NASHVILLE, Tennessee — A judge on Wednesday upheld former New York Jets first round draft pick darron lee He is in jail without bond as he faces first-degree murder charges in the death of his girlfriend in Tennessee.
The decision by Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Tory Smith came after Lee was arrested and charged late last week. He is also accused of tampering or fabricating evidence.
Lee is scheduled to return to court for a preliminary hearing on March 9.
Authorities have identified the victim in the case as Gabriella Perpetuo. Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Detective Brian Lockhart testified Wednesday that the couple had lived in the rented home where the incident occurred for about 10 days.
Lockhart said he was present during the autopsy and learned that the probable manner of death was homicide by blunt force trauma, although the autopsy report has not yet been released.
According to an arrest affidavit, on Feb. 5 first responders went to a home in the Chattanooga suburb of Ooltewah to call for CPR in progress, where they found the woman already dead.
Lee told deputies the woman may have fallen in the shower, but according to the affidavit, there was extensive amounts of blood in various areas of the residence which was inconsistent with Lee’s statement.
The affidavit states that officers serving a search warrant found multiple signs of trauma on the woman’s body, including a knife wound to her stomach, an 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.
Lockhart testified that he also suffered a severe brain injury and a broken neck. Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Vamp said that while wearing pants with no cut marks, there were more knife wounds on his legs, indicating that the pants were worn later.
Investigators also found alcohol, drug paraphernalia and a gun, the affidavit said.
Lee had bruises on his face, lacerations on his hands, lacerations to his chest and there was blood inside his cellphone case, the affidavit said.
Crime scene detectives also identified blood that had been attempted to be cleaned in several areas of the home, as well as cleaning supplies, where testing confirmed blood stains but no blood was visible, the affidavit said.
Wamp said the case is eligible for the death penalty, but prosecutors have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty.
“Mr. Lee was in a home with a woman who was, for lack of a better sentence, beaten to death,” Wamp said in court, pleading with the judge to have the bond revoked. “And the explanation he gave doesn’t make any sense.”
Wamp said Lee was on probation in Florida for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in one county and battery in another, and was on probation for attempted battery in Ohio.
Lee was represented at the hearing by Deputy Public Defender Mike Little, who said in court that bond is often set for murder or first-degree murder defendants, including those with prior felony convictions.
Responding to a request for comment from The Associated Press, Little said it was too early for him to make any comment on the matter.
Lee, 31, played 58 games with the Jets, Kansas City and Buffalo from the 2016 to 2020 seasons. The former Ohio State linebacker was the 20th overall pick by the Jets in 2016. He was the defensive MVP of the 2015 Sugar Bowl.
