Super Bowl linebacker Darron Lee has been officially indicted on a murder charge. This comes after his girlfriend, 29-year-old Gabriella Perpétuo, was found dead in February.
According to ESPN, a grand jury returned the indictment on Tuesday, June 9. And they're pursuing a first-degree murder conviction, according to Hamilton County's District Attorney Coty Wamp.
That charge comes with two options attached - life behind bars, or the death penalty. And, according to Wamp, the state is currently figuring out whether the latter will be pursued against the Super Bowl champion. The final decision on that front will be reached in the coming weeks.
While Lee was also accused of tampering with evidence, that charge has been dropped. Wamp said that that was so prosecutors could hone in on the much more serious charge.
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The Super Bowl Champ Was Arrested Back in February
As we reported when it happened, Darron Lee was arrested back in February. When he was arrested, he was on probation in Franklin County, Ohio. He had previously been charged in three seperate alleged assault cases involving several people, including his mother and the mother of his child.
He is accused of murdering his girlfriend, Gabriella Perpétuo. Medical officers revealed that her cause of death was "multiple blunt force injuries". The autopsy report also revealed 12 different injuries, including "multiple hematomas, bone fractures, and stab wounds".
Lee Allegedly Asked ChatGPT About What to Do
The Super Bowl champ even allegedly asked ChatGPT about what to do after the alleged murder. According to prosecutors, he had "dozens of conversations" with the AI chat bot "over a two-day period about what he did to Gabriella Perpétuo in detail".
Wamp explained that he allegedly asked "how to cover it up" and "what to say to 911". Wamp revealed some of the messages Lee had apparently sent to ChatGPT asking about things.
One read, "Don't know what to do right now. 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 inflected) she stabbed herself, slit her eye? Idk but she isn't waking up or responding, what do I do?"
