When Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins and then killed himself in December, it left their infant daughter orphaned. Now that daughter is at the center of a custody battle between the families of Belcher and Perkins.
Belcher’s mother, Cheryl Shepherd, was at the home in Kansas City when her son killed Perkins, and she immediately began caring for baby Zoey, who is now 8 months old. However, Shepherd allowed members of the Perkins family to take Zoey to Perkins’ funeral, and the Perkins family has not allowed Zoey to go back to Shepherd’s home.
As a result, Lindsay Jones of USA Today reports, a custody trial is set to begin on June 11 in Jackson County, Missouri, with more than 80 witnesses testifying. Zoey is currently being cared for by Kasandra’s cousin, Sophie Perkins, but Belcher’s mother wants custody.
Until Zoey becomes an adult, the adults who care for her will have control of the estate she inherited from her father. Belcher left property valued at nearly $800,000, and he had a $1.2 million life insurance policy, plus Zoey is expected to get at least $1 million from the NFL, and funds have been set up for her care by the Chiefs. Financially, Zoey will be well taken care of. Here’s hoping the families can put aside their differences and see to it that she is emotionally well taken care of as well.