Mo. court to appoint lawyer for Belcher baby

Belcher fatally shot the child's mother, Kasandra Perkins, on Dec. 1 in their Kansas City home, then drove to Arrowhead Stadium and killed himself in front of coaches and the team's general manager. Belcher's mother, Cheryl Shepherd, had been living with the couple for about two weeks and was in the home when her son killed Perkins.

Shepherd received temporary custody of Belcher's daughter, Zoey, soon after the shootings and filed a petition in mid-December asking to be appointed as Zoey's guardian and conservator of her estate, which could be worth millions of dollars.

Shepherd, of West Babylon, N.Y., also filed a second petition seeking to be named administrator of her son's estate.

Friday morning, she sat silently between her two attorneys in a Jackson County courtroom as probate commissioner Daniel Wheeler addressed the petitions.

Wheeler changed the status of the custody petition to "contested" because Zoey's maternal grandparents and other family members in Texas have filed a petition in that state to be Zoey's legal guardians.

He also ordered the appointment of a guardian ad litem — an attorney who represents the interests of minor children — and set a Dec. 25 hearing on Shepherd's petition to take over her son's estate.

The Ford Worth Star-Telegram reported Friday that Zoey is staying with relatives in Austin, Texas.

In addition to the well-being of the child, millions of dollars are at stake in the custody battle.