Custody Battle of Jovan Belcher’s Daughter Begins

Both sides of family fighting over $3 million baby

The baby left behind in the aftermath of the Jovan Belcher-Kassandra Perkins murder-suicide is now in the middle of custody battle. Zoey, the four-month old infant, is currently with Perkins’ family in Texas, but Belcher’s mother has filed a petition to have the child moved to her in Long Island, NY. Reports say that Belcher’s mother Cheryl Shepard, who made the 911 call, was awarded temporary custody in the days after the shooting. She allowed the baby to stay with Perkins family for a short visit, but she claims she hasn’t heard from them since. Baby Zoey was granted a $3 million “surviving child” benefit from the NFL. (Daily News)

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Custody Battle Begins Over Belcher's Orphaned Daughter

Jovan Belcher's murder suicide leaves grandparents fighting over his 4-month-year old.

A battle for custody is brewing between the maternal and paternal grandparents of an infant whose father, Kansas City Chiefs player Jovan Belcher, committed a murder-suicide on Dec. 1. Belcher killed his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, before driving to Arrowhead Stadium and shooting himself in the head. Four-month-old Zoey Michelle Belcher was put under the custody of Cheryl Shepherd, her paternal grandmother, who was in the Kansas City home when her son shot Perkins.

However, after allowing Zoey to go to Texas for her mother’s funeral, the maternal relatives have “ceased communicating with Cheryl Shepherd and have refused to return her calls or return the child to her care. A Jan. 11 hearing is set hear Shepherd’s petition seeking custody; a separate Jan. 22 hearing is set to hear the case for the lawsuit by the maternal grandparents seeking temporary custody.

Zoey’s estate or guardian would receive more than $1 million under terms of the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement. Belcher’s beneficiary could also receive $600,000 in life insurance and $200,000 for each of his credited seasons. (NY Post)

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Must a Victim Be Famous For You To Care?

When celebs abuse women, public outrage is for those who beat the equally well-known

By now, you've probably lost count of the number of articles, tweets, YouTube replies and Facebook comments calling singer Chris Brown everything but what his mother named him. Some people hate his music, while many others just hate him. Once an R&B golden boy, the change in public attitude came after he assaulted pop princess Rihanna in 2009 after a heated argument turned violent.

While the removal of his songs from radio rotation, suspension of his commercial ads and loss of his sponsorships were the as-to-be-expected punishments at the time, the hounding by the public and media since then have prolonged to the point that Brown often still looks like the aggressor even when he is the one being attacked.

While it took CB a year or two to be viewed as someone other than an abuser once again, the fact remains that despite #teambreezy continuing to buy his albums and pack out his shows, he's still labeled as a bad guy whom some wish would disappear.

But Brown isn't alone in his quest to reshape his image and get his career back on track after abusing a woman.

[Also Read: Leave Chris Brown Alone]

Rapper Mystikal topped the charts in 2000 with his smash, "Shake Ya A**," only to go to prison four years later to serve a six-year sentence for sexual battery and extortion. He along with two bodyguards forced his hairstylist, whom they claim stole his money, to perform oral sex on them to make up for it. In the years that he was put away, Mystikal may not have been in the public eye, but his name wasn't necessarily dragged through the mud either. Out of sight, out of mind perhaps.

But since his release, the demand for new music has grown. Each time he releases a new song or video you'll see online comments saying, "Mystikal's still got it!" or "I'm so glad Mystikal is back!"

Now, there's nothing wrong with being happy to see your favorite artist making music again. But it is pretty funny how many of the same voices expressing happiness at Mystikal's return are the same ones wishing that Chris Brown would go away.

Unlike Chris Brown's victim, Rihanna, Mystikal's former hair stylist doesn't have a fan club. Nor does she have endorsements. We probably wouldn't remember or recognize her if we saw her on TV either. She hasn't recorded songs with Jay-Z or Kanye West. And Barbara Walters and Oprah didn't trip over themselves to get an interview with her. To this day, most of us still don't know her name or what she looks like.

And odds are that most of us don't care either.

Why does it seem that when celebrities get in trouble for putting their hands on women, how the public treats them differs depending on whether their victim is famous?

Jovan Belcher Threatened to Kill Girlfriend Months Before: Report

NFL linebacker told pal he'd shoot Kasandra Perkins if she continued to press his buttons.

According to newly released documents, Jovan Belcher threatened he'd shoot girlfriend Kasandra Perkins, months before he killed her and then himself Dec. 1.  According to the Kansas City Star, the NFL linebacker sent a text to a “secret girlfriend” that read that he “would shoot” Perkins “if she didn’t leave him alone.” The girlfriend thought Belcher was only joking, the newspaper reported.

It tuned out to be no idle threat. On Dec. 1, Belcher, who played for the Kansas City Chiefs, shot Belcher multiple times with a .40-caliber handgun before driving to the Chiefs' football stadium where he took his own life. The 60-page report by investigators sheds light on what was apparently a tumultuous relationship, plagued by “trust issues,” financial problems, and arguments over their 3-month-old daughter.

Belcher’s mother, Cheryl Shepherd was in the home at the time of the murder and told investigators the argument that led up to the killing “was in regard to one or both of them going out as in to a club or partying.”  The document also laid out some of Belcher’s final words before he shot himself in the head in front of team management. “I’m sorry Scott,” Belcher said to general manager Scott Pioli. “I’ve done a bad thing to my girlfriend already.” (NewsOne)

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Jovan Belcher Buried Near Long Island Hometown

More than 300 show up to funeral.

Deceased NFL player Jovan Belcher was buried on Wednesday near the Long Island, New York neighborhood he grew up. 

More than 300 mourners came to the open-casket funeral, some of them wearing his No. 50 Kansas City Chiefs jersey.

“If I would have a lifetime wish or a dream come true, I’d pray to GOD with all my heart to change that day and bring back you,” Belcher’s mother, Cheryl Shepherd, wrote in her son’s funeral program. “A thousand words or questions won’t do it, this I know because I’ve tried. Not even a million tears will do it. I know this because I’ve cried."

Two weeks ago Belcher shot his girlfriend and mother of his infant daughter Kasandra Perkins before leaving the scene and killing himself outside of the Chiefs stadium.

Family urged that people not judge Belcher by how he died.

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Let's Talk: Why Don't Battered Women Leave?

Join Loop 21 tonight at 8 p.m. EST for a TweetUp about the forces that keep women in abusive relationships

Kasandra Perkins. The murder of the 22-year-old new mother by her NFL linebacker boyfriend raised many issues, among them the pervasive problem of domestic violence.

One in four women in the U.S. are victims of severe physical violence by their partners, a recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found.

Perkins was shot and killed Dec. 1 by NFL linebacker Jovan Belcher, her boyfriend and the father of her 3-month-old daughter. A short while later, Belcher shot and killed himself at the stadium where he played for the Kansas City Chiefs.

It may never be known what ultimately led Belcher to point a gun at the mother of his child. The couple reportedly had gone for counseling, and had argued about suspicions of his infidelity and her love of going out with friends.

But it is clear that women in troubled relationships often stay in them despite the risks to their safety. Others, like singer Rihanna whose 2009 assault by fellow singer and boyfriend Chris Brown made national headlines, seem all too willing to forgive and forget.

So why don't battered women leave their abusers?

Let's talk about it! Follow Loop 21 on Twitter to join a TweetUp tonight at 8 p.m. EST when we'll talk about why battered women don't leave their abusers. The hashtag is #L21DVchat.

Join us for our live TweetUp!

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In The Loop: Why Do Men Hit?

Matt Simon hits the streets in search of your opinion.

LET'S TALK: Follow Loop 21 on Twitter and join us tonight, Dec. 12, at 8 p.m. EST for a TweetUp about why battered women don't leave their abusers.

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NFL Players Turning In Their Guns Following Belcher Murder-Suicide

At least seven players have surrendered firearms.

In the wake of the Jovan Belcher and Kasanda Perkins murder-suicide tragedy, Sport Illustrated reports that at least seven NFL players have turned in their guns.

Despite being targets themselves because of the amount of money they make, many of the players say they are disarming themselves because they don't trust themselves with the weapons.

But not all agree with the gesture.

"The majority of people own them, you know, especially in the places that they're legal," says Belcher's former Kansas City Chiefs teammate Brandon Siler. "People don't go out and shoot other people. Most of the time they're for self-defense or sport. Yeah, people own guns, but did you ever hear him say anything about harming someone with a gun? No."

He continued, "Just because we're in the NFL, that doesn't make us no different," he said last week. "You never know when someone would try to rob you or whatever. ... I've worked hard to get where I am. I'll be damned if I'd let someone just take it away from me, period."

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Is Suicide the Coward's Way?

As the Jovan Belcher case shows, sympathy is waning for the tragic act.

Whenever a high-profile suicide makes the news, it's always a tough subject to tackle. Initial thoughts of sorrow are followed by questions about what was behind it, which usually leads to strong opinions about the tragic act.

In the past when high-profile entertainers like Phyllis Hyman, or more recently Soul Train founder Don Cornelius, took their own lives, most people expressed words of sympathy, saying things like "you never know what someone is going through." This would especially be the case when it would later be revealed that the celebs were suffering from mental illness.

In other cases, such as those of former record execs Shakir Stewart and Chris Lighty, both of whom were fathers and husbands, people's feelings seemed to straddle a line of concern between what drove the men to kill themselves to labeling them selfish for leaving their families to deal with their problems alone.

[Also Read: Suicide Now Kills More People Than Car Wrecks]

Now, with the world still finding out details about the murder-suicide of NFL player Jovan Belcher, another word is starting to be associated with suicide: coward.

Believe it or not, during ancient times, suicide was often considered an act of honor. Japanese samurai would commit "Seppuku" or "Kaishaku-nin" where the samurai would either cut their stomachs open with their swords or allow themselves to be decapitated. In those times, suicide was committed by warriors who wanted to avoid torture after being captured by their enemies or as a form of self-capital punishment for serious offenses or to find relief from shame.

But in 2012, taking yourself out is being seen as anything but honorable.

In The Loop: Gun Violence

Matt Simon hits the streets in search of your opinion.

Let's talk: Join the conversation! Follow Loop 21 on Twitter tonight at 8 EST for a Tweetup. We're talking about guns and their impact on our communities. #L21Gunschat

Let's Talk: Guns and Violence

Join Loop 21 tonight for a TweetUp about firearms on our streets

The murder-suicide of the NFL's Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins not only shocked the nation and left many wondering why, it also put the issue of gun control and gun violence back into the nation's spotlight.

Would Belcher, a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs, have killed the mother of his 3-month-old daughter if the nation took a tougher line on gun ownership? Or is the onus on the person, not the weapon in his hand?

The issue is complex, as demonstrated in our story Live by the Gun, which offers real talk from real people about the everyday gun violence they face in a gun-ridden neighborhood in the Bronx, New York City.  While violent crime is down in many major cities, in black and brown communities like Chicago, murders are at record numbers.

Let's talk about it! Follow Loop 21 on Twitter to join a TweetUp tonight at 8 p.m. EST when we'll talk about guns, violence and the impact of firearms on our communities. The hashtag is #L21GunChat.

Join us for our live TweetUp!

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10 Things You Need To Know For Wednesday

In Democratic Republic of Congo, negotiations between the government and eastern rebels are expected to take place this week, regional officials said Tuesday after insurgents withdrew from the city of Goma. The eight-month insurgency by M23 rebels poses the biggest threat to President Joseph Kabila in years and risks developing into a war that could drag in neighboring armies. Two officials from Uganda, which has been brokering peace talks between the government and M23, said the two sides were expected to meet in the Ugandan capital Kampala this week.

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Jovan Belcher's Mother Called 911, Girlfriend Was Still Breathing

Mother of deceased NFL player pleaded for help with dying woman in her arms.

KCTV in Kansas City has obtained audio footage of a 911 call made by the mother of Jovan Belcher just moments after the troubled NFL player shot his girlfriend, before turning the gun on himself at a Kansas City Chiefs practice facilitly.

On the call, Belcher's mother Cheryl Shepherd is heard asking dispatchers to send an ambulance to the home as the victim Kasandra Perkins bled on the bathroom floor.

"She's still breathing but barely," Shepherd says on the tape. "Please hurry."

The couple's infant daughter, Zoey, is also heard crying in the background. 

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10 Things You Need To Know For Monday

Residents of Northern California are enduring the brunt of powerful storm that has drenched the area with flooding, pounding rain and strong winds, but damage was less than expected, officials say. The latest storm system — the third to hit the area in less than a week — moved across the region late Saturday and early Sunday dropping as much as an inch of rain per hour in some areas, toppling trees and knocking out electrical service to tens of thousands of people.

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