NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Former NFL linebacker Darron Lee remains behind bars as he faces a charge of first-degree murder in Tennessee.
Lee was taken into custody last week. In addition to the murder charge in connection with his girlfriend’s death, Lee faces a charge of tampering with or fabricating evidence.
On Wednesday, a judge in Hamilton County Criminal Court ruled that Lee, who spent the first three years of his professional football career with the New York Jets, would remain jailed without bond.
Lee is not scheduled to return to court until next month, but prosecutors signaled Wednesday that the case could qualify for the death penalty.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
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 it clear that there is no final decision on whether to pursue the death penalty, he cited factors that could result in the case becoming eligible for the death penalty.
“Mr. Lee was in a home with a woman (who) for lack of a better term, was beaten to death,” Wamp said in court, arguing for the judge to withhold bond. “And the explanation he gave makes no sense at all.
FORMER NFL PLAYER DARRON LEE ARRESTED ON ALLEGATIONS TO BEAT HIS OWN MOTHER, MOTHER OF 2-YEAR-OLD SON
“You walked in the door there were boxes,” Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Det. Brian Lockhart said, according to NewsChannel9.
“Many things in the living room. The deceased was on the floor and lying on his back. There was blood going up the stairs. 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 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 Rio/Getty Images)
The victim in the case had lived in a rental property with Lee. The house is also believed to have been the location where Lee is said to have carried out the crime over an estimated 10-day period, Lockhart testified Wednesday.
The detective said he was present during the autopsy and found the potential cause of death to be trauma homicide. An autopsy report has not yet been published.
According to an arrest affidavit, on Feb. 5, first responders went to a home in the Chattanooga suburb of Ooltewah to a call about CPR in progress, where they found the woman already dead.
Lee told deputies the woman may have fallen in the shower, but according to an arrest affidavit, there were large amounts of blood in various 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 Rio/Getty Images)
Authorities who executed a search warrant found multiple types of trauma on the woman’s body, including a stab wound to her abdomen, an apparent human bite mark on her shoulder, a large bruise on her head, black eyes with severe swelling and dried blood on her face and neck, according to the affidavit.
Investigators also found alcohol, drugs and a gun, the statement said.
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 tried to clean up in several areas of the house, in addition to cleaning supplies nearby, where testing confirmed there had been blood stains but no blood was visible, the affidavit said.
Wamp 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 battery.
Mike Little, a deputy public defender representing Lee, told The Associated Press it was too early for him to make any statements.
The Jets selected Lee in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He later played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills, last in an NFL game in 2020.
