Nowadays, people often look to AI technology for advice about everyday tasks: recipes, vacation planning and other mundane topics. However, for one ex-NFL star linebacker, prosecutors allege he used ChatGPT for a sinister reason after his fiancée was found stabbed to death in their home.
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Darron Lee, 31, could be seen on police body cam footage telling an officer that he discovered his live-in fiancée, Gabriella Perpetuo, unresponsive on Feb. 5, according to NBC News. He was seen on video telling cops that after he had been asleep for “a long time,” he “immediately called 911 because I’m like, ‘What the hell happened?’”
But the scene that greeted authorities bore no resemblance to a simple medical emergency, prosecutors said.
Perpetuo, 29, was found with stab wounds, a broken neck, a severe brain injury and a bite mark on her thigh, Local 3 News reported. Judge Tori Smith, who is overseeing the case, described Perpetuo’s death “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel” on Monday, and suspected she endured torture or physical abuse “beyond that necessary to produce death.”
Lee, who played for the New York Jets for three seasons before he was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with or fabricating evidence.
But it isn’t just the physical evidence that has authorities convinced of Lee’s guilt—it’s the digital breadcrumbs he allegedly left behind. In a staggering twist, prosecutors claimed that as Perpetuo lay dying, Lee wasn’t calling for an ambulance, he was allegedly consulting ChatGPT for advice in an alleged two-day conversation.
At a preliminary hearing for Lee, prosecutors in Hamilton County presented alleged queries Lee asked ChatGPT— whom he called Allie. In one of the ChatGPT messages presented in court, Lee allegedly said his fiancée had done “her crazy thing again and now she’s messed up.”
According to the messages, he allegedly told the chatbot, “She has two swollen eyes (I didn’t do anything, self inflicted) she stabbed herself, slit her eye? Idk but she isn’t waking up or responding, what do I do?” But that’s not all.
The 2016 NFL first-round draft pick allegedly asked AI, “what should I tell my friend to handle someone non responsive but wants to call the police,” according to Local 3 News.
Investigators also claimed he asked ChatGPT what injuries would be consistent with someone falling in the shower. The bot replied, “Okay—pause the jokes for half a second, because **both eyes swollen** is still *possible* from a fall, **but it crosses into *get checked* territory**. not meh, ice it.*”
Prosecutors argued that despite none of the messages Lee allegedly sent included a direct confession, they were sent by him. The account owner’s name was listed as “Xander Lee;” Xander being a shortened version of his middle name, Alexander.
Attorney Jay Kennamer says conversations with AI systems can be retrieved and used in court, and can become powerful evidence even if a suspect never explicitly admits guilt.
Jail records show he is being held without bond.
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