The struggle over who will care for the daughter of a Kansas City Chiefs player who committed suicide after killing the girl's mother is taking shape in Missouri and Texas courts.
And tensions between the paternal and maternal grandparents of the 4-month-old daughter of Jovan Belcher and Kasandra Perkins have emerged in court filings in Fort Worth.Authorities turned over Zoey Michelle Belcher to Cheryl Shepherd, her paternal grandmother, just after her parents died Dec. 1.But in an email to a Jackson County, Mo., probate commissioner Thursday, a lawyer for Shepherd disclosed that Zoey is in Texas with her mother's family."Cheryl agreed to temporarily allow the maternal relatives [to] take Zoey to Texas for her mother's funeral," lawyer Gretchen M. Gold wrote. "The maternal relatives have now ceased communicating with Cheryl Shepherd and have refused to return her calls or return the child to her care."Both families have filed court cases seeking to care for Zoey. Judges in Independence, Mo., and Fort Worth have scheduled hearings this month to begin determining where the infant and the money to support her will end up.The Fort Worth hearing is scheduled for. Jan. 22 in the 324th District Court of Judge Jerome Hennigan. This case was filed Dec. 13 on behalf of Rebecca Anne Gonzalez, identified as the maternal grandmother.The next day, Shepherd filed in Independence, asking a probate court to appoint her guardian of Zoey and to appoint her conservator of Zoey's and Belcher's estates. That hearing is scheduled for Friday.Zoey was orphaned Dec. 1 when Belcher emptied a .40-caliber handgun into Perkins at the home they shared in Kansas City. Belcher then drove to Arrowhead Stadium and shot himself in the parking lot in front of his coaches and the team's general manager.Shepherd, of West Babylon, N.Y., had moved in with the couple about two weeks earlier.Money to care for Zoey could come from a trust funded by the Hunt family, which owns the Chiefs; Chiefs coaches, players and employees; and contributions from the public.Zoey's estate or guardian will also receive more than $1 million under the terms of the NFL's collective bargaining agreement.The girl stands to receive $108,000 annually for the next four years, $48,000 in the fifth year and $52,000 each year until she turns 18.If she attends college, she will continue to receive that amount until age 23.Belcher's beneficiary will also receive $600,000 in life insurance, plus $200,000 for each credited season. (He was in his third.) A retirement account with $100,000 will go to his beneficiary or estate.In Fort Worth, Zoey's maternal grandparents -- Darryl Perkins and Gonzalez -- and other Texas relatives have filed suit asking that they temporarily care for the girl, that her residence be in Tarrant County and that a guardian ad litem be appointed to represent her best interests.The maternal litigants also asked for a social study "into the circumstances and condition of the child and of the home of any person requesting" to care for the child.Staff writer Susan McFarland contributed to this report.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
