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Former NFL linebacker Darron Lee will remain behind bars as he faces a first-degree murder charge in Tennessee.
Lee was arrested last week. In addition to the murder charge for his girlfriend’s death, Lee faces a charge of tampering with or fabricating evidence.
On Wednesday, a Hamilton County Criminal Court judge ruled that Lee, who spent the first three years of his professional football career with the New York Jets, would remain jailed without bail.
Lee is not scheduled to return to court until next month, but prosecutors said Wednesday that the case could qualify for the death penalty.
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Former New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee was arrested by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office on February 6, 2025 and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. (Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com/Hamilton Country Sheriff’s Office)
While Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp made clear there is no final decision on whether to pursue the death penalty, he did cite factors that could make the case eligible for the death penalty.
“Mr. Lee was in a house with a woman (who), for lack of a better term, was beaten to death,” Wamp said in court, arguing for the judge to withhold bail. “And the explanation he gave doesn’t make any sense.
FORMER NFL PLAYER DARRON LEE ARRESTED AMID ACCUSATIONS OF BEATING HIS OWN MOTHER, MOTHER OF HIS 2-YEAR-OLD SON
“You walked in the door and there were boxes,” said Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Detective. said Brian Lockhart, according to NewsChannel9.
“There were a lot of things in the living room. The deceased was on the floor, lying on her back. There was blood going up the stairs. There was blood on the railing. There was blood on the walls. There was blood on the floor in the living room. There was blood on the floor in the hallway and on the stairs.”
Darron Lee (50) of the Kansas City Chiefs sits on the bench during a game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on September 29, 2019 in Detroit. (Rey Del Río/Getty Images)
The victim in the case lived in a rental house with Lee. The home is also believed to be the location where Lee allegedly carried out the crime over an estimated period of 10 days, Lockhart testified Wednesday.
The detective said he was present during the autopsy and learned the possible cause of death was homicide by blunt force trauma. The autopsy report has not yet been released.
According to an arrest affidavit, first responders went on Feb. 5 to a home in the Chattanooga suburb of Ooltewah for a CPR call in progress, where they found the woman already dead.
Lee told officers the woman could have fallen in the shower, but, according to an arrest affidavit, there were large amounts of blood in different areas of the house that were inconsistent with Lee’s statement.
Darron Lee of the New York Jets runs the ball in the third quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on September 10, 2018 in Detroit. (Rey Del Río/Getty Images)
Authorities who conducted a search warrant found multiple types of trauma to the woman’s body, including a stab wound to the abdomen, an apparent human bite mark on her shoulder, a large bruise on her head, very swollen black eyes and dried blood on her face and neck, according to the affidavit.
Investigators also found alcohol, narcotics and a gun, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit said Lee had a facial injury, lacerations to his hands, wounds to his chest and blood inside his cell phone case.
Detectives also identified blood that someone attempted to clean up in multiple areas of the home, as well as cleaning supplies near where testing confirmed there were blood stains but no blood was visible, according to the affidavit.
Wamp said Lee was on probation in Florida for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in one county and assault in another and on probation in Ohio for attempted assault.
Mike Little, a deputy public defender representing Lee, told The Associated Press that it was premature for him to comment.
The Jets selected Lee in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He later played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills, and last appeared in an NFL game in 2020.
