Former NFL linebacker Darron Lee is facing disturbing new allegations after prosecutors revealed he allegedly turned to ChatGPT for guidance shortly after his girlfriend was found unresponsive inside their Tennessee home.
Prosecutors say the former first-round NFL draft pick searched for advice from the artificial intelligence chatbot in the hours surrounding the death of his fiancée, Gabriella Perpetuo, whose body was discovered inside the couple’s home in Ooltewah, Tennessee, in February.
Lee appeared in Hamilton County Court on Monday as District Attorney Coty Wamp presented new details tied to the investigation. According to prosecutors, Lee allegedly messaged ChatGPT the day before Perpetuo was found dead, asking what to do if someone was not responding.
The message presented in court read, “Don’t know what to do right now, 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?”
Lee’s message continued, “Idk, but she isn’t waking up or responding, what do I do?”
Prosecutors also displayed what they described as one of the chatbot’s responses, which allegedly told Lee, “Here’s what to say without framing it as ‘police trouble.’”
Investigators also say Lee asked the AI system whether a slip and fall accident could cause puncture wounds.
Wamp told the court the messages suggest Lee was attempting to use the chatbot as a form of legal guidance while trying to stage or cover up a crime scene.
Lee, who played five seasons in the NFL with the New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, and Las Vegas Raiders, has been charged with first-degree murder and tampering with or fabricating evidence.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe campaign has been launched to support Perpetuo’s family with funeral costs and legal expenses.
“The tragic and sudden loss of Gabriella has created emotional and financial hardships; any help makes a difference,” the fundraiser states. “We also hope to raise awareness and find ways to help prevent other lives from being destroyed by domestic violence.”
Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty if Lee is convicted.
