KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The custody fight over the orphaned daughter of former Kansas City Chiefs player Jovan Belcher began Tuesday in Jackson County court.
At issue in this trial is who will be appointed guardian for little Zoey Belcher.
Her father’s mother, Cheryl Shepherd of New York is seeking custody. But so is her mother’s cousin, Sophie Perkins of Texas.
It made national news when Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher left his infant daughter without any parents in December 2012. Jovan Belcher shot and killed the baby’s mother, Kasandra Perkins, and then took his own life at the Chiefs’ practice facility.
The court initially gave Cheryl Shepherd temporary custody of the baby.
But when Shepherd allowed Zoey to go to Texas for her mother’s funeral, Perkins’ family never returned the child.
Tuesday morning, Carrie Contey, a psychologist and parenting expert, testified that she opposes any 50/50 split in custody for Zoey, saying it would be bad for her development with the families 2,000 miles apart. Contey said there needs to one consistent primary care giver with frequent short visits with other side of the family. She had no opinion on who would be the better guardian.
Contey testified that a home base for the next two or three years is in Zoey’s best interest.
Probate Commissioner Dan Wheeler says he will take all the evidence under advisement.
Under a trust established for Zoey and money from the NFL, the little girl is supposed to receive $108,000 a year for the next four years. $48,000 in the fifth year and then $52,000 a year until she’s 18. If Zoey goes to college, she can keep getting that money until she turns 23.
