Jovan Belcher’s mother files wrongful death lawsuit against Kansas City Chiefs: Report

The mother of former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the team Tuesday after exhuming his body so that his brain could be examined for evidence of a degenerative condition linked to repeated concussions.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Cheryl Shepherd in Jackson County (Mo.) circuit court, alleges Belcher was subjected to "repetitive head trauma," and that the Chiefs failed to provide adequate medical treatment before Belcher tragically killed his girlfriend and then committed suicide last December.

Shepherd is seeking a jury trial and judgment "in excess of $15,000 for actual damages, punitive damages, and/or aggravating circumstances, for the cost of this action, and for such relief as the court deems fair and reasonable."

Belcher's body was exhumed at a cemetery in Bay Shore, Long Island at his family's request earlier this month so that his brain could be studied for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative neurological condition. CTE has been linked to multiple concussions and includes symptoms such as memory problems, behavioral changes and eventually dementia.

CTE has made headlines in recent years with the deaths of some former professional athletes, including former Chargers linebacker Junior Seau and former Bears safety Dave Duerson.

Shepherd's lawsuit claims the Chiefs failed to warn her son of the short-term and long-term risks of concussions; failed to identify and remove Belcher from practice or games after sustaining head trauma; failed to educate Belcher about concussions; failed to monitor or treat Belcher for neurological dysfunction; and failed to provide appropriate counseling.

On Dec. 1, 2012, Belcher shot to death his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, while Shepherd was caring for his infant daughter in a nearby room. Belcher then sped from the residence to the Chiefs training facility, where he shot himself in the head as team personnel tried to stop him.

A spokesman for the Chiefs told The Associated Press on Tuesday night that the team was aware of the lawsuit. He could not comment further because of the pending litigation.

Paternity talk sparked Belcher's murder-suicide rage says source

The mother of Kansas City Chiefs football player Jovan Belcher has told investigators that the argument with girlfriend Kasandra Perkins — which preceded his deadly murder-suicide rampage on Dec. 1 — was over their 3-month-old baby's paternity, reports The New York Post.

Cheryl Shepherd — who was in her son's suburban Missouri home the morning he shot Perkins nine times — told police investigators that the couple had been arguing over questions that the young girl, Zoey, was even his, said a source close to the situation.

"The mother believed that there was an issue over whether [Belcher] was the father," said a source close to the team.

"She said he [believed he] wasn't necessarily the father of the child," the source added.

A Kansas City law-enforcement source confirmed Shepherd's account of the situation, "She told [police] there was a question about the paternity."

Authorities wouldn't jump to conclusions and announce that the baby's paternity led to Belcher's bizarre and violent rampage which left the young couple dead but sheds a little light on what could have set off the NFL player.

"But the implication was that [paternity] was what the two of them were fighting about — that the baby might not have been his," said a source.

Shepherd was visiting her son when the argument broke out early that fatal morning.  She called 911 after Belcher bolted from the house.  The Long Island native later shot himself dead in front of stunned Chiefs staff at the team's facility.

Earlier in the week, attempts to speak with Shepherd were answered with a, "There will be no comment" on her cellphone.

Just a few months earlier, the smiling couple were showing off their new little baby on Facebook.