ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Two court appearances scheduled for the 27-year-old son of Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy in connection with the shooting of his mother at their Virginia home have been delayed pending a mental health evaluation.
Elijah Bieniemy was arrested Monday in connection with the late-Sunday shooting. He has been charged with malicious wounding, use of a firearm in commission of a felony and discharge of a firearm inside
a dwelling.
Bieniemy remained in the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center on Thursday. He had a court date to hear motions scheduled for later in the day, and a preliminary hearing date had been set for Aug. 31. But both appearances have been continued pending a mental health evaluation, according to records available from the Virginia judiciary system.
The sheriff's office in Loudoun County, Virginia, has said the investigation is ongoing. No motive has been provided.
Eric Bieniemy remained away from the Chiefs on Thursday as they continued with their second full-squad workout of training camp. Pass game coordinator Joe Bleymaier and offensive line coach Andy Heck have assumed most of his responsibilities, while coach Andy Reid continues to have a significant role overseeing the offensive system.
“Eric's a big part of this, and so I love having him here,” Reid said, “but right now it's important that he takes care of business, and everybody knows that. So everybody's game is picked up, and they're working hard, and Eric will be back soon enough to jump in there and do his thing. But he's got to take care of that first.”
Reid declined to provide a timetable for Bieniemy's return to the team.
Mia Bieniemy, the coach's 57-year-old wife, has been released from the intensive care unit, where she was being treated for multiple gunshot wounds. Reid said that she was “doing better, and great from where she was.”
Eric Bieniemy helped the Chiefs reach three Super Bowls and win two of them, then left to become the offensive coordinator with the Washington Commanders — the reason the Bieniemy family still has a home in Virginia. The staff there was fired after one season, though, and Bieniemy spent a season apiece at UCLA and coaching running backs with the Chicago Bears.
He was hired to replace Matt Nagy as the offensive coordinator in Kansas City earlier this year.
“We stay in touch with him and keep him abreast of everything that's going on,” Reid said. “He's got the tape (of camp practices). He can watch with whatever spare time he's got there.”
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
