Breadcrumb Trail Links
Sports
Football
NFL
Prosecutors allege former New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee asked AI for help to 'cover up' Gabriella Carvalho Perpetuo's death
Published Mar 10, 2026 • Last updated 5 minutes ago • 2 minute read
Former New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee celebrates a play during a game in 2017.
Former New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee celebrates a play during a game in 2017. Getty Images
Article content
Former NFL linebacker Darron Lee asked ChatGPT how to “cover up” the murder of his girlfriend, according to prosecutors.
Advertisement 2
Toronto Sun
THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.
Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.
Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.
Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.
Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.
Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.
Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.
Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.
Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one account.
Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
Enjoy additional articles per month.
Get email updates from your favourite authors.
THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one account
Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments
Enjoy additional articles per month
Get email updates from your favourite authors
Article content
Lee — who allegedly beat and stabbed Gabriella Carvalho Perpetuo to death last month — allegedly asked the AI chatbot disturbing queries days before his girlfriend’s body was found in a Tennessee home.
Article content
Article content
Prosecutors made the revelation on Monday during a preliminary hearing for the former NFL first-round draft, per WCTV.
“Don’t know what to do right now. Fiancee 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?” he asked ChatGPT.
“Got it. Here’s exactly what (redacted) is the safest way to handle it without framing it as ‘police trouble,’” the chatbot responded, according to WDEF.
opening envelope
Your Midday Sun
Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond.
By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Thanks for signing up!
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Your Midday Sun will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
Loading...
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Play Video
Lee also asked if someone slipping and falling could cause “puncture wounds.”
“Yeah, it can happen**, but there’s (redacted) to make. Can a slip-and-fall cause puncture wounds? Yes, but usually only under specific conditions?” ChatGPT replied.
“I can help you sanity-check whether it lines up with a slip-and-fall or if it’s something that should be evaluated ASAP,” the AI program added.
What did the District Attorney say?
District Attorney Coty Wamp told the court that Lee was using 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.”
Advertisement 4
Article content
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Det. Brian Lockhart, one of the first at the rental home outside Chatanooga, previously testified that the house was covered in blood.
Read More
[Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill talks with a staff member as he is carted off the field after suffering severe knee injury during a game against the New York Jets.
Dolphins parting ways with standout wide receiver Tyreek Hill](https://torontosun.com/sports/football/nfl/dolphins-releasing-tyreek-hill)
2. [U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Feb. 12, 2026, in Washington. Trump recently pardoned five former professional football players — one posthumously — for various criminal convictions.
Trump pardons five former NFL players – one of them posthumously](https://torontosun.com/news/world/trump-pardons-5-ex-nfl-players)
“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,” he said.
According to police body cam footage presented by the prosecutors, Lee allegedly told officers that Perpetuo suffered from narcolepsy and had fallen in the shower.
What was the official cause of death?
However, police said there was evidence inside the home of a violent struggle and injuries inconsistent with an accidental fall.
Officials said that she had been found topless and that Perpetuo had suffered several horrific injuries, including severe brain trauma, a broken neck, stab wounds to her legs, and significant injuries to her face.
The medical examiner ruled her cause of death as blunt force trauma.
Lee, 31, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
Prosecutors have indicated they will pursue the death penalty if he’s convicted.
Article content
Share this article in your social network
Comments