The murder charge against Darron Lee keeps the former Jets player in jail without bail

Lee was detained last week. In addition to the murder charge in 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 a team New York JetsHe will remain imprisoned without bond.

Lee is not scheduled to return to court until next month, but prosecutors indicated Wednesday that the case could carry the death penalty.

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Former New York Jets player Darron Lee was arrested by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office on February 6, 2025, and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with fabrication of evidence. (Daniel Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com/Hamilton Sheriff’s Office)

While Hamilton County Prosecutor Coty Wamp clarified that there is no final decision on whether to pursue the death penalty, he pointed to factors that could lead to the case becoming eligible for the death penalty.

“Mr. Lee was in a house with a woman who was, for lack of a better term, beaten to death,” Wamp said in court, asking the judge to withhold bail. “The explanation he gave makes no sense at all.

Former NFL player Darron Lee has been arrested amid allegations he beat his mother, the mother of his two-year-old son

“I walked in the door, and there were boxes,” the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office said. Brian Lockhart said, 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 coming up the stairs. There was blood on the banister. On the walls, there was blood. On the floor of the living room there was blood. On the floor of the hallway and the stairs.”

Daron 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. (Ray del Rio/Getty Images)

The victim in this case was living in a rented house with Lee. The home is also believed to be the location where Lee allegedly carried out the crime over an estimated 10-day period, Lockhart testified Wednesday.

The investigator said he was present during the autopsy and learned that the probable cause of death was homicide. The autopsy report has not yet been issued.

According to the arrest affidavit, on February 5 first responders went to a home in the Chattanooga suburb of Ooltewah to make a phone call in progress, where they found the woman already dead.

Lee told deputies that the woman may have fallen while showering, but according to the arrest affidavit, there was large amounts of blood in various areas of the home which was not consistent with Lee’s statements.

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. (Ray 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 obvious 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 affidavit said.

Lee suffered a facial injury, lacerations to his hands, cuts to his chest and blood inside his cell phone case, the affidavit said.

Investigators also located blood that someone had attempted to clean up in multiple areas of the home, as well as cleaning supplies near where tests confirmed blood stains but no blood was visible, the affidavit said.

Lee was on probation in Florida for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in one county and battery in another, and was also on probation in Ohio for attempted battery, Wamp said.

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Mike Little, the deputy public defender representing Lee, told The Associated Press that it was too early to make any statements.

The Jets selected Lee in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He later played for Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills, last appearing in an NFL game in 2020.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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