Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against former New York Jets first-round pick Darron Lee while releasing grisly new details about how he allegedly murdered his girlfriend.
Lee, who played five seasons in the NFL, was denied bond at a court hearing Wednesday on charges of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence, WTVC reported.
Prosecutors said they are seeking the death penalty as they revealed that there was “blood in just about every room” — including in a car in the garage — when Lee allegedly beat Gabriella Carvalho Perpétuo to death at a home in Tennessee.
Lee, who was selected by the Jets with the No. 20 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, allegedly called police to the house outside of Chattanooga and told officers that Perpétuo suffered from narcolepsy and must have fallen down in the shower.
But cops found the blood-soaked scene — and a Perpétuo dead on the floor.
She was topless and died from horrific injuries, including severe brain trauma, and broken neck, bruising across her body and even large bite marks on her shoulder and thigh, according to an autopsy.
She also had stab wounds to her legs and significant injuries to her face. The medical examiner ruled her cause of death as blunt force trauma.
“The scene was in disarray,” Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Detective Brian Lockhart, who was one of the first at the rental home, testified.
“There was blood going up the staircase, on the hand railing there was blood, on the walls there was blood, on the floor in the living room there was blood, in the floor on the hallway and the stairs,” he continued.
The microwave was shattered, and booze bottles and broken glass littered the home. Detectives discovered cleaning supplies upstairs, including bleach wipes and a spray bottle.
Lee, 31, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
The outside linebacker, who played five seasons in the league, was on probation for an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon conviction in Florida, and moved to Tennessee without approval from his probation officer.
Lee’s defense team had pushed for bond. But District Attorney Coty Wamp successfully argued Lee posed a significant risk and should not receive bond. She noted that if Lee had completed court-ordered anger management classes, his probation would have ended three days after Perpétuo’s death.
Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Tori Smith denied bond and ruled Lee will remain in custody until his next court date on March 9.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
