Judge Tori Smith’s decision to keep Darron Lee behind bars without bond came after testimony in Hamilton County Criminal Court that prosecutors said showed the death of Lee’s girlfriend involved extensive injuries and blood evidence. The court also heard that Lee faces additional allegations beyond the homicide charge, setting the stage for the next phase of the case ahead of a scheduled preliminary hearing.
Lockhart, a Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office detective, testified Wednesday that he was present during an autopsy and learned the potential manner of death was blunt force trauma homicide. The court heard that an autopsy report had not yet been released, and prosecutors and investigators have continued building the case as the matter moves through early court proceedings.
Authorities identified the woman in the case as Gabriella Perpétuo, and testimony described that she and Lee were living together in a rental home where the incident occurred for about 10 days. In an arrest affidavit referenced in court, first responders went Feb. 5 to a home in Ooltewah, a Chattanooga suburb, for a call of CPR in progress and found the woman already deceased.
Lee told deputies the woman may have fallen in the shower, but prosecutors said the arrest affidavit described extensive amounts of blood in areas of the residence that were inconsistent with that account. The affidavit also described investigators finding multiple kinds of trauma on Perpétuo’s body, including a stab wound to her abdomen and an apparent human bite mark on her shoulder, along with other injuries prosecutors tied to the investigation’s search and evidence recovery.
Prosecutors also highlighted additional alleged injuries, including a severe brain injury and a broken neck, and said the case description included further stab wounds on her legs while she was wearing pants without cut marks, suggesting to investigators that the clothing may have been put on afterward. The court heard that investigators also found alcohol, narcotics and a gun, and that crime scene detectives identified blood that they said had been attempted to be cleaned in multiple areas of the house, along with cleaning supplies near where testing confirmed blood stains but no visible blood remained.
District Attorney Coty Wamp argued in court for keeping Lee without bond, saying the account Lee gave did not make sense. Wamp also told the judge that the case is eligible for capital punishment, but prosecutors have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty, according to her remarks in court. She further said Lee 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.
Lee is represented by deputy public defender Mike Little, who told the court that bond is often set for homicide or first-degree murder defendants, including those with prior felonies. In response to a request for comment from The Associated Press, Little said it is too early in the case for him to be making any statements.
The court also set the next step in the proceedings: Lee is due back for a preliminary hearing on March 9. Lee, 31, played 58 games with the Jets, Kansas City and Buffalo from 2016 through the 2020 seasons, and he was the 20th overall pick in 2016 by New York after a college career at Ohio State.