former NFL linebacker Darren Lee He will remain in jail as he faces first-degree murder charges in Tennessee.

Li was detained last week. In addition to the murder charge in his girlfriend’s death, Lee also faces charges of tampering or fabricating evidence.

A Hamilton County Criminal Court judge ruled Wednesday that Lee spent the first three years of his professional football career in new york jetswill be jailed without bail.

Lee is not expected to return to court until next month, but prosecutors said Wednesday the case may be eligible for the death penalty.

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Former New York Jets linebacker Darren Lee was arrested by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office on February 6, 2025 and charged with first-degree murder and falsification of evidence. (Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com/Hamilton Village Sheriff’s Office)

While Hamilton County District Attorney Cody Wamp made it clear that no final decision has been made on whether to impose the death penalty, he did cite factors that could lead to the case being eligible for the death penalty.

“Mr. Li lived with a woman who, for lack of a better term, was beaten to death,” Wamp told the court, arguing that the judge suspend bail. “And the explanation he gave didn’t make any sense.

Former NFL player Darren Lee arrested for allegedly beating his mother, mother of 2-year-old son

“You walk in the door and there are boxes,” said Brian Lockhart, a Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office detective, NewsChannel9 reported.

“There were a lot of things in the living room. The deceased was lying on his back on the floor. Blood was running up the stairs. There was blood on the handrail. There was blood on the wall. There was blood on the living room floor. There was blood on the floor in the hallway and on the stairs.”

Kansas City Chiefs’ Darren Lee (50) sits on the bench during a game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit on September 29, 2019. (Ray Del Rio/Getty Images)

The victim in this case had been living in a rental house with Li. Lockhart testified Wednesday that Lee is believed to have committed crimes at the house for about 10 days.

Detectives said he was present during the autopsy and learned the underlying cause of death was blunt force trauma homicide. The autopsy report has not yet been released.

According to an arrest affidavit, emergency personnel went to a home in the Chattanooga suburb of Ooltewah on Feb. 5 to perform CPR and found the woman dead.

Lee told officers the woman may have fallen in the shower, but there were large amounts of blood in different areas of the house, which was inconsistent with Lee’s story, according to the arrest affidavit.

Darren Lee of the New York Jets carries the ball during the third quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit on September 10, 2018. (Ray Del Rio/Getty Images)

Authorities executing a search warrant found multiple trauma injuries on the woman’s body, including stab wounds to her abdomen, apparent human bite marks on her shoulder, large bruises on her head, a severely swollen black eye and dried blood on her face and neck, according to the affidavit.

Investigators also found alcohol, narcotics and firearms, the affidavit said.

Lee suffered facial injuries, cuts on his hands, a cut on his chest and blood inside his phone case, the affidavit said.

Detectives also found blood in multiple areas of the house that someone had tried to clean up, as well as cleaning supplies near areas where testing confirmed there was blood 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 county and on probation in Ohio for attempted battery.

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Mike Little, Lee’s acting public defender, told The Associated Press it was premature for him to make any statement.

The Jets selected Lee in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Later he worked for kansas city chiefs and the Buffalo Bills, who last appeared in an NFL game in 2020.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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