Advertisement

Charles, Perkins, Belcher families release statements regarding Jovan Belcher’s life and death

On Monday, the families of Jamaal Charles, Kasandra Perkins and Jovan Belcher all released statements with their thoughts and feelings about Saturday morning, when the 25-year-old Belcher, a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs, shot Perkins to death at the couple's home. Belcher then drove to the Chiefs' facility, where he shot himself in the presence of Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, head coach Romeo Crennel and defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs. The deaths left the couple's 3-month-old baby in the care of Perkins' family.

Charles, the Chiefs' primary running back, is married to a cousin of Perkins, and Charles introduced Belcher to Perkins. Charles spoke about the incidents for the first time on Monday via a statement:

Our family has suffered a personal tragic loss. Kassandra Perkins was in-fact first cousin to my wife, Whitney. As this is a very tough time for our family, I ask that we are respected as we grieve. Kassandra 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.

Kasandra Perkins' family also released their own statement:

On behalf of the Perkins Family, we appreciate the outpouring of love and concern for our Kassandra "Kasi" Perkins. Our hearts are truly broken for Kasi was a beloved daughter, granddaughter, sister, mother, cousin and friend. At this time we request the media respect our privacy during this difficult time as we grieve for our loved one. Please keep us in your hearts and prayers as well as the Belcher family for two lives were loss. Again we thank you for your support, our wish is for Kasi to be remembered for the love she shared with us all. Kasi will be truly missed!

Jovan Belcher's family released a statement via TMZ.

As a family, no words can express the sorrow we feel over the loss of Jovan and Kasandra. The impact that this inconceivable tragedy has had on our heart is immeasurable; we are overwhelmed with both sadness and confusion.

Jovan was our son, brother, uncle, cousin, nephew, grandson, and friend and we will miss him and Kasandra dearly. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Perkins family as they mourn.

We loved Jovan. His kindness, humility, respect and gratitude for family and friends were steadfast. The man we know and loved for 25 years embraced life and excelled at all he put his energy behind. Jovan was overjoyed when Kasandra gave birth to their daughter, Zoey.

He was happy to be a new father both he and Kasandra loved Zoey greatly. The immense outpouring of sympathy and support from Jovan's friends, teammates, coaches and fans have been a reflection of the impact he had on so many people. Like them, we will cherish the wonderful memories we have of Jovan and we pray that those memories will bring us peace as we grapple to understand the unpredictable and tragic ending of his life and the life of Kasandra Perkins.

As we attempt to grieve in the aftermath of this tremendous loss we ask that you please respect our privacy in doing so. Only GOD can mend our hearts.

There are many more questions to be asked about what happened, and everybody's certainly got an opinion. In this case, we just wanted to pass along the words of the people closest to those involved.

More Jovan Belcher coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
Victorious Chiefs make no effort to hide pain one day after tragic events
Faced with tragedy, Chiefs record second win of season
Chiefs try to make sense of the impossible after Jovan Belcher suicide
Jovan Belcher's conflicting portrait reveals a hard-working young man