Jovan Belcher Jovan Henry Allen Belcher ( July 24 , 1987 – December 1 , 2012 ) was an American football linebacker who played for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He grew up in West Babylon , New York and was a standout high school athlete before attending and graduating from the University of Maine , where he played for the Maine Black Bears football team . Belcher was named an All - America n twice in college after switching in his junior year from linebacker to defensive end . Belcher was considered a strong small - school NFL prospect , but was not selected in the 2009 NFL Draft . He was later signed as a free agent by the Chiefs and became a regular starter at inside linebacker in 2010 . His most productive season was in 2011 , when he had 61 tackles and 26 assists . He was re - signed by Kansas City before the 2012 season and played in the team ' s first 11 games . Belcher died on December 1 , 2012 , in a murder - suicide , killing his girlfriend , 22 - year - old Kasandra Perkins , before driving to the Chiefs ' training facility and shooting himself in the head with a hand gun . Early years . The son of John Belcher and Cheryl Shepard , Belcher grew up on Long Island , New York , and attended West Babylon High School in West Babylon , New York . He wrestled and played football there under head coach Albert Ritacco between 2001 and 2004 . He was a three - time All - America n as a wrestler , and played as a linebacker , offensive tackle , nose guard and fullback on the football team . He was captain of the football team for two seasons and led West Babylon to two Long Island Football Championships playoff appearances , although the team did not reach the title game . The team had its first - ever undefeated regular season in 2004 , when Belcher was a senior , but lost in the Suffolk County Championship game . The school retired his number 52 jersey , and he returned to the school frequently later in his career to give pregame speeches to the team . Though he had an accomplished high school career – Belcher was a second - team All - Long Island selection in 2004 and was named to " Newsday " ' s list of the best players of the decade for the 2000s – he was not heavily recruited by major college football programs . College career . Belcher attended the University of Maine , a Division I FCS school , and played on its Black Bears football team . Playing as an outside linebacker , he was fourth on the team in tackles in his first two seasons , registering 58 as a freshman in 2005 and 52 as a sophomore in 2006 . Belcher had a standout season as a junior after he was switched from linebacker to defensive end . The " Associated Press " named him a second - team All - America n , while " Sports Network " named him a third - team All - American . He led Maine ' s collegiate conference , the Colonial Athletic Association ( CAA ) , with 10 sacks and 17 tackles for a loss . His sacks total was seventh - highest in the nation . Belcher was named a second - team preseason All - American by Lindy ' s Publications before his senior season in 2008 , when he also served as a team co - captain . He led the CAA again with 17 . 5 tackles for losses . He also had 7 . 5 sacks and was the association ' s defensive player of the year . After the season , Belcher was named by the American Football Coaches Association and the Walter Camp Foundation as a first - team All - American in the Football Championship Subdivision , a grouping of smaller schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ' s Division I . He was the fourth multiple - time All - American in Black Bears history , following John Huard , Aaron Dashiell and Stephen Cooper . Belcher , who was a strong student in high school and college , graduated from Maine with a degree in child development and family relations . " He always did his work , sat right up front , " Ritacco , Belcher ' s high school coach and 10th - grade biology teacher , said later . After graduating from college , he won an Academic Momentum Award from the National Consortium for Academics and Sports ' Scholar - Baller Program . Professional career . 2009 NFL Draft . Prior to the 2009 NFL Draft , Belcher was considered one of the best small - school prospects and was expected to move to outside linebacker in the NFL . He was projected by " Sports Illustrated " as a sixth - round draft pick . Kansas City Chiefs . After going undrafted , Belcher signed a free agent contract with the Chiefs in March 2009 . At 228 pounds , he was considered small for an inside linebacker , but made three starts as a rookie and played in all of the team ' s games . He had 33 tackles and two assists as Kansas City finished with a 4 – 12 win - loss record for last place in the AFC West division . Belcher became a regular starter in the 2010 season , registering 53 tackles and 31 assists . The Chiefs finished with a 10 – 6 record and reached the playoffs . Kansas City lost 30 – 7 to the Baltimore Ravens in the wildcard round ; Belcher had one and a half sacks and nine tackles in the game . Belcher continued as a starter in the 2011 NFL season , recording 61 tackles and 26 assists . Kansas City finished last in the AFC West with a 7 – 9 record , and head coach Todd Haley was replaced by defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel with three games remaining in the season . Belcher was involved in community activities in Kansas City in 2011 , visiting a nearby military base and a local elementary school to promote an NFL program for children . He also traveled back to West Babylon every year and gave motivational speeches to students . The Chiefs re - signed Belcher in March 2012 to a one - year contract worth around $ 1 . 9 million . Prior to his death , Belcher played in 11 games during the 2012 season , including 10 starts . He had 33 tackles and five assists as the Chiefs started with a 1 – 10 record . Death . By late 2012 , Belcher was living with his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins and their three - month - old baby Zoey at 5401 Crysler Avenue in Kansas City . Belcher and Perkins had been introduced through Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles , whose wife was a first cousin of Perkins . Perkins had also done volunteer work in the community and with the Chiefs as part of its Women ' s Organization , a group of players ' wives and significant others who do charity work and run awareness campaigns . Friends said the couple argued frequently , including after Perkins returned at 1 a . m . from a Trey Songz concert at the Midland Theatre on the night of November 30 . After the argument , Perkins went to the Power and Light District , an entertainment area by the Midland and Sprint Center in downtown Kansas City . Belcher was also in the Power and Light District with a different woman . After losing the woman in the crowd , Belcher drove to her apartment , but she was not home . Police found him there at 2 : 50 a . m . after receiving a 911 call about a suspicious person in a car parked on Armour Boulevard . He told police he was waiting for his girlfriend and forgot the code to her apartment . The police discussed the temporary tags on the car and urged him to go inside the building , saying they were " trying to cut [ him ] a break here . " Belcher did not smell of alcohol and was not slurring his words , police said . He was later buzzed into the building by neighbors and allowed to stay the night . Belcher returned home between 6 : 30 and 7 a . m . , argued again with Perkins and shot and killed her in front of his mother , Cheryl Shepherd . Police arrived at the house at around 7 : 50 a . m . following a call from Shepherd , who had recently moved there from West Babylon , New York to help the couple care for Zoey . The baby was heard crying in the background when Belcher ' s mother called . Perkins , who was 22 , had been shot a total of 9 times in the neck , chest , abdomen , hip , back , leg and hand . After killing Perkins , Belcher drove his Bentley about five miles to a parking lot at the Chiefs ' practice facility next to Arrowhead Stadium . He stepped out of the car with a gun to his head when he encountered Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli . Belcher told Pioli he killed his girlfriend and thanked him before asking for him and Chiefs owner Clark Hunt to take care of his daughter . Pioli tried to persuade Belcher to drop the gun . Chiefs Head Coach Romeo Crennel and linebackers coach Gary Gibbs arrived and joined the effort . Police had been dispatched to the scene at 8 : 01 a . m . As the sound of sirens approached , Belcher told the men he had to kill himself and " can ’ t be here ” . He knelt down by a car , made a sign of the cross and shot himself in the head . A photograph from the scene showed Perkins ' blood smeared over the chrome gearshift of Belcher ' s black 2007 Bentley Continental GT as well as broken glass on the dashboard . On January 14 , 2013 , the Jackson County Medical Examiner ' s office released autopsy reports showing Belcher had . 170 mg of alcohol in his system , double the legal limit in Missouri . Aftermath . The killings orphaned Belcher and Perkins ' daughter , who was born on September 11 . Chiefs players planned a fund to support the girl , who was placed in the temporary custody of Belcher ' s mother . Shepherd planned to take Zoey with her back to West Babylon . The " New York Post " reported Shepherd told investigators that Belcher had doubts that he was the biological father of Zoey . The Chiefs had a 1 – 10 record at the time of the shootings , the worst in the NFL . No Chiefs team had ever won just one game in a season , and fans had formed the " Save Our Chiefs " organization . They wore black to games to protest and hired an airplane to fly over Arrowhead Stadium on game days towing a banner that read , " Restore Hope : Fire Pioli . " The Chiefs had a game scheduled at Arrowhead against the also - struggling Carolina Panthers the day after the murder - suicide . The game went on as scheduled following discussions between the NFL , Crennel and the Chiefs ' team captains . No aircraft carrying the Pioli banners flew overhead and no formal mention was made of the shooting at the game , although there was a moment of silence for " victims of domestic violence and their families " . The Chiefs defeated the Panthers 27 - 21 . A service for Belcher was held on December 5 at Landmark International Deliverance and Worship Center just southwest of Arrowhead Stadium . The Chiefs ' practice was scheduled around the event . Pioli and one of Belcher ' s uncles spoke at the closed service . A funeral for Perkins took place the following day at the Ridgeview Family Fellowship in Blue Ridge , Texas . Another service was held December 8 in Austin , Texas where her father lives ; Perkins was buried in Pflugerville , Texas . Clark Hunt attended the service . Perkins was born in McKinney , Texas , attended elementary and middle school in the Dallas suburb of Garland and graduated from Anderson High School in Austin in 2009 . Police said the handgun Belcher shot his girlfriend with was different from the one he used to commit suicide . Both were legally registered , but he did not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon . Belcher had other guns at his house . The day after the shooting , NBC broadcaster Bob Costas said during a segment of Sunday Night Football that " in the coming days , Jovan Belcher ' s actions and their possible connection to football will be analyzed . Who knows ? But here , wrote Jason Whitlock , is what I believe . If Jovan Belcher didn ' t possess a gun , he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today . " The comments prompted criticism and support from both sides of the gun control issue . Five other current or former NFL players have killed themselves since 2011 : Dave Duerson , Ray Easterling , Junior Seau , Kurt Crain and O . J . Murdock . All the players died of self - inflicted gunshot wounds . The Chiefs lost the December 9 game against the Cleveland Browns 30 - 7 and lost the remaining games of the season with the team ending the season 2 - 14 - - the worst in the NFL . Pioli and Crennel were both fired by the Chiefs organization on January 4 , 2013 and December 31 , 2012 respectively . Belcher was buried on December 12 in the North Baylon Cemetery in North Babylon , New York following an open casket funeral at the Upper Room Christian Church in Dix Hills , New York . The hearse passed his childhood home in West Babylon en route to the cemetery . Under the surviving - child benefit of the NFL ’ s collective - bargaining agreement , Zoey is to receive $ 108 , 000 per year through 2016 ; $ 48 , 000 annually in 2017 ; and $ 52 , 000 annually until at least 2030 ( or 2035 if she attends college ) . In addition she would receive $ 600 , 000 in life insurance , a $ 100 , 000 retirement account and $ 200 , 000 for each season Belcher played ( 4 seasons ) . Belcher ' s mother reported that he had questioned the paternity of Zoey before the shooting . Kansas City police said they would not investigate the claim and that it would have to be a civil matter . By January 2013 , Zoey was with her maternal grandparents in Texas . Zoey had gone to Texas for her mother ' s funeral and the maternal relatives did not permit her to be returned to Belcher ' s mother . Rebecca Anne Gonzalez and Darryl Perkins , Zoey ' s maternal grandparents , filed a motion for temporary guardianship and that her residence be established in Tarrant County , Texas . Zoey ' s paternal grandmother filed in Jackson County , Missouri a petition to be Zoey ' s guardian and the conservator of her estate . On January 17 , 2013 the judges in Missouri and Texas agreed that the case will be handled in Missouri .