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Jamie Squire / Getty Images file
Inside linebacker Jovan Belcher of the Kansas City Chiefs watches from the sidelines during his final game against the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Miss. on Nov. 25.
A detailed account of the murder and suicide by Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher published Tuesday by the Kansas City Star said that after the football player shot his girlfriend, he knelt to kiss her on the forehead and apologize before heading to the stadium where he killed himself.
A spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department said police documents would not be released to substantiate the details laid out by veteran Star reporter Christine Vendel, but the spokesman told NBC News that "all information detailed in the KC Star report is in fact accurate."
Belcher, 25, and his girlfriend, 22-year-old Kasandra Perkins, had been arguing about their relationship and finances, according to the Star, which reported that Belcher was out with another woman the night before he killed Perkins. It says his mother, who was living with the couple at the time, witnessed Belcher's farewell to his fatally wounded girlfriend that morning, and that he kissed three-month-old Zoey, his daughter with Perkins, and apologized again before leaving the scene.
When Belcher arrived at the Chiefs' practice facility at Arrowhead Stadium and emerged from his car with a gun to his head, the coaches were unable to dissuade him from suicide, sources told the Star.
According to the Star, Crennel tried to dissuade him, but Belcher said: "Guys, I have to do this."
"I got to go," Belcher reportedly said. "I can’t be here."
As officers approached, according to police incident reports, Belcher fired a single shot to his head. He died at a hospital.
NBC News' Ziad Jaber contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
Media is saying Belcher killed her? Costas was claiming that the gun did it earlier. When will the media ever get it right?
Nerf Herder, you are a douche bag.
And the 3 people that actually liked his stupid post are douche bags too.
@nerf herder...your comment makes no sense...
i read the full detailed article of what happened. very, very sad.
Nerf Herder is obviously a gun nut. He was being snarky and trying to make a point, he just didn't do a good job of it.
I'm guessing nerf herder was planning something along the same lines as this coward.
so.. young so much to look forward to.. sad.
That is so sad for the kid left behind, we never know what the day is going to bring us. So enjoy each day to the fullest! May they both rest in peace!
so sad but why take someone 's life leaving a child without either parent so sad...trying to make sense out of something that makes no sense.........................
Unfortunately Mr. Costas didn't think of the consequences of his verbal actions. Now "Microphone Monkeys" on talk shows, the Internet, etc. get to use Mr. Costas' comments as fodder for their own agendas. Anti-Americans, Anti-2nd Amendment folks, UN Small Arms advocates, Communists, blah, blah, blah...all power corrupts absolutely and in this case it was the spoken word...retire.
Unfortunately dead people are being used for other's platforms and the loved ones left behind get to hear about the tragedy ad nauseum.
It was just his opinion and before he made the statement he actually said "I believe" so what's wrong with someone expressing their opinion? You are expressing your opinion here, should you be forced to retire?
Tragic. I'm surprised the NFL hasn't been blamed or concussions. I'm sure its only a matter of time. F Belcher.
one less coke snorting wife beater is a good thing. To bad about the girl though.
How sad and awful. I totally agree with Mr. Costas and I am glad someone had the guts to say it!
What a crock. Yeah, don't you just love it when someone kills you by shooting you multiple times after he's been out with another woman the night before and then kisses your forehead? Oh yeah, and he had no concern about making his child an orphan? He was right about one thing....he's got to go! Maybe if he'd stayed home with her and his child instead of going out with another woman, they could have talked things out! Instead, he walks in and kills her. Good riddance to him. My sympathy lies with Kasandra and her baby. Too bad he didn't just kill himself.
Not only was he out with another woman, he was mad at her for going to a concert with her girlfriends and being out until 1AM.
Seriously, how unheard of is it for a 22 year old girl to go to a concert with her friends, most concerts usually end around 11-ish, have a drink afterwards and then get home?
So sad for her and her family and their baby girl. I feel bad for his family as well. How do you come to terms with so much grief when the one you are grieving for created it all through violent, selfish actions?
sad indeed. even sadder that so many people remain uneducated about the signs/symptoms of drug addiction and mental illness. chances are belcher suffered from one or both. it's a proven fact that people who have "normal, happy, healthy" lives don't go around doing these things. people need to stop the stigma and myths as well as making fun of those who suffer from both afflictions especially if they coexist. many precious lives would be saved and unnceccessary heartache spared.
Total coward.
I don't think what costas said was wrong, he said his opinion, maybe a little to soon, but he has a point. I'm glad costas said what he said.
Costas' quotes of a column pointing out the American gun culture were dead on.
The problem for many Americans is that they can't see it anymore than a fish is aware of the water it is in and they take any mention of it as a problem as a direct assault on the 2nd Amendment.
Costa's comment ignored the real issue which is domestic violence. If there wouldn't have been a gun, there would have been a knife...or a fist. The only person who maybe wouldn't have died would have been the POS murderer.
Exactly.
Domestic violence is just one piece of an overall culture of patriarchal violence as solution. The Bible is a perfect example of such violence as is the Qur'an and Christians and Muslims alike have a long history of using their holy writs as excuses for it. If it's not humans killing humans, then it's God killing humans in order to achieve some manufactured end. Widespread availability of efficient tools like guns simply facilitates that violence.
@culheath - You are poorly informed about gun violence, the Bible and about God. You, like Bob Costas certainly have the right to your opinion, as well as the right to express that opinion such as the forum here. Bob Costas was not in the correct forum to express his opinion at halftime of the game since he was on paid time. For the issue with Belcher, there is a problem that needs resolution in the country to solve the problem of domestic violence. Taking stabs at the religious community and at the citizens (silent majority) who don't violate the laws of domestic violence and who own firearms and enjoy hunting, or other shooting sports, doesn't help either. Like I said, you have a right to your opinion, even though you are in the noisy minority. Don't tell me that the majority of Americans want gun control. I know better. More than half (about 65%) appreciate their second amendment rights and oppose any form of gun control.
Radioguy-4173557
Too bad that bubble you seen to have constructed for yourself has cost the rest of us so much in tragedy, wasted lives and money.
@culheath ...i completely agree with MOMINNJ-6679824...if it wouldn't have been a gun it would have been some other weapon...will you take away our knives next? cause people die from being stabbed every day...PEOPLE kill people...and you will NEVER stop someone who is intent on murder symply by taking ONE method of killing away from them...gun control would ONLY take guns away from law abiding citizens...criminals will ALWAYS have them...when some creep breaks into YOUR house in the middle of the night and you have no way to defend yourself and your family you might just change your view on gun control...oh yea and Bob Costas should have voiced his opinion in a different forum
tonyy7777
I wouldn't take guns away from people, but I would make gun ownership come with a heavier regulation and training. The sheer number of guns available to the public at present guarantees that some fruitcake somewhere will find it all too easy to act out.
Guns don't make people murderers they just make it easier to become one. Hand guns are tools and very efficient at their central function which is to either threaten lethal violence or perpetrate it on human beings or dogs or bears.
I would be stupid to walk around in the wilderness unarmed where I could easily run into wildlife that might want to consider me lunch. The same logic may well apply to walking around in obviously dangerous neighborhoods especially at night...however I don't find it rational to sit or sleep in my house under the worry that that drugged up bad guys are going to burst in and try to kill me. That's a fairly paranoid view of the world, which despite having lived in many big cities in some fairly unsavory neighborhoods, I ever had the misfortune to encounter in real life. So I just don't see the world day to day as a dangerous place in the same degree you seem to.
I don't get the affront that many are laying on Costas in that as a sport reporter he should have made his comments other than as a sports reporter. What forum would you rather he chose and what exactly is wrong with him saying what he did during a sports broadcast? He gave an opinion...what's the problem?
Culheath, it's a control issue, quite frankly. There are many people in this world who will act violently against others when their perceived control of a situation has been removed. Be it religion...your example...where men torture and kill others in the name of God, or in a household such as Belcher's, where he apparently was jealous and angry that she went out with her friends. The gun was simply a tool; there are many that can be found in every household that can be used to kill...knives, rope, his fists - he was fairly large, being a football player and all.
This is why counselors will always warn women that they are in the most danger once they have left their abuser. That control is gone, and the abuser will do anything and everything in their power to regain it.
I listened to what Bob Costas had to say. He has a right to his opinion just like everybody else. He is a reporter, not just for sports, and above all, he is a human who reads the news just like the rest of us and has feelings and reactions as well. I disagreed with his speculations about how she may have still been alive if there were no guns in his possession as there are many ways to kill someone. If he was in such a rage that he was so blinded by the consequences of his actions, it would not have mattered; he would have found another way.
The only thing we truly have control over is ourselves and how we handle what is thrown our way. It's too bad there are many people in this world who will never come to understand that.
Bob Costa gets pay to talk football not gun control. The only victim here is the girl not the idiot player ,believe me there is a lot of thing out there that you can use to harm somebody, he used a gun but if he didn't have one, knife would do,rope would do, prescription drugs would do, etc etc .
Actually he gets paid to be a media personality and does interviews with many famous people as well as sports. He has a right to his opinions and a right to profess them in which ever arena he chooses....just as you have the right to dismiss his opinions at will. Where's the harm?
Why do people who commit suicide feel a need to make a show of it by doing it in front of other people? Very cowardly and self-centered. There was no reason he needed to drive all the way to the stadium after killing his girlfriend just so he could blow his own brains out in front of his teammates. He should have just gone to some back alley somewhere and done it in private.
Loser.
What was the mother feeling and thinking as she was witnessing all this?? Why isn't that (the real story) printed??? Inquiring minds want to know.
Please interview her, preferably during or directly after her daughter's funeral. That way she's completely in the grips of her emotions!!
I gotta know! Did it make her feel any better that Belcher kissed her daughter on the forehead after he killed her?? Did she accept his apology as he was walking out the door and said he was sorry???
It wasn't Kasandra Perkin's mother who witnessed anything. It was Jovan Belcher's mother who lived with them & took care of their baby.
No one wants to look at or examine the root cause of why things like this happen. No they just want to find simple answers that happen to fit their bias or agenda. In this case it's their agenda against firearms.
Only a fool would think that this wouldn't have happened if Jovan Belcher wouldn't have had access to a gun. If he didn't have a gun Kasandra Perkins would still be dead & Jovan would be headed to prison for decades at tax payer expense. The outcome wouldn't have been any better.
Amen!
Considering rumors of his temper (and arrogance), I'm sure his mother was afraid of her own son and in another room, protecting & comforting baby Zoey, while they were arguing so she didn't witness the shooting.
RIP Kasandra... I pray your precious baby girl gets placed in a safe & loving home and that evil scum-of-the-earth POS is burning in HELL!!!
On the subject of gun control, anyone remember this bumper sticker?
"If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns"
I don't know about you but, I sleep better at night knowing I have a means of protecting my home from lowlifes. We all have a right to bear arms (or not) and people simply need to be responsible with the privelages we have. And those who don't agree, need to be realistic and remember this quote when voicing their opinions... better yet, mind their own business.
Why is there not outrage towards Jason Whitlock whose column Costas was quoting from? Is it because Whitlock is a black racist?
For those who don't know... Whitlock was run out of Kansas City when Pioli, Haley and the entire Chiefs organization refused to speak with him. Partly because of his contrived rift between Brian Waters and the front office. His personal vendetta dates back to Carl Peterson and some perceived slight that he brought on himself.