Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty for Former NFL Linebacker in Girlfriend’s Killing

A grim week of men behaving badly across the NFL landscape culminated Wednesday with Tennessee prosecutors announcing they may seek the death penalty against former NFL linebacker Darron Lee on charges of murdering his girlfriend in a bloody attack on February 5.Mr. Lee, a first-round draft pick of the New York Jets in 2016 who later won a Super Bowl ring with the Kansas City Chiefs, is charged with first degree murder and tampering with evidence in the death of Gabriella Carvalho Perpetuo, whose body was found inside their rented home outside of Chattanooga.The arrest brings to at least five the number of past and present NFL players who have had run-ins with the law in recent weeks.Mr. Lee, 31, was denied bond during a court hearing in Hamilton County where law enforcement officials described finding the victim amid a horrific scene that included blood in nearly every room in the house.Detective Brian Lockhart of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee testified to finding blood on the staircase, handrails, walls, and floor. According to Mr. Lockhart, Ms. Perpetuo suffered severe brain trauma, a broken neck, bruising across her body, a large bite mark on her shoulder and thigh, stab wounds to her legs and significant facial trauma during a prolonged attack. There was also evidence of someone trying to clean up the scene with Clorox wipes.“We could present that evidence to a jury and they could use that evidence to find that the proper punishment for Mr. Lee is death,” Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp told the court.Mr. Lee was taken into custody at the scene after sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the residence. First responders located the victim and attempted life-saving measures before determining she was deceased.According to an arrest affidavit, Mr. Lee had facial injuries, lacerations on his hands and wounds on his chest. He initially told deputies the woman may have fallen in the shower while he was sleeping. Mr. Lee was arrested based on his injuries and the discovery of blood evidence throughout the home. Investigators also found alcohol, narcotics and a gun.“Mr. Lee was in a home with a female that was, for lack of a better term, beaten to death,” Ms. Wamp said. “And the explanation that he gave doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.”Mr. Lee, who starred at Ohio State and was the MVP of the 2015 Sugar Bowl, is being held at Hamilton Country prison. A preliminary hearing is set for March 9.Trouble followed Mr. Lee after he was cut by the Las Vegas Raiders prior to the 2021 season. He was on probation in Florida for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in one county and battery in another, and on probation in Ohio for attempted batteries.Mr. Lee is one of several present and former professional athletes recently entangled in dubious behavior. Atlanta Falcons rookie linebacker James Pearce Jr. was arrested in Doral, Florida, outside Miami, on Saturday after leading police on a high-speed chase that ended in a crash. That followed a domestic dispute with WNBA player Rickea Jackson.Mr. Pearce, 23, faces two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated stalking, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, fleeing and eluding police and resisting officers without violence to the officers.He has also been told to stay away from Ms. Jackson, a forward for the Los Angeles Sparks.In San Francisco, police said a verbal altercation between two groups inside a nightclub led to 49ers defensive end Keion White being shot in the ankle on Monday. Mr. White’s injuries were not life-threatening, and no arrests have been made. He is the second 49er to be shot in San Francisco in the past 18 months. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery in August 2024. A teenager is awaiting trial in that case. Mr. Pearsall recovered from the shooting after missing the first six games of his rookie year.Mr. White is in his second year with the 49ers after spending most of the first three seasons of his NFL career with the Patriots. The shooter remains unknown.Former Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy was sentenced this week to 180 days in jail and 30 hours of community service after pleading guilty to an extreme DUI charge, which is a misdemeanor in Arizona.Mr. Lacy, 34, was arrested in September 2024 after officers saw him committing several traffic violations in Scottsdale, Arizona. At the time of his arrest, Mr. Lacy, who played in the NFL from 2013-17, had a blood alcohol concentration of .325, which is four times the legal limit.If losing the Super Bowl to the Seattle Seahawks wasn’t bad enough, Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs was charged in December with felony strangulation and suffocation and misdemeanor assault and battery stemming from an incident that took place in December in Massachusetts.According to TMZ, a former personal chef claims Mr. Diggs slapped her and tried to choke her over a salary dispute, according to a police report. Mr. Diggs denied the allegations and was allowed to compete in the Super Bowl where he caught 3 passes for 37 yards in the 29-13 loss to Seattle.

Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty for Former NFL Linebacker in Girlfriend’s Killing

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