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New details emerge in Jovan Belcher murder-suicide

The Kansas City Star has uncovered the details of the events that led Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher to murder Kasandra Perkins, his 22-year-old girlfriend and mother of their 3-month-old daughter, before taking his own life in front of GM Scott Pioli, head coach Romeo Crennel and linebackers coach Gary Gibbs at Chiefs headquarters on Saturday.

According to the report, the couple had argued over relationship and financial issues for months before the tragic events unfolded on Saturday. The Chiefs were aware of the off-field issues that their 25-year-old linebacker was having and "were bending over backwards" to help Belcher, Police Sgt. Richard Sharp said.

[Related: Charles, Perkins, Belcher families open up about murder-suicide]

The couple argued early Saturday morning after Perkins attended a Trey Songz concert and had drinks with friends, while Belcher reportedly "partied" in Kansas City's Power & Light District on Friday night. According to the Associated Press, police found Belcher asleep in his car outside an apartment building at nearly 3 a.m. Belcher said he was there to visit his girlfriend, but she wasn't home. After police determined that Belcher had no warrants, he made a phone call and was let into the building by a woman.

According to the AP report, Belcher stayed at that apartment until 6:30 a.m. Upon his arrival back at his home, Belcher and Perkins argued again, with Belcher's mother hearing her son say something along the lines of "You can't talk to me like that" before pulling the trigger.

From the Kansas City Star:

Seconds after fatally shooting his longtime girlfriend, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher leaned over her in their master bathroom, said he was sorry and kissed her on the forehead.

His mother, who heard gunfire as she stood in the kitchen, rushed to her son's bedroom and watched his remorseful goodbye.

Belcher apologized to his mother, kissed his 3-month-old daughter and fled his rented home in the 5400 block of Crysler Avenue in his Bentley.

The report goes on to state that Belcher drove the five miles to the team's headquarters, where he met Pioli in the parking lot. Belcher exited his vehicle with a gun pointed at his head and told Pioli that he had killed his girlfriend. Belcher, who signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Maine, thanked Pioli for all he had done for him and asked that he and owner Clark Hunt look after his daughter.

Pioli and Crennel attempted to dissuade Belcher from committing suicide, but as police closed in, Belcher reportedly said "I got to go...I can't be here" before kneeling down behind a vehicle, making the sign of the cross and firing a single bullet into his head.

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