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.

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.''