HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. — A former NFL linebacker has been charged in his girlfriend’s murder after her body was found in a home near Ooltewah Elementary School Thursday, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
On the afternoon of February 5th, HCSO says deputies were dispatched to a residence on Snow Cone Way to a report of CPR in progress.
Image: NewsChannel 9 SkyView
Upon arrival, first responders located a female victim and attempted life-saving measures. HCSO says she died from her injuries.
HCSO Criminal Investigative Services Detectives responded. Preliminary findings indicate the victim’s death was the result of a homicide.
The victim’s boyfriend, Darron Lee, was identified as the suspect and taken into custody at the scene.
The date of birth for Lee in the booking system matches the ESPN profile of a former NFL linebacker of the same name.
The date of birth for Lee in the booking system matches the ESPN profile of a former NFL linebacker of the same name.
Lee went to Ohio State and was a first-round pick in the 2016 draft to the New York Jets.
He played for several other teams up until 2021.
FILE:{ }Ohio State’s Darron Lee poses for photos after being selected by the New York Jets as the 20th pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL football draft, Thursday, April 28, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
HCSO says Lee is charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
Additional charges could be pending following the outcome of the investigation, according to HCSO.
Lee was also arrested for assault and domestic violence in Ohio back in 2023.
Photo from Darron Lee’s arrest in 2014. File image from WSYX.
Lee pushed a woman “against the wall, throwing her to the floor and striking her face and head 8 to 9 times with his closed fists,” according to a 2023 arrest report.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
In an arrest report for a separate incident, Lee allegedly threw a phone at a different woman “which struck her head, causing her ear to bleed, grabbing her neck while punching the pillow beside her head, causing red marks to her neck.”
