Jovan Belcher's Daughter in Custody Fight Between Grandparents
The maternal and paternal grandparents of Zoey Belcher are in the midst of a custody battle following the murder-suicide carried out by her father, Jovan Belcher.
Kansas City Chiefs player Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend and mother to his child, Kasandra Perkins, on Dec. 1. The couple had allegedly been arguing over custody of their 4-month-old daughter Zoey and that Belcher may have been dating another woman before the murder occurred, according to reports.
The custody battle has now continued between the little girl's maternal and fraternal grandparents. Jovan Belcher's mother, Cheryl Shepherd, was staying at the couple's Kansas City home when the murder occurred. Following the incident she was granted custody of the child and soon after applied to be the child's guardian and the conservator of her estate.
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Sheppard said, according to the Associated Press, that she agreed to allow Anne Gonzalez and Darryl Perkins, Zoey's maternal grandparents, to take the baby so that she could attend her mother's funeral. But Shepherd now says that she has not had communications from either grandparent since. Gonzalez and Perkins have filed for temporary custody of the child and have also placed a request to become her guardians and conservators of her estate.
Whoever becomes the child's guardian will receive more than $1 million under an NFL agreement. Of that money, Zoey's beneficiary will receive a $600,000 life insurance policy and $100,000 from a retirement account.
Zoey will receive "$108,000 annually over the next four years, $48,000 in the fifth year and $52,000 each year until she turns 18," according to the AP. "If she attends college, she can continue to receive that amount until age 23."
