Police report sheds light on Belchers death spiral

[Titty Meat]

Less than two months ago, Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher sent a foreboding text message to a secret girlfriend, expressing turmoil and frustration with his longtime girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins.

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.

But on Dec. 1, Belcher emptied his .40-caliber handgun into Perkins, 22, killing her after they argued in the home they shared in the 5400 block of Crysler SAvenue. He then drove to Arrowhead Stadium and killed himself with a different handgun in the parking lot in front of his coaches and the team’s general manager.

Jackson County prosecutors ruled the deaths a murder-suicide and closed the case Friday. The Star obtained the case file, now a public record, which relays a range of facts not previously known.

• Belcher, 25, told his 22-year-old secret girlfriend that Perkins, the mother of his 3-month-old daughter, “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.”

• 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 baby. Crennel said 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.

• Belcher’s mother, Cheryl Shepherd, had moved in with the couple about two weeks before their deaths because they were having “relationship problems due to financial issues associated with Perkins’ spending habits.” Shepherd said the argument that preceded the killings “was in regard to one or both of them going out as in to a club or partying.”

• Police found a bullet hole in the bathroom floor under Perkins’ body that went through to the basement, possibly indicating she was on the floor when Belcher fired that round. Shepherd said she heard a “thump” before the gunshots. Police found eight spent shell casings and three bullet fragments in the bathroom and one spent bullet in the basement. Police observed 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.

Belcher had numerous tattoos, including the words “Reckless” and “Abandon” on his torso, “Failure is not an option” on his chest and “Loyalty” on his bicep.

The case file contains nearly 60 pages of witness interviews, recovered evidence and officer observations. Police are awaiting toxicology results and crime-scene diagrams, but investigators forwarded the existing file to prosecutors because the pending reports would not change the outcome or challenge the known evidence, the lead investigator said.

The file outlines the couple’s problems, how Belcher’s mother and the Chiefs tried to help them and details Belcher’s activities before the killings.

The events begin at 8:30 p.m. Nov. 30, when Belcher drove to his secret girlfriend’s apartment in the 700 block of Armour Boulevard while Perkins attended a concert downtown with friends. Belcher and his paramour drank and played cards, and Belcher agreed to accompany her and her friends to a club in the Power & Light District at 10:30 p.m. They left the district about 12:45 a.m. and kissed goodbye in the parking lot of her building.

Around 1 a.m., a friend of Perkins has told The Star, the couple argued about Perkins being out late. The friend never specified whether that encounter was in person or by telephone. The police report doesn’t mention this dispute, instead indicating that after his secret girlfriend went inside, he fell asleep in his car.

Police roused him two hours later after someone called 911 to report his Bentley as suspicious. Officers noted the car was running and legally parked. They said Belcher “initially displayed possible signs of being under the influence (asleep and disoriented),” but after a few minutes of being awake, his demeanor and communication “became more fluid and coherent.” The officers and their sergeant could not smell any alcohol on his breath or person.

Belcher tried to call his secret girlfriend but could not reach her. He then knocked on a neighbor’s door. The two women inside said Belcher “appeared to be intoxicated.” He told them his friend wouldn’t come to her door, and they invited him inside to wait. He talked about his past and they said he “seemed to be in good spirits … laughing, joking.” He thanked them for letting him in their home. At 4:30 a.m., they gave him a pillow and blanket and he slept on the couch. He left at 6:45 a.m.

When Belcher arrived home, an argument broke out with Perkins. Shepherd overheard the shouting but didn’t intervene because Perkins had previously accused her of “interfering.”

After Shepherd heard gunshots, she ran to the bedroom and saw Belcher kneeling next to Perkins’ body, saying he was sorry. He kissed Perkins, his daughter and his mother and repeatedly apologized. He backed his Bentley out of the driveway, then got out, pulled off his sweatshirt and threw it in some bushes. He then drove to Arrowhead.

On the way, he apparently broke off the car’s rear-view mirror. Police later noted shattered glass on the dashboard and front passenger seat and the broken mirror resting on the seat. Police also saw blood on the gear shift and noted that Belcher’s body had cuts and blood on his right index and ring fingers.

Once at Arrowhead, Belcher encountered Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli.

“I’m sorry, Scott,” he said. “I’ve done a bad thing to my girlfriend already. I want to talk with (linebackers coach Gary) Gibbs and Romeo.”

Pioli then called the coaches to the parking lot. A security guard tried to stop them, but the coaches insisted. Despite their pleas for Belcher to put down the gun, Belcher only briefly lowered the Beretta .40-caliber handgun to chamber a round. He then walked away.

Crennel raised both his hands, pleading with Belcher to put the gun down. “You’re taking the easy way out!” Crennel yelled.

Belcher glanced at an approaching police officer , then 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. After the gunshot, Crennel slumped, dropped his hands and turned away from Belcher.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/12/17...#storylink=cpy

[Start Croyle]

On a side note, has anyone looked at the neighborhood where Belcher lived? I checked it out on Google streetview! It is nice, but not that great! Not much different from where I stayed when I lived in Lee's Summit. It looks like a middle income area instead of where millionaires would live.

Maybe that's what they are talking about when they say his girlfriend expected a better lifestyle!

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Start Croyle

On a side note, has anyone looked at the neighborhood where Belcher lived? I checked it out on Google streetview! It is nice, but not that great! Not much different from where I stayed when I lived in Lee's Summit. It looks like a middle income area instead of where millionaires would live.

Maybe that's what they are talking about when they say his girlfriend expected a better lifestyle!

It was only a rental home from what i understand. IM not sure if he owned a house?

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by Start Croyle

On a side note, has anyone looked at the neighborhood where Belcher lived? I checked it out on Google streetview! It is nice, but not that great! Not much different from where I stayed when I lived in Lee's Summit. It looks like a middle income area instead of where millionaires would live.

Maybe that's what they are talking about when they say his girlfriend expected a better lifestyle!

He had earned just over $2,000,000 in his career ($1,800,000 after paying his agent, and $1,100,000 after taxes). He drove a car that cost around $200,000.

I'm guessing half of his neighbors had a higher net worth than he did.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

He had earned just over $2,000,000 in his career ($1,800,000 after paying his agent, and $1,100,000 after taxes). He drove a car that cost around $200,000.

I'm guessing half of his neighbors had a higher net worth than he did.

But a Bentley is a great investment!

Seriously, this is a perfect example of the financial idiocy that afflicts way too many professional athletes.

[BullJunkandIron]

I use to live a couple of blocks from there on East 54th Terrace. 30 years ago a great neighborhood. Now not so much. People on the streets and corners peddling drugs with guns in thier hands.

[stonedstooge]

The video of the stop is on page 172 of the Belcher thread that's on page 7 of the lounge. I'd link it here but don't know how, so if someone could do it, much appreciated

[RINGLEADER]

Here's one of the things I don't get...

He's out with another girlfriend. He evidently doesn't like this woman. Why does he care if she's out late? Why does he care what she's doing? Just let her go, face up to what the court says you have to pay, and move on with your life.

I don't get it when people are rifling through their BF/GF phone and following them, etc., etc. If you don't trust the person, WTF do you want to be around them, much less care what they do?

Move on and get a new one. Sounds like he already had, which makes it even more confusing...

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by RINGLEADER

Here's one of the things I don't get...

He's out with another girlfriend. He evidently doesn't like this woman. Why does he care if she's out late? Why does he care what she's doing? Just let her go, face up to what the court says you have to pay, and move on with your life.

I don't get it when people are rifling through their BF/GF phone and following them, etc., etc. If you don't trust the person, WTF do you want to be around them, much less care what they do?

Move on and get a new one. Sounds like he already had, which makes it even more confusing...

It's the same mentality as the guy that constantly cheats on his wife, yet when she's late or doesn't answer her phone or something similar, he freaks out.

Some people are just wired wrong.

[Titty Meat]

Yo Dane do you have a Bentley?

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

It's the same mentality as the guy that constantly cheats on his wife, yet when she's late or doesn't answer her phone or something similar, he freaks out.

Some people are just wired wrong.

Yep.

It's about control.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Bo's Pelini

Yo Dane do you have a Bentley?

No

[Frankie]

Originally Posted by memyselfI

I don't think he was going to call him 'chicken' but that is what he did. Reverse psychology, perhaps? Hoping Belcher would show a shred of integrity that Crennel believed he possessed and not make matters worse.

I honestly don't think Crennel has it in him to practice "reverse psychology" effectively. i do understand that in a situation like that coming up with wise and effective remarks/Pep talks is very difficult, but Romeo has not shown in any of his press conferences (and by deduction, locker room) the verbal ability to mentally affect a player into positive results. In the Belcher situation he gets a pass, but it also throws some light on the lack of mental preparation of his players on game day. It's a tedious parallel to be sure but it is a parallel that I pointed out apparently for the sole purpose of having InChiefsHell take it personally.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by RINGLEADER

Here's one of the things I don't get...

He's out with another girlfriend. He evidently doesn't like this woman. Why does he care if she's out late? Why does he care what she's doing? Just let her go, face up to what the court says you have to pay, and move on with your life.

I don't get it when people are rifling through their BF/GF phone and following them, etc., etc. If you don't trust the person, WTF do you want to be around them, much less care what they do?

Move on and get a new one. Sounds like he already had, which makes it even more confusing...

Hard to just move on when a chick is threatening to take your kid.

[Demonpenz]

Originally Posted by jspchief

Those are exit wounds.

staring DMX

[InChiefsHeaven]

Originally Posted by Frankie

I honestly don't think Crennel has it in him to practice "reverse psychology" effectively. i do understand that in a situation like that coming up with wise and effective remarks/Pep talks is very difficult, but Romeo has not shown in any of his press conferences (and by deduction, locker room) the verbal ability to mentally affect a player into positive results. In the Belcher situation he gets a pass, but it also throws some light on the lack of mental preparation of his players on game day. It's a tedious parallel to be sure but it is a parallel that I pointed out apparently for the sole purpose of having InChiefsHell take it personally.