Chiefs’ Belcher Was Drunk at Time of Shootings, Autopsy Finds

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher was drunk when he fatally shot his girlfriend and himself last month, according to a Jackson County, Missouri, Medical Examiner’s autopsy report.

Belcher’s blood-alcohol level was .17, more than twice the legal limit, when he shot himself in the head in front of then- General Manager Scott Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel on Dec. 1 at the National Football League team’s Arrowhead Stadium, according to the report, which was released today.

He shot his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, 22, nine times that morning, the medical examiner also said. The couple had a 3-month-old daughter. Belcher’s mother, who lives at the home where the shooting occurred, called police.

Perkins was shot in the chest twice, neck, abdomen, back, hip, left leg, right leg and right hand, according to the report. Neither Belcher nor Perkins had any signs of illegal drugs in their system, the medical examiner said.

The 6-foot-2, 228-pound Belcher was in his fourth season with the Chiefs, who signed him as a rookie free agent from the University of Maine in 2009.

The Chiefs finished the season with a 2-14 record, the worst in the NFL. Crennel was fired on Dec. 31 and succeeded by Andy Reid. Pioli was dismissed on Jan. 4.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Buteau in Atlanta at mbuteau@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net

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Kansas City Chiefs Linebacker Jovan Belcher

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher.

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher. Photographer: Jamie Squire/Getty Images