Violent Crime and Courts

Prosecutors in Hamilton County, Tennessee say former New York Jets first‑round pick Darron Lee, 31, consulted ChatGPT repeatedly as he allegedly tried to cover up the February 2025 killing of his ex‑partner, Gabriella Carvalho Perpétuo, at a home in Ooltewah. At a recent preliminary hearing, the district attorney’s office read aloud prompts Lee is accused of sending to the chatbot, in which he described his fiancée as having swollen eyes and claimed she stabbed herself, then asked what he should do and whether a slip‑and‑fall could cause puncture wounds; the bot responded with advice on how to handle the situation without making it “police trouble,” according to local reports. DA Coty Wamp told the court that Lee had “dozens of conversations” with the AI tool over two days, using it as a “legal advisor” to ask how to cover up the incident and what to say to 911. A sheriff’s detective testified that investigators found blood throughout the home and that an autopsy indicated blunt‑force trauma homicide, with additional injuries including a stab wound, suspected bite mark, bruising, and swollen blackened eyes. Lee, who has been ordered held without bond on first‑degree murder and evidence‑tampering charges as prosecutors weigh seeking the death penalty, is drawing national attention both because of his NFL past and the rare allegation that an AI chatbot was used in real time during an alleged domestic homicide.