Darron Lee has been charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence, and fresh allegations claim he asked ChatGPT for advice before his deceased girlfriend was found
10:40 ET, 10 Mar 2026Updated 10:41 ET, 10 Mar 2026
Darron Lee has been accused of asking ChatGPT questions before his girlfriend was found dead
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Darron Lee has been accused of asking ChatGPT questions before his girlfriend was found dead(Image: 2019 Quinn Harris)
Former Super Bowl champion Darron Lee is facing fresh allegations that he used ChatGPT for assistance after allegedly killing his girlfriend, according to prosecutors.
Lee, 31, had a preliminary hearing in court on Monday before he heads to trial for the first-degree murder of Gabrielle Carvalho Perpetuo. Lee was arrested and charged in Tennessee for allegedly murdering his girlfriend, and he has also been accused of tampering with evidence.
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The former NFL linebacker could face the death penalty as a result, but according to Local 3 News, fresh allegations claim that he asked the AI tool how to deal with an 'unresponsive person.' Prosecutors claim that Lee sent messages to ChatGPT from his phone.
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According to WTVC, Lee allegedly asked ChatGPT what to do before his girlfriend was found dead by police. "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?"
Lee also allegedly asked the AI tool about injuries that might occur from someone falling in the shower. Perpetuo was found with stab wounds, black eyes, bite marks, and blood coming from her nose and mouth, according to the authorities.
Lee is facing a first-degree murder charge
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Lee is facing a first-degree murder charge(Image: Getty Images)
District Attorney Coty Wamp said in court that it's believed Lee used ChatGPT as a 'legal advisor.' "He has conversations, dozens of conversations, back and forth with ChatGPT over a two-day period about what he did to Gabriella Perpetua in detail," Wamp said.
"He asks how to cover it up. He asks what to say to 911." Prosecutors also showed police footage of Lee appearing confused as he told officers that he found his girlfriend dead.
"She wasn’t saying anything and that’s when I called 911 immediately and I was like what is going on… I was asleep for a long time," Lee said, via the video shared in the courtroom.
Lee was selected in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the New York Jets
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Lee was selected in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the New York Jets(Image: Getty Images)
In addition to the criminal proceedings, Lee is also facing a $50 million wrongful-death lawsuit. Perpetuo's family is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
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According to prosecutors, Perpetuo was found in a bloody Tennessee home lying on her back. Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Detective Brian Lockhart was one of the first on the scene.
Lockhart said, "The scene was in disarray. You walked in the door, there were boxes. 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, in the floor on the hallway and the stairs. There was blood in just about every room except one."