Casey Kasem was a legendary American figure who brought us the joys of music and television with his vocal talents, and when he passed away earlier this year, fans and friends mourned the loss of the star and were appalled at the drama that played out within his own family. When news broke this month that his body had been moved without his family’s knowledge, many were mystified at what had happened. Now, it’s been revealed that Kasem’s remains were moved from a Washington state funeral home to a location in Canada at his wife’s request. His daughters, who have been locked in a battle with Jean Kasem for years now over their father, had a court order served just one day after the body was removed.
Jean Kasem has said that she has been “blackmailed” by Kasem’s daughters and refused to negotiate with them when it came to Kasem’s care and funeral arrangements.
“This is a shakedown and I will not negotiate with terrorists. I will not give in to their blackmail and attacks,” she said.
Before his death, Kasem’s daughters, Julie and Kerri, said that they had been battling with Jean for months over their father’s condition as he was battling dementia and suffered from bedsores and other ailments. At one point, he was given artificial nutrition even though he had stated previously that he didn’t want to be kept on life support if there was no quality of life. The women issued a statement hoping to work things out with Jean, but to no avail.
“My Dad taught us that family comes first. We want to honor him and make sure all of his family, including Jean and Liberty are surrounding him with love at this critical time…If he opens his eyes, I want my Dad just once to see everyone standing around him, putting our differences aside and let him know how much he is loved by everyone,” the statement read.
Funeral home director Corey Gaffney said he handled the transfer of Kasem’s remains to the airport.
“I took Casey to the airport myself, oversaw every detail myself from the moment we brought him into care,” Gaffney said.
While Jean Kasem has the legal right to move Kasem’s remains, his children say they just want to know where he will be buried.
“The bottom line is that they want to know where he’ll be buried. I think they have that right,” said Danny Deraney, a representative for the family.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
