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| People stand by a small shrine outside the Long Island home of Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, Monday, Dec. 3, 2012, in West Babylon, N.Y. People living at and visiting the home stopped and recited a prayer at the shrine on Monday. On Saturday, Belcher killed his girlfriend and himself in Kansas City, Mo. |
KANSAS CITY, Mo.
(AP) -- Breaking their silence for the first time, the family of the
woman shot and killed by Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher
said Monday their "hearts are truly broken" and asked for privacy while
they grieve the loss of two loved ones.
Belcher
shot and killed his 22-year-old girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, at their
Kansas City home Saturday before driving to Arrowhead Stadium, where
Belcher committed suicide in the practice facility's parking lot, police
said. The couple had a 3-month-old daughter, Zoey.
"Our
hearts are truly broken for Kasi was a beloved daughter, granddaughter,
sister, mother, cousin and friend," the family said in an emailed
statement. The family also asked that the media "respect our privacy
during this difficult time."
"Please keep us in your hearts and prayers as well as the Belcher family," the statement said.
Kansas
City police Sgt. Marisa Barnes said Monday that authorities hope to
deliver an investigative report to prosecutors on Tuesday.
"They're moving it along just like any other case. There's a formal process it has to go through," she said.
Dan
Ferguson, a spokesman for Jackson County, said the medical examiner's
office has completed examinations on the bodies of both Belcher and
Perkins. A full autopsy report would not be available for six to eight
weeks, he said.
In an incident report released
Monday, police said officers were called to the Kansas City home of
Belcher, 25, and Perkins about 7:50 a.m. Saturday. Police found Perkins
on the floor of the master bathroom. The report said she died from
apparent gunshot wounds, but did not say how many times she had been
shot.
Belcher then drove about five miles to
Arrowhead Stadium. There, he was met by general manager Scott Pioli and
coach Romeo Crennel, and Belcher thanked them for all they'd done for
him.
The police report said that when officers
arrived at Arrowhead about 8 a.m., they saw several people in the
practice facility parking lot.
"As they
approached, a subject later identified as Jovan Belcher, observed their
presence and moved to an area behind a vehicle," the report said. "From
that position Belcher shot himself one time in the head." Belcher was
taken to a hospital, where he died, the report said.
Barnes
said Monday that firearms found at the couple's home were legally
registered to Belcher. It is unknown how many guns were found.
"The
majority of people own them, you know, especially in the places that
they're legal," Chiefs linebacker Brandon Siler said. "People don't go
out and shoot other people. Most of the time they're for self-defense or
sport. Yeah, people own guns, but did you ever hear him say anything
about harming someone with a gun? No."
Chiefs
defensive tackle Shaun Smith bristled when asked about a "gun culture"
in professional sports, and said players that carry them usually do so
for protection.
"Just because we're in the
NFL, that doesn't make us no different," he said. "You never know when
someone would try to rob you or whatever. ... I've worked hard to get
where I am. I'll be damned if I'd let someone just take it away from me,
period."
Police spokesman Darin Snapp said
Monday that Belcher's mother, who had been staying with the couple, was
given temporary custody of the couple's daughter. But, he said, it was
unclear Monday if the grandmother and baby were still in the Kansas City
area or if they had returned to Belcher's home in West Babylon, N.Y.
Perkins was from the Austin, Texas, area.
Chiefs
running back Jamaal Charles and his wife, Whitney, also released a
statement Monday asking for privacy. In it, the Charles' confirmed that
Perkins and Whitney Charles were cousins, and that Perkins was a
"not
only family, but a friend and a loving mother."
"As
my actual family and my Kansas City Chiefs family have been altered
forever, we ask that you keep us and most importantly their child in
prayer," the Charles' statement said.
Brianne York, 21, a friend of Perkins, said Sunday that Perkins met Belcher through Whitney Charles.
Belcher's
relatives also provided statements Monday, as several relatives
gathered outside of Belcher's boyhood home, looking somber and sad.
Yamiesse Lawrence, a cousin of Belcher's, said the weekend's events were
an "inconceivable tragedy."
"As a family, no words can express the sorrow we feel over the loss of Jovan and Kasandra," Lawrence read aloud.
She said the family is "overwhelmed with both sadness and confusion," and extends thoughts and prayers to the Perkins family.
Belcher's
niece, Quaresha Boston, said the football player "embraced life and
excelled at all he put his energy behind" and that God alone could "mend
our hearts."
"We loved Jovan. His kindness,
humility, respect and gratitude for family and friends were steadfast,"
she said. "... He was happy to be a new father and both he and Kasandra
loved Zoey greatly."
