Jovan Belcher
Belcher with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2010 | |||||||||
| No. 59 | |||||||||
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| Position | Linebacker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | July 24, 1987 West Babylon, New York, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | December 1, 2012 (aged 25) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 228 lb (103 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | West Babylon (NY) | ||||||||
| College | Maine (2005–2008) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2009: undrafted | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Jovan Henry Allen Belcher (July 24, 1987 – December 1, 2012) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played his entire three-year career with the Kansas City Chiefs before murdering his girlfriend and committing suicide.
Belcher grew up in West Babylon, New York and was a standout high school athlete before attending and graduating from the University of Maine, where he played for the Maine Black Bears football team. Belcher was named an All-American twice in college after switching in his junior year from linebacker to defensive end. He was considered a strong small-school NFL prospect but was not selected in the 2009 NFL draft. He was later signed as a free agent by the Chiefs and became a regular starter at inside linebacker in 2010. His most productive season was in 2011 when he had 61 tackles and 26 assists. He was re-signed by Kansas City before the 2012 season and played in the team's first 11 games before his death.
Belcher died on December 1, 2012, in a murder–suicide, killing his girlfriend, 22-year-old Kasandra Perkins, before driving to the Chiefs' training facility and shooting himself in the head with a handgun.