Woman slain by Chiefs player remember for her laughter

BLUE RIDGE, Texas (AP) — A relative of the slain girlfriend of Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher says she was a loyal friend who brought joy to others with her smiles and laughter.

Kasandra Perkins' great-uncle also told mourners at a service Thursday that Perkins loved her family and considered her 3-month-old daughter, Zoey, to be the love of her life.

Family and friends gathered at a rural North Texas church to remember the 22-year-old Perkins, five days after Belcher killed her then shot himself in the head. She will be buried Saturday in Pflugerville.

A white casket bedecked with a spray of white lilies was the mourners' focal point at Ridgeview Family Fellowship in Blue Ridge, about 40 miles northeast of Dallas.

Great-uncle Ted Downing said Perkins "had a deep, deep understanding about the important things in life."

Perkins family has said she went to elementary school in Garland and lived there before moving to Austin. She graduated from Anderson High School in 2009.