Autopsy: Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher drunk

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS linebacker Jovan Belcher had a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit when he shot his girlfriend nine times and then killed himself in front of his coach and general manager, an autopsy released Monday showed.

The Jackson County (Mo.) Medical Examiner report on Belcher, 25, raised new questions about whether police should have done more before the Dec. 1 murder-suicide. Officers found Belcher sleeping in his idling car about 5 hours earlier but let him go inside a nearby apartment to sleep it off.

At the time of the autopsy, Belcher's BAC was 0.17, more than twice the limit of 0.08 percent for Missouri drivers, and it was likely higher when he shot girlfriend Kasandra Perkins, 22, at the couple's Kansas City home.

A police report released previously said Belcher had gone out the night before with a woman he was dating on the side while Perkins attended a concert with her friends.

Police who found Belcher sleeping in his Bentley outside the woman's apartment told him to turn off the ignition and he complied, the report said.

The report said Belcher "initially displayed possible signs of being under the influence [asleep and disoriented]." But the report added that after a few minutes of being awake his "demeanor and communication became more fluid and coherent." The report added that officers didn't smell alcohol on Belcher, and that there were no signs of him being "violent or emotionally unstable."

Belcher asked the officers who found him if he could stay inside the apartment for the night. Belcher tried to call his girlfriend, but she didn't discover the missed calls until the next morning. Two women who were up late invited Belcher to wait inside their nearby apartment after he explained his plight. They said Belcher "appeared to be intoxicated" but "seemed to be in good spirits," the police report said.

Belcher slept on their couch for a couple hours, leaving at 6:45 a.m. so he could make it to a team meeting planned for later that morning.

Upon arriving at the home he shared with Perkins, the couple began arguing. Belcher's mother, Cheryl Shepherd, who had moved in with them about 2 weeks earlier, heard multiple gunshots and ran to the bedroom, where she saw Belcher kneeling next to Perkins' body, saying he was sorry. The autopsy report says Perkins was shot in the neck, chest, abdomen, hip, back, leg and hand.

After kissing Perkins, his baby daughter and his mother, Belcher drove to Arrowhead Stadium. The autopsy said Belcher shot himself in the right temple as coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Scott Pioli looked on.

The infant, Zoe, is the subject of a custody fight between relatives of Belcher and Perkins.

Police in Jersey City, N.J., say they have been trying to locate Titans receiver Kenny Britt to question him about an incident Sunday in which he allegedly drove a friend to the hospital after the man had been stabbed at a party. Capt. Edgar Martinez says police need to interview everyone who was present at a house party Sunday in which someone fired a gun through a first-floor window and Britt's friend was stabbed. No one was struck in the shooting, Martinez said.

* Houston rookie receiver DeVier Posey injured an Achilles' tendon in Sunday's loss at New England and will require surgery. Coach Gary Kubiak wasn't sure Monday how long he'll be out.

* Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has undergone surgery on his broken left arm, a source told the Associated Press. Gronkowski suffered the season-ending injury Sunday when he caught a pass from Tom Brady in the first quarter and landed out of bounds on the arm for an incompletion. Gronkowski had earlier surgery after breaking his left forearm on Nov. 18. He missed five games and returned for the season finale.

* Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross unveiled a plan to modernize 25-year-old Sun Life Stadium, and promising to personally cover the majority of the $400 million estimated cost of the project. The rest would come from tax dollars, and that would likely need approval from both state and local lawmakers. Instead, the Dolphins are looking for a slightly higher hotel tax in the county, as well as a larger state sales-tax rebate. And in return for the deal, the Dolphins say the deal would keep them in South Florida through at least 2034.They plan to add about 3,600 seats closer to the field, improved amenities and a canopy roof.

* The Cleveland Browns are close to selling naming rights for their stadium to FirstEnergy Corp., based in Akron, Ohio, a source told the AP.

* Indianapolis hired Jimmy Raye as vice president of football operations. He replaces Tom Telesco, who was named San Diego's general manager last week. Raye spent the last five seasons as the Chargers' director of player personnel.