OTL: Belcher's brain had CTE signs

— -- The brain of former  Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher -- the 25-year-old player who shot and killed his girlfriend in 2012 before committing suicide -- showed signs of pervasive brain damage like that found in other deceased NFL players, according to a neuropathologist.

In a report obtained by "Outside the Lines," Dr. Piotr Kozlowski writes that he detected neurofibrillary tangles of tau protein, which is identified with chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The tangles were distributed throughout Belcher's hippocampus, an area of the brain involved with memory, learning and emotion.

Dozens of former NFL players have been diagnosed posthumously with CTE, a neurodegenerative disease linked to dementia, memory loss and depression. The disease, researchers say, is triggered by repeated head trauma.

On Dec. 1, 2012, Belcher shot and killed girlfriend Kasandra Perkins, the mother of his then-3-month-old daughter. Belcher then drove to the Chiefs' practice facility, where he shot himself in front of team officials in the parking lot. While the murder-suicide reignited the debate over athletes and guns, it also increased the focus on a frequently overlooked issue at the time: the NFL's domestic violence problem.

Belcher's body was exhumed one year after his death, and his brain was examined two weeks later. Kozlowski was hired to diagnose the brain by court-appointed Kansas City attorneys who represent the interests of Belcher's daughter. Belcher's mother, Cheryl Shepherd, initiated the process of exhuming her son's body to have his brain studied, attorney Dirk Vandever said.

Vandever declined to comment about why his law firm released Kozlowski's findings now, almost nine months after the diagnosis. "Outside the Lines" requested copies of images of Belcher's brain to send to another neuropathologist for independent analysis, but that request was denied.

Neurosurgeon Dr. Julian Bailes, chairman of the department of neurosurgery and co-director of the NorthShore Neurological Institute in Chicago, did not study Belcher's brain but said of the possible findings: "It is of great interest. Violence against others is not typically part of the CTE picture. But it was in the case of [former professional] wrestler Chris Benoit. It would be nice to have these findings corroborated.

"If correct, they're very compelling."

If it can be shown that Belcher did have CTE, Belcher's daughter and mother, together, would be eligible for up to $4 million under the proposed concussion settlement between the NFL and former players. Furthermore, the lawyers representing Belcher's daughter have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Chiefs on her behalf. Belcher's mother, with different attorneys, filed an almost identical suit.

Steve Delsohn is a reporter in ESPN's Enterprise/Investigative Unit and can be reached at stevedelsohn@aol.com.