Kansas City football star Jovan Belcher, 25, shoots his girlfriend dead before killing himself in front of coaches at Chiefs stadium
- Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, 25, shot and killed his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins, 22, at their home this morning
- The couple had a baby together less than three months ago
- He then traveled to a practice area at the team's Arrowhead stadium
- First he thanked his coach and general manager for everything they had done for him and then he shoot himself in the head in front of them
- This is the second murder-suicide involving a Kansas City Chiefs employee in the past four months
- Sunday's home game against the Carolina Panthers is scheduled to go ahead
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Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, 25, fatally shot his girlfriend early Saturday morning, then drove to Arrowhead Stadium and committed suicide in front of his coach and general manager after first thanking them for everything they had done for him, police said.
Belcher's girlfriend has been identified as 22-year-old Kasandra Perkins. The couple lived together and three months ago had a baby together on September 11.
Authorities did not immediately release a possible motive for the murder-suicide, which stunned the team and came one day before a home game against the Carolina Panthers. The NFL said the game would go on as scheduled.
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Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, 25, shot and killed his girlfriend and then himself on Saturday morning
Happy family: Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins before shooting himself at the Kansas City Chiefs' stadium on Saturday morning
Crime scene: Investigators stand outside an Independence, Mo., house where police say Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher fatally shot his girlfriend on Saturday morning
On Facebook, a profile for Kasandra Perkins includes pictures of her and Belcher with their three month old baby
Judging from pictures posted on Kasandra's Facebook page, the young couple had appeared to be happy and in love following the birth of their first child.
'Jovan and Kasandra always seemed to be in love. In fact, when Kasandra got pregnant, she and Jovan were ecstatic. Ever since the baby was born in September, the two couldn’t have seemed happier together,' a member of the Perkin's family told TMZ.
Belcher’s agent Joe Linta told ESPN’s Adam Schefter: 'I'm in shock. So out of character. He was the last person in the world you would expect to do this.'
Belcher was a 25-year-old native of West Babylon, N.Y., on Long Island, played college ball at Maine. He had played all four of his NFL seasons for the Chiefs and played in every game each year, including the 11 so far this season. His 2012 salary was $1,927,000, four times what he had earned for the previous year.
Before turning the gun on himself, Belcher thanked Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli and Romeo Crennel for all they had done for him, police spokesman Darin Snapp said.
Belcher's mother had recently moved in with the couple, possibly to help with the baby, at their residence in Independence, Missouri about five miles away from the Arrowhead complex.
She called police just before 8 a.m. to report Perkins had been shot multiple times. Perkins was transported to The University of Kansas hospital, where she died a short time later.
Video: Kansas City football player shoots his girlfriend dead and then kills himself
Jovan Belcher #59 stretches before a game against the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium in 2009
Kasandra Perkins' Facebook profile includes pictures of her with Belcher and their young baby
Jovan Belcher pictured changing his young child's diaper
'When we arrived, a lady informed us
that her daughter had been shot multiple times by her boyfriend, by the
daughter's boyfriend,' Snapp said. 'She identified him as a Chiefs
player.'
Snapp told KCTV5 that a call was then received from the Chiefs' practice facility.
'The description matched the suspect description from that other address. We kind of knew what we were dealing with,' he said. The player was 'holding a gun to his head' as he stood in front of the front doors of the practice facility.
'And there were Pioli and Crennel and
another coach or employee was standing outside and appeared to be
talking to him. It appeared they were talking to the suspect,' Snapp
said.
'The suspect began to walk in the opposite direction of the coaches and the officers and that's when they heard the gunshot. It appears he took his own life.'
The coaches told police they never felt in any danger, Snapp said.
'They said the player was actually
thanking them for everything they'd done for him,' he said. 'They were
just talking to him and he was thanking them and everything.
'They said he was not a danger to anyone else," Snapp said. 'Belcher
thanked them for being a Chief, and that's when he walked away.'
Outside Belcher's family home in West Babylon, Long Island, family and friends gathered on Saturday afternoon to toast their deceased friends life.
They have created a shrine to the football player on Matthews Avenue complete with Chiefs jerseys and flags from the University of Maine.
Ruben Marshall, a family friend who said he was Belcher's Police Athletic League coach growing up, told Newsday Belcher was a 'loving father and family man.'
'I couldn't believe it,' he said upon hearing the news Saturday morning. 'I didn't want to believe it,' Marshall, 42, said as he stood outside the home.
'He was a good person," Marshall said. 'Somebody you'd want to be around as a role model.'
Originally from Texas, Kasandra Perkins had moved to Missouri to be with Belcher
Upon arriving at the Arrowhead Stadium complex, police witnessed a black male in a car with a handgun to his head talking to two Chiefs officials
Before killing himself, Belcher thanked Kansas City Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel for everything he had done for him
Shooting: Arrowhead Stadium is home of the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City
Belcher had been the Chiefs starting inside linebacker for the last two seasons after going undrafted in 2009
'The entire Chiefs family is deeply saddened by today's events, and our collective hearts are heavy with sympathy, thoughts and prayers for the families and friends affected by this unthinkable tragedy,' Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement.
'We sincerely appreciate the expressions of sympathy and support we have received from so many in the Kansas City and NFL communities, and ask for continued prayers for the loved ones of those impacted,' Hunt said. 'We will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities and work to ensure that the appropriate counseling resources are available to all members of the organization.'
The NFL released a statement that also expressed sympathy and said, 'we have connected the Chiefs with our national team of professional counselors to support both the team and the families of those affected. We will continue to provide assistance in any way that we can.'
Kansas City Mayor Sly James went to Arrowhead and met with Pioli afterward, according to the Kansas City Star.
'Think about your worst nightmare and multiply it by five,' James was quoted as saying.
'This is part of the tragedy of urban living in this country,' Mayor James told reporters outside the practice facility.
'Handguns all over the place, people blowing themselves away, and others. At some point we have to get a handle on this kind of stuff. We are not doing a good job of it.'
Belcher is the second Kansas City Chiefs employee to be involved in a murder-suicide in the last four months. On Labor Day Luis Angel Roberson Rodriquez, who worked in the Chiefs stadium operations department, killed himself after shooting his girlfriend Jamie Kristine Kimble near the Tampa International Airport.
The Kansas City Chiefs home game against the Carolina Panthers is scheduled to go ahead on Sunday
The body of Belcher's girlfriend was taken to The University of Kansas Hospital
The season has been a massive disappointment for the Chiefs, who were expected to contend for the AFC West title.
But they're just 1-10 and mired in an eight-game losing streak that has been marked by devastating injuries and fan upheaval, with constant calls the past few weeks for general manager Scott Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel to be fired.
The Chiefs have been ravaged by injuries, led the league in turnovers, can't settle on a quarterback and are dealing with a full-fledged fan rebellion. The Twitter account for a fan group known as "Save Our Chiefs" recently surpassed 80,000 followers, about 17,000 more than the announced crowd at a recent game.
Things have been so bad this season that Crennel fired himself as defensive coordinator.
THE NFL'S DEADLY HISTORY OF CONCUSSIONS AND SUICIDES
The motive for Belcher's murder-suicide is unknown at this point, but authorities will undoubtedly consider the impact of head injuries he may have sustained playing in the NFL.
In the past two years, the suicides of six NFL players have been linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated blows to the head.
Sufferers can show symptoms such as memory loss, aggression, confusion and depression which may appear within months or many decades later. Later in life it can eventually cause dementia.
Experts believe CTE may be caused by the loss of neurons and scarring of brain tissue among other injuries caused by repeated concussion.
It changes brain cells' cytoskeletons, which is thought to be due to damage to cerebral blood vessels. The condition is virtually indistinguishable from Alzheimer’s.
Players who have committed suicide in recent years, with possible links to the condition, include:
Dave Duerson: This two-time Super Bowl winner shot himself in February 2011 after texting family members asking for his brain to be examined for CTE.
Wade Belak: The former Nashville Predator was found dead in September 2011, having hanged himself in a Toronto hotel room.
Junior Seau: In May 2012 the former San Diego Charger died of a gunshot wound to the chest. He was found by his girlfriend at his home in California.
Kurt Crain:
The South Alabama associate head football coach, who once played in the
NFL, shot himself in April 2012. He had had reportedly been suffering
from a severe prostate infection.
Ray Easterling: Also in April, this one-time Atlanta Falcons star shot himself at home after struggling to cope with dementia.
O.J. Murdock: In July, the 25-year-old Tennessee Titans wide receiver fatally shot himself while sitting in his car after texting his coach to apologise.
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Wow, is no one immune anymore to this type of incident?
- shazzbot , handford, 01/12/2012 21:52
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