Jovan Belcher, Kasandra Perkins' Murder Suicide: NFL athlete's body exhumed for brain disease 'CTE' examination one-year after death

By Mereb Gebremariam | Dec 16, 2013 01:51 PM EST

It has been over a year since the Dec. 1, 2012, murder-suicide of Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher and girlfriend Kasandra Perkins.

According to Kansas City Star, the body of Blecher was exhumed Friday for further investigation on his brain to detect if he suffered from an illness relating to NFL athletes.

Bennet Omalu, told the paper that Belcher may have suffered from the brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) from hard hits on the football field, "If his brain had been examined (when he died), we'd have a better understanding of why he did what he did," he added, "We would have a better understanding about concussions and playing football, and we would advance the understanding of the science of all of this."

Last December, the couple had gotten into an argument after Belcher's girlfriend, Kasandra M. Perkins came home late after a Trey Songz concert. Belcher's mother, Cheryl Shepherd was there helping around the house after the birth of her granddaughter when she witnessed her son shoot Perkins. According to the New York Post, Shepherd called 911 as he fled the scene and went to the parking lot of the teams stadium where he shot himself in front of his coach and the general manager.

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