- Jean Kasem threw meat at her stepdaughter before the radio icon was taken to a hospital
- Kerri Kasem had a court order allowing her to get her father checked by a doctor
- Jean Kasem had moved Casey from a California nursing home to Washington state
- The legal battle to gain conservatorship over his care will continue Friday
(CNN) -- The bitter family dispute over the care of renowned radio announcer Casey Kasem got more bizarre Sunday.
Before paramedics wheeled Kasem to an ambulance, his wife, Jean, threw a hunk of meat at one of his daughters who had come to accompany her father to the hospital, officials said Monday.
It is the latest incident in the feud between Kerri Kasem and Jean Kasem, who has been married to the former host of "American Top 40" and "Casey's Top 40" since 1980, over who should decide his medical care.
Casey Kasem has Lewy body disease, the most common type of progressive dementia after Alzheimer's. He is in stable condition at a medical facility in Washington, according to a representative for Kerri Kasem.
She claims her father's health has worsened since the last time she saw him weeks ago at a nursing home in Santa Monica, California.
She had won a California court order in May to become the temporary conservator for her ailing father, but he went missing for a few days from a nursing home there before being found in Washington state with his wife, Kerri's stepmother.
On Friday morning, a Kitsap County, Washington, judge granted Kerri Kasem permission to take her father to a doctor. Kerri Kasem went to the home Sunday, her representative, Danny Deraney, said.
She stayed on the street while paramedics went to get the 82-year-old icon, Deraney said.
As she waited, Jean Kasem approached and hurled something at Kerri Kasem while referring to King David of the Bible, saying she was throwing the meat at "the dogs."
A video provided to CNN by Deraney showed part of the incident, and in it, Jean Kasem walks down a driveway, throws underhanded a block of meat, which skips on the pavement toward the person holding the camera.
Kerri Kasem said it was a pound of hamburger.
A spokesman for the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office said no deputies saw the meat thrown but several witnesses described it.
There was no assault complaint, Deputy Scott Wilson said.
CNN attempted to contact Jean Kasem's attorney, Craig Marcus, on Monday but didn't get an immediate response.
Wilson said the Kasems are due in Kitsap County court again on Friday.
Three weeks ago, a California court awarded Kerri Kasem temporary durable power of attorney and health care directive and has ordered Jean Kasem to surrender Casey Kasem's passport to the daughter. The California judge also ordered that Casey Kasem can't travel anywhere without a court order until a doctor clears him.
One of Casey Kasem's other daughters, Julie Kasem, and her husband, Dr. Jamil Aboulhosn, have said her father signed papers in 2007 giving them the power of attorney over his heath care in the event he was unable to make his own health decisions.
But Julie and Kerri Kasem and their brother, Mike Kasem, have contended since last year that Jean Kasem has prevented the three siblings from visiting their father.
Jean Kasem said in court papers last year that the three children "single-handedly and irreparably shattered" the couple's lives by deploying public demonstrations and attacks in the media, according to CNN affiliate KCBS.
Kerri Kasem's temporary conservatorship over her father is in effect until June 20, when another California court hearing is scheduled on whether to make the conservatorship permanent.
Casey Kasem, who was also the voice of Shaggy in the cartoon "Scooby-Doo" and an announcer for NBC, retired in 2009.
CNN's Jane Caffrey and Michael Martinez contributed to this story.
No comments:
Post a Comment