A Tennessee judge ruled that former NFL linebacker Darron Lee be held without bond as he faces first-degree murder charges in connection with the death of his girlfriend, the Associated Press reports.
Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Tori Smith made the ruling on Wednesday (February 11), six days after Lee, 31, was arrested and charged last Thursday (February 5). The former first-round draft pick also faces charges of tampering with or fabricating evidence and is due to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on March 9.
The victim was identified as Gabriella Perpétuo and the couple had been living in a rented home in the Chattanooga suburb of Ooltewah where the incident took place for about 10 days, according to Detective Brian Lockhart of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. Lockhart said he was present during Pepétuo’s autopsy and confirmed her cause of death was ruled as blunt force trauma homicide, though an autopsy hasn’t been publicly released.
First responders reportedly went to the home for a call of CPR in progress and found Pepétuo already dead at the scene, according to an arrest affidavit. Lee claimed that the woman may have fallen in the shower, however, officers found extensive amounts of blood in various areas of the home, which was inconsistent with Lee’s statement.
Multiple examples of trauma were found on the woman’s body, which included a stab wound to her abdomen, apparent human bite mark on her shoulder, a large bruise on her head, black eyes with heavy swelling, and dried blood on her face and neck, according to the affidavit, while Lockhart also testified that the woman also had a severe brain injury and a broken neck.
Additional stab wounds on Pepétuo’s legs were found while wearing pants without cut marks, suggesting the pants were put on after the stabbing occurred, according to Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp. Alcohol, narcotics and a gun were found at the scene, according to the affidavit.
Lee was reported to have sustained a facial injury, lacerations on his hands and wounds on his chest, while blood was found inside the case of his cellphone. Detectives also reportedly identified blood that had been attempted to be cleaned in multiple areas of the house, as well as cleaning supplies where testing confirmed blood stains had been present but not visible.
Wamp said the case is eligible for capital punishment, however, prosecutors haven’t decided whether to seek the death penalty as of Wednesday.
“Mr. Lee was in a home with a female that was, for lack of a better term, beaten to death,” Wamp said while arguing for the judge to withhold bond in court via the Associated Press. “And the explanation that he gave doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.”
Lee was selected by the New York Jets at No. 20 overall in the 2016 NFL Draft and spent his first three seasons with the franchise before being traded to the eventual 2019 Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and later appearing in games for the Buffalo Bills in 2020. The former Ohio State standout recorded 273 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, four sacks and 11 QB hits in 38 starts and 58 appearances.
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