Jovan Belcher reportedly apologized, kissed girlfriend after murder
After murdering his 22-year-old girlfriend, Jovan Belcher leaned over to say he was sorry and kissed her on the forehead, according to The Kansas City Star.

The paper reports that Belcher's mother watched the tragic goodbye after rushing into her son's bedroom when she heard gunfire. Then, according to The Star, Belcher apologized to his mother before kissing his 3-month-old daughter and departing for the Chiefs' complex.
Jovan Belcher reportedly told girlfriend Kasandra Perkins he was sorry and kissed her on the cheek shortly after murdering her in their bedroom Saturday. (Via Instagram)
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More details continue to emerge in the aftermath of Belcher's murder-suicide Saturday that ended with the Chiefs linebacker taking his own life in the Arrowhead Stadium parking lot as general manager Scott Pioli, head coach Romeo Crennel and linebackers coach Gary Gibbs looked on.

Police say the Chiefs had been providing counseling to Belcher and his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins. Police Sgt. Richard Sharp told The Star that the couple had been arguing over relationship and financial issues for months and that the team had been "bending over backward" trying to help them.

According to the New York Post, Belcher had dinner with another woman Friday night before staying over at her apartment. After returning to his home on the 5400 block of Crysler Avenue, The Star reports that he and Perkins were heard arguing.

That's when the yelling, and ultimately the gunfire, began.

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Upon arriving to the Chiefs' facility, Belcher was met by Pioli and Crennel. Amid pleas from both to spare his own life, Belcher thanked them for all they'd done for him.

“I got to go,” Belcher reportedly said, according to The Star. “I can’t be here.”

From behind a vehicle, Belcher shot himself once in the head. He was taken to a hospital, where he died, the police report states.

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.

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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 "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.