Darron Lee, a former NFL linebacker who once starred for the Ohio State Buckeyes on college football's biggest stage, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after a woman was found dead inside a home on Wednesday afternoon.
Deputies were called to a home on Snow Cone Way in Ooltewah, Tennessee, on Feb. 5 after receiving a report of CPR in progress, according to a press release from the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office. When first responders arrived, they found a female victim and attempted life-saving measures but determined she was already dead.
Detectives from the sheriff's office's Criminal Investigative Services division were called to the scene. Investigators determined preliminarily that the woman died from homicide.
Lee, who was identified as the victim's boyfriend, was taken into custody at the scene. He faces charges of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence, with additional charges possible as the investigation is ongoing.
The victim's identity has not been released pending notification of next of kin.
Lee, now 32, was once one of the most celebrated defenders in Ohio State football history. A New Albany, Ohio, native, he played linebacker for the Buckeyes from 2013 to 2015. He earned the defensive MVP award in Ohio State's Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama, helping power the Buckeyes to their most recent national championship during the 2014 season.
His dominant college career led the New York Jets to select him in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Lee spent three seasons with the Jets before being suspended four games for a drug violation, according to the Columbus Dispatch. He was then traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019 and was later suspended by the NFL in 2020 for unspecified reasons.
Wednesday's arrest was not Lee's first encounter with law enforcement over allegations of violence against women.
In April 2023, police in Dublin, Ohio, arrested Lee after a female relative reported that he had punched her several times in the head, the Dispatch reported at the time. During that arrest, officers found two bags of a white powder on Lee that laboratory testing later confirmed was cocaine.
Dublin police also uncovered a separate alleged domestic violence incident from October 2022 involving a different woman. In that case, Lee allegedly threw a phone at the woman's head, causing her ear to bleed, and grabbed her by the neck, according to a report from Columbus television station WSYX citing an arrest report.
Lee failed to appear for a June 2023 court date in connection with one of those cases, prompting a judge to issue a warrant for his arrest. He did not resolve the warrant until November 2024, when he paid a bond to cancel it.
In February 2025, Lee accepted a plea deal in Franklin County Municipal Court that allowed him to avoid a felony record or any domestic violence conviction, the Dispatch reported. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possessing a counterfeit controlled substance and a misdemeanor count of attempted assault. A judge ordered him to pay a $500 fine, serve two years of probation and have no contact with the victims.
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office said the information released on Wednesday is preliminary and subject to change.