Police report reveals more details of Jovan Belcher's life and death
A final police report details the turmoil in Jovan Belcher's life prior to his murder-suicide. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Jovan Belcher told a secret girlfriend he "would shoot" longtime girlfriend Kasandra Perkins via text message less than two months before the Chiefs linebacker shot her to death and committed suicide, according to police reports in a Kansas City Star report.
Jackson County prosecutors ruled the deaths of Perkins and Belcher a murder-suicide and officially closed the case Friday, making the file a public record.
The police report and prosecutors file detail the couple’s problems and the attempts by Belcher’s mother and the Chiefs to help the couple.
In the message, Belcher said he “would shoot” Perkins “if she didn’t leave him alone,” according to police reports obtained by The Star. At the time, the secret girlfriend thought Belcher was joking.
Other details found in the file include:
Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel said Belcher missed a team meeting a few weeks earlier and blamed it on Perkins, who reportedly hadn’t come home the night before, leaving him to watch the couple's 3-month-old daughter. Crennel told police he thought the couple had “trust issues” and Perkins expected “a better life” with an NFL player. Crennel said he thought Belcher had contacted a lawyer about getting custody of his daughter through the courts.
Belcher told his secret girlfriend that Perkins “knew exactly how to press his buttons and make him angry.” He told her Perkins had “threatened to take all his money and his child if they split up.”
Police found 10 apparent gunshot wounds on the front of Perkins body, including to her neck, shoulder and chest, and five wounds on her backside. The medical examiner said four bullets remained in her body. Police also discovered a bullet hole in the bathroom floor under Perkins’ body, possibly indicating she was on the floor when Belcher fired that round.
The report also detailed Belcher's exchange with Chiefs employees including ganeral manager Scott Pioli and Crennel:
“I’m sorry, Scott,” Belcher told Pioli. “I’ve done a bad thing to my girlfriend already. I want to talk with (linebackers coach Gary) Gibbs and Romeo.”
After Pioli called the coaches to the parking lot, Crennel raised both his hands, pleading with Belcher to put the gun down. “You’re taking the easy way out!” Crennel yelled.
When Belcher spotted an approaching police officer, he knelt behind a minivan, made the sign of the cross on his chest with his left hand and fired a bullet into his head above his right ear.