Ailing radio host Casey Kasem missing amid family dispute
From Business Insider
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge on Monday ordered an investigation into the whereabouts of Casey Kasem after an attorney for the ailing radio personality’s wife said the former “Top 40” host had been removed from the country.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel S. Murphy ordered a court investigator and adult protective services to find out where Kasem is being treated and report back to the court. Kasem, 82, suffers from advanced Parkinson’s disease, can no longer speak and has been in various medical facilities chosen by his wife, Jean Kasem.
Casey Kasem’s children have complained that they have been unable to see their father in accordance with an agreement with their stepmother. Daughter Kerri Kasem had sought a temporary conservatorship and was appointed her father’s temporary caretaker on Monday. Her attorney, Troy Martin, said the family believes the entertainer has been taken to an Indian reservation in Washington state.
Murphy’s order came after Craig Marcus, an attorney who appeared on Jean Kasem’s behalf at Monday’s hearing, said he did not know where the radio personality was but knew that he had been removed from the country.
“I have no idea where he is,” Marcus said.
The revelation brought stunned protests from Murphy and two of Casey Kasem’s daughters, two of the entertainer’s three children from a previous marriage.
“Your statements concern me even more,” the judge told Marcus, who declined to comment after the hearing.
Marcus said in court that Jean Kasem had every right to move her husband as she saw fit.
Murphy appointed a doctor to look into Casey Kasem’s care and ordered a court-appointed attorney to find out his whereabouts as soon as possible.
Casey Kasem gained fame with his radio music countdown shows, “American Top 40” and “Casey’s Top 40,” and was the voice of Shaggy in the cartoon “Scooby Doo.”
As temporary conservator, Kerri Kasem will have access to her father’s medical records and other reports that have previously been sealed by court order.
Kerri Kasem’s case is the second one opened by one of the former host’s children to try to gain access to their father and have some oversight over his care. A previous case by daughter Julie Kasem was dismissed after she reached a settlement with her stepmother, but the daughter said Monday that agreement has been breached.
In a court filing last week, Kerri Kasem’s attorneys wrote that the entertainer has been repeatedly moved without warning and his children have been unable to see him. The complaint accused Jean Kasem of elder abuse by isolating her husband from his family.
“We’ve been troubled for a long time,” Kerri Kasem said after Monday’s court hearing. She said Murphy’s orders will ensure that the truth about her father’s care comes out.
“Justice has been served today,” she said.
PHOTO: Doug Benc/Getty Images
Kasem, 82, suffers from advanced Parkinson’s disease, can no longer speak and has been in various medical facilities chosen by his wife, Jean Kasem.
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Related story:
Casey Kasem might be on ‘Indian reservation’
By Ann Oldenburg, USA TODAY
In a family feud gone horribly bizarre, legendary radio DJ Casey Kasem is missing.
The big question: Where is Casey Kasem?
His daughter, Kerri Kasem, thinks he may have “fled the country” or possibly be on “an Indian Reservation.”
A judge on Monday ordered an investigation into the whereabouts of the famed radio countdown host, 82. An attorney for Kasem’s wife, Jean, told the court that Casey Kasem, who became famous for his weekly American Top 40 radio show and as the voice of Shaggy in the Scooby-Doo cartoon, had been removed from Los Angeles without his children’s knowledge. He has advanced Parkinson’s and can no longer speak.
Superior Court Judge Daniel S. Murphy ordered a court investigator and adult protective services to find out where Kasem is being treated, reported AP. Kasem has been in various medical facilities chosen by his wife. Jean Kasem, and Kasem’s kids have long been battling over their father.
CNN reports that also on Monday, Kasem’s daughter, Kerri Kasem, was named as temporary conservator of her dad.
The conservatorship is in effect until June 20, when a hearing is scheduled on whether to make the conservatorship permanent, according to the Los Angeles County Superior Court spokeswoman Patricia Kelly.
“Justice was finally served! I just won temporary conservatorship over my father’s healthcare. We have been vindicated by the court. Thank you for your prayers, well wishes and support through this entire ordeal,” Kasem’s daughter, Kerri Kasem, posted on her Facebook page soon after the order.
Later, she added: “I believe my father’s wife fled the country (or possibly went to an Indian Reservation) with my Dad because she knew I would win in court today. The judge ordered, Adult Protective Services, the PVP Attorney and the police to look for him. Please pray that he is safe.”
