KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Missouri Police released their full report on the murder-suicide case involving Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend Kasandra “Kasi” Perkins, shedding new light on the mindset of Belcher and his relationship with Perkins in the hours and weeks leading up to the incident, as well as details about his final moments before killing himself.
Belcher, 25, shot and killed the 22-year-old Perkins at the east Kansas City home they shared with their three-month-old daughter and Belcher’s mother on Saturday, December 1, before driving to the Chiefs practice facility near Arrowhead Stadium where he committed suicide in front of Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel, general manager Scott Pioli, linebackers coach Gary Gibbs and at least two other team officials.
While the police report focuses on Belcher and the people directly involved in the chain of events that culminated with his suicide at the Chiefs practice facility, it does not shed much light on Perkins’ side of the story – including insight into thoughts she may or may not have shared with others on the couple’s apparently troubled relationship.
According to the report, Belcher and Perkins had spent the final evening before the incident apart. Belcher had been partying with another girlfriend and others at the Power and Light District, while Perkins had attended a concert at the Sprint Center with her cousin.
(Editors Note: Perkins actually attended a Trey Songz concert at the Midland Theater on the evening of November 30, not at the Sprint Center as mentioned in the KCPD report.)
Police say that the night before the incident, Belcher, apparently intoxicated, spent about two hours sleeping on the couch of two women who lived in a building in the 700 block of East Armour Blvd. According to the police report, one of the women had seen Belcher kissing another woman outside of the building near his Bentley.
The two women say that they had seen Belcher around the building before, and that night he had come to their door while they were up watching movies after the woman he was seen kissing didn’t answer her phone or come to her door.
According to police, the women say that Belcher told them that he was a Chiefs player and a little bit about his past, including that he was from New York and had gone to college in Maine. The women gave Belcher a blanket and pillow to sleep on their couch. Belcher then slept until around 6:30 a.m., then left around 6:45 a.m.
Police say that the woman Belcher was seen kissing that evening told authorities that she had known Belcher since March, and was in an intimate relationship with him and had talked on a daily basis. She said that she and Belcher had been together at the Power and Light District until the early hours of Saturday morning, when they said their good-byes and kissed for a while in the parking lot.
She told police that she then went to her apartment and fell asleep, and awoke the next morning to see two missed calls from Belcher on her phone from shortly before 4:00 a.m.
The woman also told police that Belcher had sent her a text in late October or early November saying that he would shoot his child’s mother if she didn’t leave him alone, but the woman told police that she thought Belcher had sent the text in a joking manner. In addition, she told police that Belcher said that Perkins threatened to take all of his money and his child if they split up.
She said that Belcher also told her that Perkins knew exactly how to “press his buttons” and make him angry. She also added that during that last night together at the Power and Light District, Belcher seemed a little quiet, and that at one point she asked if he was okay. He said yes.
Police say that when they arrived at the Belcher home in the 5400 block of Crysler shortly before 8:00 a.m., Belcher’s mother – Cheryl Shepard – told them that she was inside the house when she heard her son and Perkins arguing, with Belcher saying, “Don’t say that to me,” followed by the sounds of gunshots. Shepard said that her son then knelt down to kiss Perkins, saying “I’m sorry,” before kissing Shepard and then the baby – all the while repeatedly saying he was sorry.
Shepard, who told police that she moved in with the couple a few weeks earlier to help out with the couple’s infant daughter, then said that Belcher walked out of the house, got into a black Bentley and left the scene. She then told police that she “had a feeling” that her son was going to kill himself.
Shepard said that Belcher and Perkins were having problems regarding finances, and she was helping while they worked with through their issues.
She said that she did not know what time they separately returned home.
Police at the scene of Perkin’s murder report that they found eight .40 caliber spent shell casings on the floor of the master bathroom. A hole was also located near the bathtub, which appeared to go into the basement. Police say that they also found a .40 caliber Springfield Armory XD handgun on the bathroom vanity.
According to the autopsy report, Perkins had 10 apparent gunshot wounds to her neck, shoulder, chest, arms and legs. She still had four bullets still lodged inside her body.
Authorities report that after shooting Perkins and leaving the residence, they received a call from the Chiefs practice facility at 1 Arrowhead Drive, where they spotted Belcher in the west parking lot holding a black handgun to his head while talking to Crennel and Pioli, who was joined by assistant athletic trainer Nicholas Potter and Chiefs’ assistant manager of security Brian Schafer.
According to Pioli, he was driving through the parking lot to the practice facility when he saw Belcher pulling up in the Bentley and get out, holding a gun to his head. Pioli says that he immediately tried to talk to Belcher and find out what was happening. Police say that Belcher said, “I’m sorry, Scott. I’ve done a bad thing to my girlfriend already. I want to talk with Gibbs and Romeo.”
Pioli says that he called for Crennel and Gibbs, while Belcher continued to speak, saying “You know that I’ve been having some major problems at home and with my girlfriend. I need help! I wasn’t able to get enough help. I appreciate everything you all have done for me with trying to help…but it wasn’t enough. I have hurt my girl already and I can’t go back now.”
Pioli says that Belcher asked that he and Chiefs owner Clark Hunt take care of his infant daughter.
According to the police report, Crennel stated that he got a call from Pioli saying, “Get down here right now, Javon’s got a gun to his head!” Crennel then says that he met up with Gibbs, who had also received a call from Pioli. Crennel says that he was only a couple of feet away from Belcher, and was trying to get Belcher to put the gun down, but Belcher wouldn’t listen.
“I f***** up and it’s too late! Take care of my baby,” Belcher said. Crennel says that he told Belcher that it’s never too late for him and to put the gun down. Belcher then lowered the gun long enough to chamber a round into his gun. Pioli says that Belcher stated, “I got to go, can’t be here and take care of my daughter.”
He then walked between two vehicles in the parking lot, knelt down to the ground, looked at Crennel one last time, made the sign of the Cross then shot himself once in the head above his right ear. Crennel then turned and walked away. Gibbs says that he didn’t actually see Belcher shoot himself, but saw his body immediately afterward.
According to the autopsy report, Belcher had the word “reckless” tattooed on his right rib area, “abandon” on his left rib area, “loyalty” on his left bicep and “Failure is not an option” on his chest.
According to the report, Crennel described Belcher as a “natural leader” who had a “good head on his shoulders.” In the report, Crennel said that he had become aware of personal problems in Jovan Belcher’s life a few weeks before the murder-suicide after Belcher had missed a team meeting. When asked why he had missed the meeting, Belcher said that he didn’t have anyone to watch his daughter because Perkins had not come home the night before.
Crennel said that he had the impression that Perkins expected a “better life” because she was with an NFL player, and that he had the impression that Belcher was speaking with an attorney about getting custody of his daughter.