattanooga. The woman, named as Gabriella Carvalho Perpétuo, according to the report, has been identified as Lee’s current or former girlfriend.
In a court appearance Wednesday morning in Chattanooga, gruesome testimony detailed the alleged circumstances of Perpétuo’s murder. After hearing the testimony, a judge ordered Lee, 31, held without bond. Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp said in court that she would seek the death penalty for Lee, WVTC-TV reported.
Perpétuo was found in her Ooltewah, Tennessee, home on February 5. Lee was present in the home when sheriff’s deputies arrived and initially told them that he believed Perpétuo suffered from narcolepsy, a condition that can cause sudden, uncontrollable sleeping, and had fallen asleep in the shower, causing her to fall.
But investigators said that evidence at the scene did not line up with Lee’s explanation.
Frightening Scene Described by Detective
Testimony by one of the investigators, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Detective Brian Lockhart, described a gory, horrifying scene inside the home where deputies found the deceased on the floor wearing no top, though she was wearing pants.
“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 of the hallway and the stairs,” the detective testified, as quoted by WVTC reporter Meg Doyle. “There was blood in just about every room except one.”
Lockhart also testified that the house was in “disarray” when he and other investigators arrived.
“You walked in the door, there were boxes. A lot of stuff in the living room. The deceased was on the floor lying on her back,” he testified.
Death Due to Blunt Force Trauma: Coroner
The cause of Perpétuo’s death was ruled by the county coroner to be blunt force trauma.
As autopsy report cited by the local TV station described “severe injuries, including severe brain trauma, a broken neck, bruising across her body, a large bite mark on her shoulder and thigh, stab wounds to her legs, and significant facial trauma.”
Investigators also found Lee’s passport, along with clothing and some of his personal possessions inside a bag that had been placed in a car in the garage at the house, according to the testimony, leading the district attorney to argue that Lee posed a flight risk.
Lee on Probation From Florida Assault Case: Report
According to a later report by the Chattanooga news outlet, Lee was on probation stemming from a conviction in an aggravated assault case in Florida at the time of the murder.
The former New York Jets first-round draft pick moved to Tennessee even though he had not received permission from his probation officer in Florida to leave the state, according to a Tennessee Department of Corrections and Parole officer who testified at Wednesday’s hearing.
Lee, a linebacker who also won a national championship in college with Ohio State, appeared in 16 games for the Chiefs in 2019, and got a championship ring with the team, though he was inactive for the Super Bowl game.