Player's murder-suicide unprecedented for NFL

• Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher fatally shot his girlfriend and then committed suicide at the team's practice facility Saturday morning
• After killing Kasandra Perkins, Belcher drove to Arrowhead Stadium, where he shot himself in front of Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel
• The NFL confirmed that no player ever had killed himself at a team facility

Jovan Belcher and Kasandra Perkins appeared to be the proverbial "perfect couple.''

Sure, they had their quarrels, friends said, but they seemed to genuinely care for each other and were the loving parents of a new baby girl, 2-month-old Zoey.

A bountiful life held so much promise. Belcher, who graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in child development and family relations, had achieved his life's ambition as a professional football player. A restricted free agent after last season, he signed a second-round tender with the $1.927 million base salary that came with it. Perkins was enrolled in college with the hopes of becoming a teacher.

Then something went horribly amiss early Saturday morning. Belcher, 25, and Perkins, 22, inexplicably are dead in a murder-suicide.

Once again, domestic violence and the NFL have collided with devastating consequences. Over the years, numerous former and current NFL players have been involved in domestic violence cases. Sometimes the players were the perpetrators; occasionally, they were victims.

The best-known case: Carolina Panther receiver Rae Carruth was convicted of hiring a hit-man to kill his pregnant girlfriend in 1999. But three years ago, former NFL quarterback Steve McNair was killed by his mistress in a murder-suicide.

In this instance, Belcher shot his girlfriend in the home they leased. She later died at a hospital. The player then committed suicide at the team's headquarters, an unprecedented act of violence involving an NFL player at a team facility. Police confirmed that Belcher shot himself in front of Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel, who were talking to him outside as he held a weapon.

"The player thanked them for everything they had done for him before walking away," said Darin Snapp, spokesman for Kansas City Police. "The suspect walked in the opposite direction and shot himself."

Those grim facts would have been unthinkable for many who knew the couple. They were stunned and devastated.

Devene Dunson-Rusher, a close friend who called the Belcher residence her "home away from home," told USA TODAY Sports that Belcher and Perkins appeared to be the "perfect couple'' who enjoyed staying at home and watching their favorite television show, "Hoarders.''

Dunson-Rusher said she's known Perkins for years, and became friends with Belcher when he and Perkins started dating. Dunson-Rusher described Belcher as a "kind, a very sweet-hearted person,'' and a big-brother figure to her.

"He was very intelligent,'' she said. "And just a really nice person.''

Dunson-Rusher, who is pregnant, said she last spoke to Perkins a couple days ago. They talked about the health of her baby, a casual conversation amongst friends. Perkins did make reference to an argument she'd had with Belcher, Dunson-Rusher said.

"When I talked to her a couple days ago she said, 'The baby is doing great. Javon is being great.' I know that they did get into an argument, but she said, 'Everything is great now.'"

Dunson-Rusher said that she never saw Belcher and Perkins argue, and Perkins never spoke poorly of Belcher privately, either. The incidents of Saturday morning were even more shocking because she couldn't fathom a reason for Belcher to be mad at Perkins, or vice versa.

"He never had a reason (to be jealous). She was home all the time. This is where we spent our time, at home," Dunson-Rusher said. "He knew me. He knew all of our friends. He didn't have a reason to be jealous."

Perkins was the "sweetest person I knew,'' quite generous and kind, Dunson-Rusher said.

"Everyone she met fell in love with her,'' she said.

So did Belcher when they met three years ago. Dunson-Rusher figured they would soon tie the knot because "they called each other husband and wife.''

Only 10 days earlier, on Nov. 20, Belcher attended homecoming at his high school alma mater, West Babylon (N.Y.) High. His former coach, Al Ritacco, said Saturday evening that his former player was "beaming'' during his visit about being a new father. Ritacco said Belcher enjoyed mentoring young people and was inspirational in his guidance.

"Those who didn't know him could never fathom what kind of person he really was,'' Ritacco told USA TODAY Sports. "How this all came about we'll never know, I guess. But that is not the Jovan I know. I would tell you that on a stack of Bibles.''

On Thanksgiving, the couple entertained a large gathering at the home Belcher rented in a neighborhood east of the city, said neighbor Kenneth Dikum.

"I was so surprised to hear what had happened," Dikum said.

Another neighbor, Kristen VanMeter, 31, said she had spoken to Belcher occasionally, but said she never met his girlfriend.

"He was a terrific neighbor," VanMeter said. "We didn't think anything like that was going on."

Jennifer Ashley, a friend of the dead woman, told The Kansas City Star that the couple had been introduced by a girlfriend of another Chiefs player.

The events in the wee hours of Saturday morning seemed to offer a clue at what might have triggered the tragedy.

The Star, quoting an unidentified friend of Perkins, reported that Belcher confronted his girlfriend after she returned at about 1 a.m. following a Trey Songz concert. The couple had dated about three years and argued frequently, the woman told The Star.

But after the birth of Zoey, Perkins called it the "best day of my life'' on her Instagram page. The page displayed several photos of the proud parents with their newborn and Perkins wrote: "Love. Laughter. Life. Loyalty.''

Snapp confirmed that Zoey, born Sept. 11, is safe. The baby is in the care of Belcher's mother, who police said lived with the couple in their rented home.

The confounding murder-suicide stunned the small-market city, sent reverberations through the league and devastated a franchise nonetheless all too accustomed to dealing with shocking deaths of Chiefs players. League spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed that no player ever had committed suicide at a team facility.

"People think how can a young man with the world in front of him, making good money and playing on a national stage, do something like that?," former Chiefs running back Tony Richardson told USA TODAY Sports. "But you just don't understand the mental state of what some people are dealing with. It's sad.''

Game goes on

As scheduled, Kansas City will host the Carolina Panthers on Sunday after discussions between the league office, Crennel and team captains determined the game should be played.

Two people with knowledge of the decision to play the game as scheduled told USA TODAY Sports that there were no dissenting voices. Chiefs owner Clark Hunt discussed the issue with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL general counsel Jeff Pash, and Goodell in turn talked with players union chief DeMaurice Smith.

After meeting with his entire team at Arrowhead Stadium, Crennel met with the six team captains — Matt Cassell, Derrick Johnson, Eric Berry, Ryan Lilja, Terrance Copper and Dustin Colquitt. The captains agreed that the game should be played. The team planned to reconvene on Saturday evening at a local hotel, as it is customary for the team to stay sequestered on the night before games.

The NFL said it has coupled the franchise with a team of grief counselors for support.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the Chiefs and the families and friends of those who lost their lives in this terrible tragedy,'' the league said in a statement.

Belcher played football at the University of Maine from 2005-08, where he was a co-captain his senior season. His former college coach, Jack Cosgrove, remembered him Saturday as a "tremendous student-athlete.''

"His move to the NFL was in keeping with his dreams,'' Cosgrove said in a statement. "This is an indescribably horrible tragedy.''

Likewise, former college teammates were left pondering what went amiss. Anthony Cotrone, who played fullback at Maine, recalled that his former teammate "always had a smile.''

"He was such a great kid — all about his family,'' Cotrone said. "I got 50 calls and texts from old teammates after the news broke and the reaction was pretty much the same: 'This is so sad. What happened to him?' ''

For now, no one seems to know.

Spokesman Snapp said police first responded to a call at 7:50 a.m. CT that a woman had been shot. She was taken to the hospital where she died. At around 8:10 a.m., Snapp said police received a call from Arrowhead Stadium security command reporting an armed male in the parking lot.

Officers observed the man with the gun held to his head. It was Belcher. After briefly speaking with Pioli and Crennel, the player shot himself.

In a statement, the team said, "The entire Chiefs family is deeply saddened by today's events, and our collective hearts are heavy with sympathy, thoughts and prayers for the families and friends affected by this unthinkable tragedy. We sincerely appreciate the expressions of sympathy and support we have received from so many in the Kansas City and NFL communities, and ask for continued prayers for the loved ones of those impacted."

Some Chiefs personnel, including tackle Eric Winston, were at the facility when the shooting occurred because a team meeting was scheduled for 9:30 a.m.

"It's just all very sad,'' Winston said. "There (are) rumors going around. But I don't really know. We're still finding out. We were all just shuttled out of there pretty fast."

"Like a lot of guys, I'm still trying to talk to a lot of the guys.''

Former coach 'devastated right now'

Belcher already had overcome long odds to make it in pro football. He was an undrafted free agent. At Maine, he won 2008 CAA Conference defensive player of the year. He was in his fourth season with the Chiefs.

Those close to Belcher during his college playing days recalled his love of family, making the tragic news all the more senseless. His position coach at that time, Dwayne Wilmot, recalled the easiest way to make Belcher smile was to tell him his mother was coming to a game. More than anything, Belcher wanted to make his brood proud.

"Family was paramount for Jovan. you could see it at every game," said Wilmot, a coach at Yale. "His family showed up in force. He relished the opportunity to make them proud as a student and an athlete. He did what he did for their love and their adulation.

"I'm devastated right now," he added. "Trying to hold together."

To the Maine athletics community, Belcher was a light — the long shot who reached the pinnacle. His native Long Island is not considered a pro football hotbed, and he converted from outside linebacker to defensive end during his college career. Belcher then made the tricky switch to inside linebacker for the Chiefs as a rookie in 2009.

"What you saw was the burning desire to be successful," Wilmot said. "If he had the opportunity, he'd make the most of it … This is a tragic end. But his life had a greater good than just this tragic end."

This is not the first time tragedy has struck the Chiefs organization and active players.

In February 2000, star linebacker Derrick Thomas of the Chiefs died from injuries sustained in an auto accident weeks earlier. Thomas was a Pro Bowler in nine of his 11 seasons with the Chiefs. In 2009, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In 1983, Kansas City running back Joe Delaney drowned while trying to rescue three children who were struggling in a pond in Monroe, La. Though an inexperienced swimmer, Delaney made the rescue attempt. Two of the children also drowned. Delaney was a Pro Bowler in his second season with the Chiefs in 1982.

All three shocking deaths had at least one thing in common. Family, friends and fans were asking left asking one question: Why?

Contributing: Jim Corbett, Lindsay Jones, Gary Mihoces, Jeffrey Flanagan, Mike Vorel, Chris Corbellini, Robert Klemko. Flanagan and Vorel reported from Kansas City, Mo.