Former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher murdered his girlfriend on Saturday before killing himself at Arrowhead Stadium, leaving many people in shock. There are many questions about the entire situation. Why did he do it? What was going on between him and his girlfriend? What made him turn?
We may ever learn the answers to these questions, but someone who reportedly is close to Belcher emailed Deadspin to provide some more insight from the linebacker’s point of view that could help explain behavior.
The source told Deadspin he was contacting them to get his friend’s side on the record, and to change the belief that the victim, Kasandra Perkins, arriving home late from a concert she attended on Friday night was the catalyst to the murder.
The friend who emailed Deadspin told the website that Belcher and Perkins had separated two weeks ago over a disagreement about the childcare of their daughter. Perkins reportedly took their daughter without his consent, and threatened that she would hire a lawyer to get as much money from him as possible.
The friend reportedly says Belcher was increasingly frustrated with Perkins for her poor performance in school — which he says Belcher was paying for — and for quitting her retail job.
The friend says Belcher drank nightly and was taking pain medication. The friend also says Belcher was suffering from short-term memory loss after taking hits to the head in the Chiefs’ Week 11 loss to the Bengals.
Does any of this justify committing murder, then suicide, and leaving their three-month old daughter without parents? Of course not. But this report, if you believe it (and we find it credible), helps explain what may have been going on in Belcher’s mind that led him to commit the horrific acts.
