Casey Kasem’s daughter Kerri wants to move star’s remains back to Los Angeles
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Casey Kasem’s daughter Kerri Kasem nonetheless wants to deliver his physique back to Los Angeles.
The internationally well-known radio host often called “King of the Top 40 Countdown,” died in 2014 at age 82. The star suffered a prolonged battle with Lewy physique dementia.
His widow, actress Jean Kasem, had his physique moved to Oslo, Norway, for burial. Different kinfolk and buddies claimed on the time that Casey had wished to be buried within the Forest Garden cemetery in Los Angeles.
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Kerri is the founding father of Kasem Cares, a nonprofit group that advocates in opposition to elder abuse and isolation. Its “Visitation Bill,” which goals to present “an open path for family members to ask the court to rule on visitation” of a liked one, has been handed in 12 states. Its web site famous that 9 different states have adopted a model of the invoice.
Kerri Kasem, the daughter of late radio persona Casey Kasem, is the founding father of Kasem Cares, a nonprofit group that advocates in opposition to elder abuse and isolation. (Michael Tullberg/Getty Photos)
When requested if there have been plans to get Casey back to the U.S., Kerri advised Fox Information Digital, “Eventually.”
“I can’t say there are plans right now, [but] it will happen,” she mentioned. “I just can’t tell you.”
“I can’t say there are plans right now, [but] it will happen.”
Kerri, additionally a radio host, is adamant that the beloved patriarch belongs within the metropolis he referred to as residence. And the sensation she has about his present resting place is “twofold.”
Casey Kasem is pictured right here in March 1998 whereas taping his long-running radio present in Los Angeles. (Kim Kulish/Corbis by way of Getty Photos)
“[Norway] is probably one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen,” Kerri defined. “It’s a country that is stunning, but it’s not where my dad wanted to be… His final wish was to be buried in California, where he had been living for 58 years.”
“I guess there’s this beauty with a bit of anger,” the 52-year-old added.
A spokesperson for Jean, 70, and her legal professional, didn’t instantly reply to Fox Information Digital’s request for remark.
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Casey Kasem poses along with his spouse Jean Kasem and the Scooby-Doo character. (Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage/Getty Photos)
For the primary time for the reason that patriarch’s passing, Kerri advised Fox Information Digital she visited his grave in Oslo.
“When I was walking towards his grave, I started to get a little shaky and a little emotional,” she recalled. “When I got there, I just had a sense of peace come over me. He’s not there — he’s with me. And then I felt a little upset about the fact that he’s buried in a place he didn’t want to be. Other people would like to pay their respects… family members and fans.”
“I was upset,” Kerri shared. “But it was also accompanied by a feeling of, ‘We’ll get him back. We’ll get him buried where he wanted to be at Forest Lawn in California.’”
An aerial view of Forest Garden Memorial Park at dawn in Los Angeles. (David McNew/Getty Photos)
In 2019, relations of Casey settled dueling lawsuits alleging that he was badly mistreated earlier than his loss of life.
The 2 sides filed a joint request within the Los Angeles Superior Court docket to dismiss a wrongful loss of life lawsuit by three of Casey’s kids and his brother in opposition to Casey’s widow, which claimed her neglect and bodily abuse led to his loss of life, in addition to a countersuit making related claims in opposition to the plaintiffs that have been filed by his widow and one other daughter.
The primary lawsuit was a lingering chapter in a collection of heated and sometimes public fights between Casey’s kids and his second spouse. It accused Jean, who was married to Casey for 34 years, of elder abuse and of inflicting emotional misery on his kids by proscribing their entry to him earlier than his loss of life.
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Jean Kasem is seen right here making a court-ordered look relating to an ongoing dispute with stepdaughter Kerri Kasem in 2014. The court docket dominated that Kerri can be granted visitation rights and will make preparations for a health care provider to look at her father. (Suzi Pratt/Getty Photos)
Jean, who appeared in “Cheers” and “Ghostbusters,” denied all of the allegations. She countersued and alleged that Casey’s kids have been motivated by greed after he lower them off financially in 2012. Jean additionally alleged that they introduced emotional misery not solely to her however to the ailing patriarch. All of the claims have been denied by the household.
The 2 sides fought bitterly over entry to Casey and management of his medical care earlier than he died. Police and prosecutors in California and Washington, the place he handed away, investigated Casey’s remedy and loss of life. They discovered no proof of legal wrongdoing.
In 2019, Jean advised Fox Information Digital in a prolonged assertion that Kerri’s quest to honor her father was removed from noble.
Kerri Kasem is seen issuing an announcement to the media following her victory at a listening to at Kitsap County Courthouse in Port Orchard, Washington, on Might 30, 2014. (Suzi Pratt/Getty Photos)
“Casey and I were lovingly married for 34 years,” she wrote in an announcement. “We have a daughter named Liberty. Casey’s adult children Kerri, Julie and Mike, from a prior marriage… grew up with their mother and have a deep-seated hatred towards me, who only financially supported them throughout their lives. When Kerri, Julie and Mike became involved with Scientology, Casey and I financially cut them off. They then attempted to frame me with a vicious character assassination campaign, seeking media attention to disseminate a false narrative and extort money from me.”
Liberty Jean Kasem, daughter of Casey and Jean Kasem, is seen issuing an announcement in entrance of the media following a court docket listening to at Kitsap County Courthouse in Port Orchard, Washington, on Might 30, 2014. (Suzi Pratt/Getty Photos)
“Kerri and Julie also weaponized the Los Angeles Adult Protective Services and Police against me,” Jean alleged. “Both L.A. APS and LAPD found their allegations to be completely false. When the Kasem sisters filed their first Guardianship attempt of Casey in Los Angeles on October 7, 2013, their first request was to cease all life-sustaining measures for Casey, based on a suspect Durable Power of Attorney procured with undue influence in a UPS store in 2007, which they deceptively concealed for six years.”
Casey Kasem married Jean Kasem in 1980. They remained collectively till his loss of life in 2014. (Donaldson Assortment/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Photos)
“The court found that I had the proper Advance Care Directive for my husband and that Casey was receiving ‘excellent care’ in the privacy of our family home,” she continued. “The first Guardianship attempt of Casey was ‘denied with prejudice’ and closed on January 14, 2014. The Kasem sisters filed a second Guardianship of Casey in Los Angeles on May 7, 2014. With the same systematic pattern of abuse, the Kasem sisters weaponized the Washington State Adult Protective Services and Sheriff’s Office against me, who also found the allegations to be completely false.
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Casey Kasem, wife Jean Kasem, daughter Kerri Kasem, son Michael Kasem and daughter Julie Kasem attend the Lebanon-Syrian American Society of Greater Los Angeles Man of the Year Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on Jan. 25, 1985. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
“The Kasem sisters then chased Casey, me and Liberty to Washington State, the place they tricked a neighborhood decide into taking Casey to a hospital for a supposed ‘impartial medical analysis.’ On June 1, 2014, as soon as the Kasem sisters had Casey entrapped and chemically restrained, that they had Liberty and me banned from the hospital, whereas that they had already begun the method to terminate Casey’s life. I fought valiantly to save my husband from the homicidal Guardianship scheme. Casey was pronounced lifeless in Washington State on June 15, 2014.
From left: Mike Casem, Kerri Casem, Kasey Casem and Julie Kasem. (KMazur/WireImage/Getty Photos)
“Appearing anything but grief-stricken, the Kasem sisters’ monetary motive became clear when they immediately filed a claim for a $2,100,000 life insurance policy, insuring Casey’s life. Every single allegation made by the co-conspirators against me was proven to be completely false. To this day, Liberty and I continue to grieve the loss of Casey. Our faith in God helps us through it, believing that the co-conspirators will soon be brought to justice.”
On the time when Jean launched her assertion, Kerri instantly denied the allegations and mentioned “every single year Jean Kasem’s story changes.”
Earlier reviews claimed that Jean cited her Norwegian heritage as the explanation for selecting to bury her late husband in Oslo. Kerri claimed that Jean isn’t Norwegian.
Casey Kasem and his household arrive on the Golden Dads Awards ceremony on the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles on June 15, 2005. (Amanda Edwards/Getty Photos)
Following a seemingly unending authorized battle and an ongoing bitter household feud, Kerri mentioned it was necessary for her to be together with her father once more.
“I wanted to be there,” she mentioned. “It’s the 10th anniversary, and I just wanted to go.”
Kerri claimed that her father was resting in an unmarked grave earlier than a Norwegian resident from Texas positioned a small plaque in honor of the star. Kerri claimed that one other stranger, who’s now a buddy, helped her find Casey’s remaining resting place.
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From left: Kerri Kasem, Casey Kasem and Julie Kasem attend the 2003 Radio Music Awards on the Aladdin On line casino Resort in Las Vegas on Oct. 27, 2003. (Carlo Allegri/Getty Photos)
“She lost her father the same month I lost mine,” Kerri defined. “So she went looking for his grave… and she found it. She’s the one who sent me pictures of his grave. She puts little American flags on it… she’s made it beautiful.”
“It’s very sweet, but… it’s not where my dad belongs,” mentioned Kerri. “… He will be buried back in this country. It just may take a little time.”
At the moment, Kerri is decided to flip ache into goal. She described how her father handed away on June 15 — World Elder Abuse Consciousness Day. It was additionally Father’s Day that 12 months.
Kerri Kasem wants to increase consciousness relating to elder abuse and isolation impacting households throughout America. (Valerie Macon/Getty Photos)
“I thought it was such a wonderful sign from my father, for all of us,” mentioned Kerri. “It was a sign for me to keep going, to keep fighting.”
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“That’s why I fight so hard to get bills passed state by state,” she shared. “It allows families and loved ones to see mom and dad. It’s sickening what is done to families… And having loved ones around you, especially when you have dementia, is the most important thing… It’s not about taking them out of their home, putting them in a subpar facility… where they do not see their kids or loved ones… putting them on medication and then isolating them until they die. The fact that this is happening in the United States of America is disgusting. And this happens every day.”
Disc jockey, TV persona and actor Casey Kasem hosts the KTLA music present “Shebang!” circa 1965 in Los Angeles. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Photos)
Kerri can nonetheless vividly recall the second she realized her father’s well being had began to deteriorate.
“He just kept forgetting things — a lot,” Kerri recalled. “I keep in mind speaking to my brother and sister saying, ‘I think something is going on with dad.’ Then he got diagnosed with Lewy body dementia. He was forgetting a lot and hallucinating.”
“He never forgot us though,” she insisted. “He knew exactly who we were all the time… He knew who we were up until the day he died.”
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Casey Kasem is seen here announcing on his Top 40 radio show. (Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Kerri said she still receives letters from people in similar family disputes over their parents.
“I can’t ignore them,” she mentioned. “They need somebody to listen to them, to understand what is going on. And everyone who works for [my] organization has gone through this.”
And for Kerri, it’s all about protecting her father’s legacy alive.
Kerri Kasem wants to maintain her late father’s legacy alive. (Chris Polk/Getty Photos)
“I know my father is with me,” she mentioned. “There was a time after he died… the lights in my house would suddenly flicker. Things would happen. And I just knew it was him. He was with me.”
“I don’t believe he’s gone,” Kerri mirrored. “That gives me comfort. My beliefs give me comfort.”
The Related Press contributed to this report.