Inside his luxury car, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher left grisly evidence of the murderous mayhem that preceded his shocking suicide.
His dead girlfriend’s blood was smeared on the chrome gearshift of his black 2007 Bentley Continental GT, and the death car’s console was littered with broken glass, photos obtained by the Daily News show.
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Kansas City cops say Belcher murdered Kasandra Perkins in front of his horrified mother after Perkins returned late from a concert to their house at 5401 Crysler Ave., a quiet street with yards dressed up by Christmas decorations.
He then jumped into the $122,000 Bentley, purchased from a Woodbury, L.I., auto dealer, and drove to Arrowhead Stadium , where he shot himself in the head as his head coach, Romeo Crennel, and general manager, Scott Pioli, watched helplessly.
The suicide capped a gory repudiation of the Long Island-raised linebacker’s commitment four years ago to combat domestic violence.
While playing for the University of Maine football team Belcher joined the Male Athletes Against Violence initiative.
Student athletes who signed up said they would “educate themselves on issues surrounding domestic violence, be positive role models and look honestly at my actions in regard to violence,” according to a pledge card posted online.
The revelation, first reported by the Bangor Daily News of Maine, was yet another example of the baffling turn of events that transformed an inspirational rise to the football elite into a tragic cautionary tale.
Kasandra Perkins, was dead. Their 3-month-old child was an orphan. And Belcher’s teammates on the Chiefs — including the coach and general manager who witnessed his suicide — were traumatized.
“He was such a calm, laid-back person — you would never think he would be capable of something like this,” said Brianne York, 21, who befriended Perkins at Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, Mo.
“There were never any signs that indicated any kind of violence was ever going on.”
The Chiefs organization was equally stunned.
“He’s not somebody that we’ve had an issue with in any regard,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said.
The extreme change in behavior by Belcher led to rampant questions about what made him do it.
A familiar suspect quickly emerged — brain trauma.
Belcher was at least the sixth NFL player to have killed himself in the last two years — and many believe the sport’s violent collisions are causing players to snap.
Hunt said Belcher was “a player who had not had a long concussion history.”
But people who knew the linebacker and his murdered lover say the constant pounding of four years in the National Football League was probably a factor in his sudden violence.
Another friend of Belcher’s told the sports website Deadspin the linebacker suffered from short-term memory loss following a Nov. 18 game against the Bengals.
Belcher did not play in last week’s game.
“He could not remember the events that had taken place prior to that game,” the anonymous friend told the website.
The writer also said that Belcher drank heavily, and was on pain medication.
“Jovan drank A LOT. On a nightly basis,” the writer told the website.
Since 2011 at least five other NFL players — Dave Duerson, Ray Easterling, Junior Seau, Kurt Crain and OJ Murdock — have killed themselves.
Autopsies of Duerson and Easterling found signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative disease caused by repeated blows to the head.
Belcher’s family in West Babylon, L.I. — still reeling from the incident — was not ready to indulge in speculation about the cause of his crackup.
Instead, Belcher’s cousin Eric Oakes said he watched the Chiefs take on the Panthers at Arrowhead Stadium — an attempt at normalcy on an unforgettable football Sunday.
“Even though my cousin is not there, that’s still his team. Those are his brothers, so to me they are my brothers, too,” Oakes said, sporting a Belcher jersey.
“His spirit is going to be there with them.”
Others in the neighborhood were not ready to trash Belcher’s legacy as a hardworking athlete who reached the pinnacle of his sport.
“As violent as he ended, we want to remember all the beautiful things about him,” said Bernadette Gisonda, Belcher’s ninth-grade English teacher.
“He was a wonderful student. He was creative. He loved poetry. He always smiled. Everybody loved him, he was a gentleman.”
At the stadium, the Chiefs franchise struggled with how to acknowledge the tragedy.
Before the game, the team held a moment of silence for victims of domestic violence. Belcher’s name was not mentioned.
Players ran onto the field and knelt in prayer at the corner of the west end zone.
The Chiefs triumphed for only the second time this season, winning 27-21.
In the home locker room, Belcher’s jersey and pads sat untouched, casting a pall over the victory.
“That’s what kinda hit me,” said quarterback Brady Quinn of the locker. “It was tough to step back and gain focus.
“It was an eerie feeling after a win because you don’t think that you can win in this situation.”
The shock never left the players, even while competing on the gridiron.
“How do you ever get something like this out of your head?” Chiefs offensive lineman Eric Winston said.
Chiefs tailback Jamaal Charles, whose wife — a cousin of Perkins — introduced Belcher to the woman who would become the mother of his baby did not speak afterward.
“I’m sure he has some conflicting issues, much deeper than we have,” Winston said of his teammate.
At Belcher’s home on Crysler Ave. just east of Kansas City, a bouquet of pink and white roses wrapped in a plastic sheet lay on the front steps of the house. A Christmas wreath hung on the door.
Four family members lingered inside, but would not comment.
With Debra DeCoster
sbrown@nydailynews.com