Darron Lee Indicted on First-Degree Murder Charge in Hamilton County
Darron Lee was indicted Wednesday by a Hamilton County grand jury on a first-degree murder charge in the death of his girlfriend, Gabriela Carvalho Perpétuo. The case now carries the possibility of a death penalty sentence in Hamilton County Criminal Court.
Hamilton County grand jury
The indictment marks the latest step in a case that began with Lee’s arrest on Feb. 6, 2025, when the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office charged him with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. Prosecutors later dismissed the tampering count and moved the case forward on the murder charge alone.
Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp said, "We will focus solely on the murder of Gabriella." Wamp also said the case is eligible for a death penalty sentence, putting the legal stakes at the highest level available in the county court system.
Evidence at Lee's bond hearing
That charge sits against a violent scene described in February testimony from Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Detective Brian Lockhart at Lee’s bond hearing. He said there was blood on the staircase, handrails, walls, floors, and in nearly every room of the house, along with shattered microwave glass, more glass scattered through the home, alcohol bottles throughout the house, and cleaning supplies upstairs, including bleach wipes and a spray bottle.
Investigators also said Lee called police to the scene and told 911 dispatchers he found Perpétuo unresponsive and suggested she may have fallen in the shower. They said he allegedly consulted ChatGPT after her death to stage the scene to look as if she had died after a shower fall and asked the chatbot about injuries that would fit that explanation.
Perpétuo's autopsy findings
The autopsy listed multiple severe brain traumas, a broken neck, bruising across her body, a bite mark on her shoulder, a bite mark on her thigh, stab wounds on her legs, and facial bruising and cuts. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death to be blunt force trauma.
Lee, a 2016 first-round pick of the New York Jets, also played for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills. For now, the case moves forward on the murder indictment alone, with the tampering allegation already removed and prosecutors signaling they will pursue the homicide charge in court.
