What really happened to Casey Kasem at the end of his life

His daughter, Kerri, is out in the media again; the truth must be told

Kerri Kasem has run to the media again, playing the victim. Her latest foray is in People Magazine.

In a few days, Kerri Kasem will board a flight to Norway to see her father's final resting place for the first time, a journey she admits feels more bitter than sweet. 

Originally, "it was an unmarked grave," Kerri tells PEOPLE, opening up about where the beloved radio DJ and TV personality was laid to rest by his wife Jean after he died on June 15, 2014. He was 82, and following years of decline due to advanced Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy body dementia, he reportedly died incapacitated and suffering from sepsis and an ulcerated bedsore after spending his final days mysteriously being moved from one state to another. 

Of his far away grave, "Someone put a tiny little plaque there, this woman who lives in Oslo and who'd heard my dad's story and was so sad about what had happened," says Kerri.

Kerri has been playing victim for years. She’s also become a guardianship abuse advocate.

The truth should finally be known about what happened to her father, Casey Kasem.

Six years ago, I wrote an article which did just that, but it was never published. I’m publishing it now because it seems that Kerri is trying another media campaign.

Here it is, the truth about the last days of Casey Kasem and how guardianship played a role in his death.

Because this is over six years old, some of this is dated. For instance, Marti Oakley played an important role in exposing this at the time, but she has since passed away. Also. I referred to a restraining order that Kerri filed against Catherine Falk. That’s since expired.

While some of this dated, what is not dated are the circumstances which led to Casey Kasem’s demise.

…

If you’ve watched Reelz, read GQ, the New York Daily News (NYDN), or the Hollywood Reporter (THR), you might believe that Casey Kasem’s much younger wife hastened his death when she recklessly ushered him out of a California hospital against medical advice to keep him away from his adult children. That trip, you might believe, caused a deadly bed sore which killed him. What if I told you that narrative was created by the same greedy children and a corrupt media to cover-up for a plot, nearly a decade in the making, designed to take his life and blame others? What if I told you these schemers are now trying to reshape a system which already traffics millions of elderly? Worse yet, what if I told you this was all done to benefit a cult? The story of the events surrounding Casey Kasem’s death are disturbing and corrupt, but they’ve never been told: until now.

The Life and Times of Casey Kasem

Kemal Amin (Casey) Kasem was born April 7, 1932. He got his start in show business as the youngest member of the radio version of the Lone Ranger.

He worked for Armed Services Radio in the 1950s and 60s and the persona he developed led to his signature role as host of America’s Top 40, counting down the most popular songs of the week.

America’s Top 40 became a staple on radio known for his long-distance dedications and ended with his iconic line, “keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars.”

He hosted America’s Top 40 from July 4, 1970- with Momma Told Me Not to Come by Three Dog Night as the first number one song- until 2009.

America’s Top 40 eventually matriculated onto television, but, “He was proud to call himself a disk jockey,” his widow Jean Kasem, told me.

He also voiced Shaggy, the dopey character on Scooby Doo from 1969-1997; Shaggy, Jean told me, was based on a character Richard Crenna developed for the sitcom Our Miss Brooks.

"Hey, where are my royalties?" Crenna would joke with Kasem.

In 1972, he married the former Linda Myers and had three children: Kerri, a minor disc jockey and television personality, Mike, also a disc jockey and television personality currently living in Hong Kong, and Julie, who worked in medicine but is now a stay at home mom.

The elder Kasem’s professional success dwarfed that of his three older children; for much of their adult lives, the children, Jean told me, relied on their father for financial support.

Shortly after his marriage broke, he met Jean Thompson in an agent’s office. They married in 1980 and had daughter Liberty in 1990.

Jean, a model and actress when she met Kasem, had her own show business success, like playing Loretta Tortelli on Cheers.  

Jean Kasem opposite Rick Moranis in Ghostbusters

Both had minor roles in Ghostbusters; Casey did a monologue from his countdown incorporating the Ghostbusters narrative while Jean played tall blond party guest at the party Rick Moranis’ character hosts.

In his career he got to know rock stars from Elvis Presley, to Jessica Simpson and Justin Timberlake, though, Jean noted, “he really respected Ringo (Starr).”

Of introducing the Beatles for the first time, he said, “you could hear the women screaming for miles.”

Ironically, Jean told me, because his life revolved so much around music, in his free time Casey Kasem enjoyed talk radio, from sports to politics, conservative to liberal.

Casey developed Parkinson’s in 2007 and retired in 2010; as Kasem receded from the public eye, the darkest chapter in his life began.

Casey Kasem’s Abusive Guardianship

Casey Kasem’s abusive guardianship began in a UPS store November 11, 2007; according to photos, Kasem is brought to this store by his daughters, Julie and Kerri and Julie’s husband, and the elder Kasem has a noticeable suture on his head and his daughter Julie is guiding him as he signs a document.

The document was signed “under duress and undue influence, while Plaintiff’s husband of 35 years, Casey Kasem, was without legal representation, recovering from surgery, under the influence of medications and other substances that causes drowsiness and impairs judgement.” A wrongful death suit filed by Jean stated.

Julie Kasem declined to be interviewed when reached by phone; she did agree to interviews about this with CNN, Reelz, and others, however those photos were never made public, so she’s never been asked about this incident.  

Kerri Kasem, from Facebook

The document Casey signed was a durable power of attorney (DPOA) for medical care; if enforced, it would have given his children power to make medical decisions for him.

In 2012, Casey told his adult children they wouldn’t be in his will; he did leave them a life insurance police valued at $2.1 million to be split between the three.

“My dad told us a long time we were not in the will, and we’re OK with that,” Kerri Kasem told CNN in 2013, but she and her siblings are now challenging the will in probate court.  

In October 2013, Kerri filed for guardianship (referred to as conservatorship in California) over her father. Someone in guardianship is deemed unable to take care of themselves- financially, medically, and otherwise- and they become a ward of the state, a guardian is appointed, and that guardian makes all financial and medical decisions for them; convicts have more rights.

Kerri’s petition led to a hearing on October 15, 2013.

At the hearing, Jean produced a more recently Advanced Care Directive which Casey subsequently signed in 2011, granting his wife power to make his medical decisions, and on November 19, 2013, Judge Lesley Green of the Los Angeles Superior Court denied Kerri’s petition with prejudice.

“We have now evidence from many sources that he is receiving, depending upon which report you read, it’s either good to excellent care. He is being well-cared for,” Judge Green stated in her decision. “He is in his home. His wife is supervising his care. She has the 2011, the more recent, advanced health care directive that has been signed.”

The case closed on January 14, 2014, but Kerri simply stepped up her campaign, repeatedly calling police and adult protective services (APS) to report on alleged abuse.

“Defendants began to make numerous false reports to the LA APS, the LAPD and were again misusing these public services as a form of extreme harassment, media exploitation and prejudicial publicity against Plaintiff and initiated their second, Homicidal Guardianship of Casey Kasem.” The lawsuit also states.

“Responded to a welfare check, subject was found in good care condition,” according to a September 13, 2013, statement from a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) police officer.

While Kerri made these complaints, she’d call the media which dutifully reported the allegations, never mentioning the investigations’ conclusions.

At the same time, Kerri also began organizing protests outside her father’s home, usually with media, claiming her step-mother was blocking Casey’s access to his adult children.

With a sympathetic media reporting only what Kerri wanted, the impression formed that Jean was spiteful to her step-children and mistreating her husband.

With their home under siege, Jean and Casey headed to Washington to stay with friends- a trip which required the ailing Kasem to first stay at a convalescent hospital to prepare for the trip- he arrived in Washington on May 5, 2014.

By this point, Kerri Kasem hired Logan Clarke who has been a private investigator for more than four decades known for traveling the world, specializing in human trafficking cases; he told me he did his first undercover operation at eighteen.

He also has a side career as an actor with more than two dozen credits, according to his IMDB page, including producing “Bounty Wars.”

Kerri also hired public relations specialist Danny Deraney and the media pressure ramped up; Deraney did not respond to an email for comment.

On May 12, 2014, Kerri then walked into the courtroom of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel Murphy to once again petition for conservatorship.

This petition should have been dismissed since her previous petition was dismissed with prejudice but instead, a hearing was held without his presence; the judge order court appointed counsel, Sam Ingham, to represent Kasem’s interests.

In less than a half hour, Kerri Kasem was granted temporary guardianship and an investigation was ordered.

Kerri also filed a missing person’s report which was reported in the media, though Clarke had already tracked Casey down.

Responding to the media pressure Kitsap County Sheriff’s Deputies (Kasem was staying in Silverdale, Washington located in Kitsap County) did a welfare check on May 13, 2014: “I checked on Casey and everything appears in order. I don’t have concern about his well-being.” Officer Matthews of Kitsap County stated after the check.

The pressure would still not let up.

Sasha Lala of the California APS reached out on May 14, 2014, to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Department, and demanded another welfare check.

“I spoke to CA APS worker Sasha Lala who requested that Casey be transported to the Harrison ER for an evaluation. I explained to Sasha that since he’s recently been entered into the system as a missing person, I was willing to accompany WA APS, however I added that if we find nothing emergent (as the last welfare check) I was not going to have enough to forcefully transport him to the ER.” The officer taking Lala’s call stated in his report. “After an extended conversation where Sasha and I disagreed whether or not LE (Law enforcement) had enough information to take him to the ER against his will, I agreed to accompany APS on their welfare check and let her know what we found.”

The officer then said: “We followed Jeannie into the bedroom and I found Casey lying on his side watching the news. She assisted him in changing positions and I greeted Casey. Casey was alert, and he tried speaking when he took a hold of my hand. I noted that the house was very neat, orderly and that Casey’s bedroom had multiple medications along with medical supplies as Deputy Matthews described in his report.”

I spoke briefly with Ms. Lala, who said she could not comment but would pass my message to the appropriate person for comment; I received no further answer from APS.

The repeated calls to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Department caused them to hold a press conference to announce that Casey was not missing and well-taken care of.

“Sgt. Ken Dickinson of the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office told NBC News that deputies ‘performed a welfare check’ on Casey Kasem Tuesday afternoon to make sure ‘he had his medications and was receiving proper medical care, which it appeared to be that he was. He appeared to be alert and in as good health as it could be. He didn't appear to be in any distress,’” an NBC News story stated.

His personal physician, Dr. Donald Sharman, even called a press conference.

“Dr. Donald Sharman, of Kitsap Medical Group, said the 82-year-old Kasem is under his care and also being looked after by a home health care agency at an undisclosed Kitsap County location.”

Meanwhile, Kerri’s attorneys, using the conservatorship as leverage, schemed to force Casey Kasem into the hospital and keep him there against his will.

“My only concern is: If Casey goes to the doctor’s office for evaluation where’s the justification to take him anywhere but back to Jean’s when he’s done?” Kerri’s attorney Scott Winship said to Ingham, in a May 23, 2014, email.

“It looks like we have no other choice but to have him admitted through emergency,” said Troy Martin, another of Kerri Kasem’s attorneys, to Winship, Ingham, and Martha Patterson, another Kerri Kasem attorney, in a follow up email.

Ingham, mind you, was appointed to represent Casey Kasem, not to scheme with his daughter’s attorneys.

“The bigger issue is how can we get another doctor to examine Mr. Kasem. Dr. Regimbal does not have privileges at Harrison Hospital although he does have privileges at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Gig Harbor,” Winship responded.

Dr. Regimbal is the husband of Winship’s paralegal, but St. Anthony’s Hospital, where they wanted Kasem to end up was a half hour away, and an ambulance was duty bound to take Casey Kasem to the nearest hospital, Harrison Hospital, down the street from where he was staying.

“If we could direct them to instead transport Mr. Kasem to St. Anthony Hospital, then at some point we could get Dr. Regimbal there for a consult.” Winship said in another email.

That’s exactly what happened on June 1, but despite the family ties, Dr. Regimbal determined Casey was getting adequate care and should go home with his wife.

 “I am flabbergasted,” a still undeterred Winship said in a June 1 email to Martin, Ingham, and Patterson, about Jean Kasem’s Washington attorney Joel Paget. “Paget is intransigent in his insistence that Mr. Kasem return to the Silverdale residence after being released from St. Anthony’s.”

“I could ask St. Anthony to keep him another day for observation, but I don’t think there’s a medical basis for doing so.” Winship stated in the same email.

Indeed, Kasem was kept another night in the hospital against his will.

Paget then rushed to the Kitsap County Courthouse on June 2, 2014, for an emergency hearing where the judge stated: “At this point in time, I’m going to authorize that he returns home to Silverdale,”

Still undeterred, Winship rushed to St. Anthony, bullied the staff, and Casey Kasem remained hospitalized in violation of the court order.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Jean was told she’d be arrested for trespassing if she stayed and was forced to leave.

On June 6 (a Friday evening), with no clear medical reason, his adult children decided to begin the process of his death.

Jean flew back to California and in front of the same judge who ordered the guardianship, received an emergency ruling to continue his prior medical care the next Monday morning.

The hospital promptly ignored that ruling.

“We are following the direction of that decision maker, consistent with the law of our state,” said St. Anthony’s then risk manager, Sharla Bode; Bode, who has since moved on and St. Anthony did not respond to messages for comment.

The painful process of death continued, and on June 15, 2014, Casey Kasem was pronounced dead.

Winship, Ingham, and Patterson didn’t respond to emails for comment while Martin issued a veiled threat: “As you know, there is ongoing litigation regarding the death of Mr. Kasem.  I cannot comment on matters that may be relevant to the litigation.  I would point out, however, that the court files in both of the conservatorship matters are public records.  You may consult the court files to correct the many bits of misinformation in your email below.”

Shortly after Casey’s death, Kerri Kasem’s P.I. Logan Clarke took his investigative file and turned it over to law enforcement, arguing that Jean had recklessly taken Casey to Washington, a trip which caused a bed sore that led to his death.

“Based on the police investigation, Jean Kasem wanted to get her husband away from the media and publicity surrounding his daughter’s campaign to visit her father. From the time she took possession of her husband on May 7 until he was taken to the hospital on June 1, Mr. Kasem was under regular medical supervision. The development of a bed sore by itself is insufficient evidence of abuse or neglect because of Mr. Kasem’s overall weakened health.” The LAPD concluded.

This conclusion was only evidence of a cover-up, Clarke insisted to me: “The LA DA (Los Angeles District Attorney) and the SM (Santa Monica) Police did NOT want this case! It was a known fact and I was told by a certain Chief of Police that SM ‘is going to kick this case to LA…and then they will drop it…’”

Approximately a month after his death, Jean took Casey’s body and flew it to Norway for burial.

“Why would I lay him to rest in the country that robbed him,” she told me in an email, “an American treasure, from all of his constitutional, natural rights and liberties, and robbed him of his rights to due process of law and killed him?”

After criminal charges went nowhere, Kerri filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Jean and even Liberty in 2015.

In the summer 2017, Jean also filed a wrongful death suit against Kerri, the hospital, and others; both are currently making their way through the legal system.

The Propaganda Campaign Against Jean Kasem

If the story you just read sounds quite different from the one you remember about the events leading to Kasem’s death, that’s because you’ve been had by slick media propaganda.

The biggest culprit was Reelz show Autopsy: The Last Hours of Casey Kasem, which originally ran in December 2016. But they were buoyed by the January 2015 GQ article The Last Days of Casey Kasem, a series of articles written by Nancy Dillon of NYDN, the L.A. Times, and THR.

Together, they created the false narrative that Casey Kasem was in a convalescent hospital when he was visited by his daughters, who’d been kept away for months by their step-mother.

According to this narrative, upon learning of this visit, Jean- against medical advice- moved Casey to Washington, removed his feeding tube on the trip, and this trip caused a bed sore which led to his death.

This same narrative portrayed Kerri as heroically using the legal system to fight for her father but that her efforts were too late, the bed sore had caused too much damage, and she had no choice but to end his misery shortly after getting control of him.

This media cabal, none of which responded for an explanation, wrote this narrative with certainty and reporting which left no room for any alternative theory.

Jean didn’t help herself by refusing to respond to media at the time: “I was too busy taking care of my husband and grieving for him,” she told me of why she never responded.

The media narrative formed by doing these three things.

1)      Start the story in the middle

Most of the media coverage started the story in early May 2014, with Casey Kasem in the convalescent hospital.

“It was after midnight on May 7, 2014, when Jean arrived at the Santa Monica convalescent hospital where her 82-year-old husband was suffering from Lewy body dementia, a disease similar to Parkinson’s.” Began the GQ story written by Amy Wallace.

The Reelz Autopsy also started on May 4, at the hospital. Most of the reporting by NYDN, the Los Angeles Times, and THR, also focused on the events between May and June 2014.

With the audience not made aware of the back story, it was easy to create a false narrative.

The stay in the convalescent hospital is described as open ended and claims are made that Jean moved Casey haphazardly after finding out that his children had visited him. This narrative could only be provided by his children and is not backed up with any documented evidence.

In the Reelz show, there is an entirely made up recreation of Jean supposedly grabbing Casey and wheeling him, in his wheelchair, out of the hospital as staff attempted to stop her.

“No events that even resemble this simulacrum ever took place. Had Reelz bothered to ascertain the true facts, it would have discovered that Mr. Kasem checked into the Berkeley facility on a temporary stay to prepare him for transport to Washington.” Jean Kasem’s attorneys noted in a cease and desist letter to Reelz sent on August 31, 2017.

Days after receiving the letter, Reelz removed the episode from its On Demand line-up and a re-airing on September 2 was also cancelled. The show has not been broadcast since.

The public affairs officer, Aaron Martinez, for Reelz, had told me only weeks prior that the Autopsy episode on Kasem was scheduled to air in that slot; he declined to comment if the actions taken by his network after receiving the letter were admissions the episode was defamatory.

2)      Twist slightly esoteric medical facts

Then, the media presented with certainty that because Casey Kasem left the hospital against medical advice and has his feeding tube machine removed, this trip caused an unnecessary bed sore which was left untreated, causing his death.

The bed sore was played up because the media narrative suggested that Jean took Casey to Washington haphazardly, rather than on a planned trip, with a medical team providing constant monitoring.

On Reelz, Dr. Michael Hunter, the host, and the medical examiner for the City of San Francisco, punctuated this narrative by stating: “For me, it’s impossible to ignore the period of time under Jean Kasem’s care.”

“The program goes on to state that, under Ms. Kasem’s care, Mr. Kasem developed a bed sore that was left untreated.” The cease and desist letter stated. “According to Dr. Hunter, the bed sore was a ‘time bomb’ that became infected and ultimately led (to) the sepsis. The sore should have been treated Dr. Hunter tells viewers- clearly implying that it wasn’t. He goes on to say that the bed sore caused bacteria to enter the bloodstream ultimately causing fatal ‘septic shock.’

“The notion that Ms. Kasem allowed her husband’s bed sores to go untreated is false and defamatory. During the period covered by the program, Mr. Kasem was under the care of his personal physician Donald Sharman, as well as other personally trained caregivers. All of these medical specialists monitored the condition of Mr. Kasem’s skin. Whenever a skin problem appeared, caregivers would treat the symptoms promptly and thoroughly.”

Dr. Hunter did not respond to an email for comment.

The accusation that Casey Kasem’s feeding tube was removed was a blatant lie, Jean told me, which, though presented with certainty by Hunter, is presented with no corroboration.  

The program also falsely claimed no autopsy was done because Jean whisked Casey’s body away hours after his death.

“As a final insult on Ms. Kasem’s reputation, Reelz falsely accuses her of whisking Mr. Kasem’s dead body from the hospital within hours of his death,” the cease and desist letter further states, “Mr. Kasem’s body was removed in accordance with hospital protocol to the Gaffney Funeral Home. An autopsy was signed on June 16, 2014, and an autopsy report issued. Nothing in the autopsy report remotely suggests that Mr. Kasem’s death was hastened or contributed to or directly caused by insufficient medical treatment.”

3)      Logan Clarke

The nexus of nearly every allegation which created this narrative is Logan Clarke, the investigator hired by Kerri Kasem to dig up dirt on Jean. On June 12, 2014, NYDN ran a story based on documents provided by Clarke.

Logan Clarke, from his firm’s website

“She disconnected his G-tube, which provided his only source to nutrition and hydration,” the NYDN story stated quoting Dr. Paul Leitner, who NYDN said was his doctor at the convalescent hospital, in a letter provided to NYDN by Clarke and purportedly written to Santa Monica officials. “She was informed of the risks of doing so and was told she was placing Mr. Kasem in great bodily harm or possible demise.”

The story then quoted from “a signed statement” of a registered nurse named Jennifer Kusiappiah, also provided by Clarke.

“Mrs. Kasem insisted on taking Mr. Kasem out of the facility, even though I have clearly explained that it was dangerous and can be fatal due to his medical condition,” Kusiappiah said in that statement.

That story is the first and last time both are quoted by name; they’ve never been interviewed by any reporter, instead reporters relate their allegations second hand from Clarke.

The letters and statements, if they exist, have never been made public and Clarke did not share them.

There is no record on-line of Jennifer Kussiappiah existing and Clarke would not make her available for an interview when I asked.

By the time Reelz picked up the story, Clarke was quoting an anonymous nurse as alleging Kasem’s g-tube was removed.

The release of such information to a private investigator would violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which strictly protects private medical information and forbids those with access to it from revealing it outside the necessary medical staff treating the patient.  

That inconvenient fact is never mentioned by any media.

Clarke was also quoted repeatedly suggesting that Jean was unstable.

"[Jean] is an extremely manipulative, cruel and egocentric individual," Clarke told THR for a story published on July 18, 2014. “She is right out of a Raymond Chandler novel. You can write a script on what she is going to do next. But not to worry. We have many tricks up our sleeve as well."

Clarke expanded on the Raymond Chandler reference to GQ.

"This broad is right out of a Raymond Chandler novel," Logan Clarke told me, referring to Jean and sounding like a man who’s read a few Chandler novels himself. Clarke, a private investigator whom Kasem’s eldest daughter retained to track Jean down, is one of several characters in this story who come across like some fun-house distortion of an L.A. stereotype. "The six-foot blonde wannabe actress ’kidnaps’ the seriously ill star from the hospital," he says, "and hides him from the world, with a private eye in hot pursuit."

For another news story Clarke said: "This woman Jean Kasem is in the top five, top three maybe, of the most evil people I have ever investigated,"

Clarke told me he was qualified to make psychological assessments of Jean because all great investigators knew psychology, along with acting ability and people skills.

Technically, however, he does not have a psychology degree.

In fact, he also said he’s never met Jean; he claimed to have had several screaming matches on the phone with her, though, if those phone calls ever happened, Jean doesn’t remember them.

In the same THR article, the reporter, Tim Appello, also went to Kerri’s family, to corroborate Jean’s mental issues.

“None of the family members returned THR's calls, but after the June meat-hurling incident, they questioned Jean Kasem's sanity. ‘She is absolutely crazy — no, I really mean it,’ said Linda Myers Naylor, Casey Kasem's first wife and the mother of Kerri and Julie Kasem.”

So, to show Jean was crazy, Appello asked Kerri’s mom and the private investigator Kerri hired; how’s that for a kangaroo court? Appello didn’t respond to my email for an explanation.

It’s noteworthy that all of Clarke’s accusations-including claiming to me that an unnamed police chief said the police was covering up for Jean- are second sourced, or him repeating what others purportedly told him.

Kasem Cares/Kasem Coalition

Since things involving her father’s care blew up, Kerri Kasem has reinvented herself as an elder advocate. To buoy this image, Kasem Cares was created as a 501 ©3 which seeks “to eliminate all forms of elder abuse, including isolation through education and awareness, support of social change, and community service programs,” according to its website.

Kasem Coalition is a 501 ©4 and was set up to help pass a bill designed to make it easier to sue if a family member is kept away from someone in guardianship.

As for Kasem Cares, besides holding some conferences it’s not clear how it eliminates “all forms of elder abuse.”

Both Kasem Cares and Kasem Coalition have only released 990s for 2015.  Kasem Cares took in $203,464 in contributions in 2015 while spending $23,985 in advertising, by far the biggest line item.

The Kasem Coalition in the same year, had $56,406 in contributions and $27,892 in professional services, also the biggest line item.

According to insiders, these two line items became the subject of an internal scandal because they both went to Lisa Caprelli, a good friend of Kerri Kasem’s. Caprelli got these contracts even though her background was in mortgages, not promotion, marketing, or advertising.

Furthermore, while Kerri Kasem maintains a strong presence on social media, that’s one of the worst ways to market to elderly; I found no advertisement or promotion of the foundations in the Association for the Advancement of Retired People (AARP) and other organizations geared to the target market the foundations claim to serve.

I reached out to Kasem Cares attorney, Jesse Kaplan, for an explanation but he did not respond.

Kerri Kasem also rewards her attorneys with board membership; both Troy Martin and Martha Patterson have served with Martin saying: “As for my work with Kasem Cares, I have not received, and never will receive a dime from that organization for my volunteer work.”

He does however get invited to speak at her conferences, where she presents him as a fierce elder advocate like herself.

Another board member is Kathleen Wright-Brawn whose father was victimized by guardianship- and Wright-Brawn, according to insiders, is also the biggest financial benefactor of both foundations: In one photo, Kerri Kasem beams while holding a $200,000 check from Wright-Brawn to Kasem Cares.  

Despite the Kasem name, without Wright-Brawn’s money, the foundation would receive almost contributions, insiders told me.

Employees of Kasem Cares include high profile victims of guardianship abuse, with questionable qualifications.

Julie Belshe’s parents were placed into guardianship in Las Vegas by the notorious April Parks who then depleted her parents’ assets; Parks- who is accused of victimizing hundreds like Belshe’s parents- will go on trial in the spring 2018.

Belshe studies psychology but works as a hairdresser, according to her biography on the Kasem Cares site; I reached out to her through Facebook to ask her how this qualifies her as a grief counselor but received no response.

Another high-profile supporter is Rick Black whose father-in-law was involved in a guardianship abuse case in Nevada; He is currently the National Director of Americans Against Abusive Probate Guardianship (AAAPG).

“I began my national advocacy on this topic in the summer of 2015.  My desire was to form a national coalition of victimized families and activists similar to what I formed in Southern Nevada in 2013-2015 to expose the issues and drive reforms there,” Black said, “To that end AAAPG and Kasem Cares have a very good working relationship and as appropriate we support each other's cause.  We have conducted webinars together and use each other's resources nationwide to identify victims in need and give them, or their legitimate family members, support and direction as they deal with being conscripted into an involuntary adult guardianship.”

Kerri Kasem Vs Catherine Falk

Throughout my investigation, one name came up repeatedly when I asked uncomfortable questions: Catherine Falk.

Falk is the daughter of Peter Falk, who was isolated from her and her sister by Catherine’s step-mother in the last couple of years of his life and eventually placed into guardianship.

Catherine Falk is the adopted daughter of Columbo star, Peter Falk

Given that set-up, Falk and Kerri Kasem should be natural allies and indeed they were once business partners for a short time in 2013, but their relationship has soured with Kasem successfully taking out a restraining order against Falk in 2016, arguing Falk had stalked her.

When I asked Troy Martin for an explanation of emails which suggested he schemed to keep Casey Kasem in the hospital against his will, he referenced Falk.

Initially, I am aware of your connections to both Catherine Falk and Jean Kasem.  I trust that you will adhere to the journalistic code of ethics in disclosing these relationships and avoiding conflicts of interest in your reporting.

When I asked Lisa Caprelli about her work for Kasem Cares, she did the same.

“Your facts are completely wrong. This is been (sic) forwarded to the threat management unit in Los Angeles. 

“Catherine Falk cannot use people to harass Kerri Kasem or Kasem Cares,” Caprelli said. “Since you are involved with her that puts her in violation of the restraining order that she has against her.”

There is reason to be skeptical of this restraining order, however. Kasem initially offered to drop the restraining order if Falk agreed to pay $125,000 and, only a few months before getting the restraining order, Kerri Kasem crashed a hearing where Falk was testifying in front of the Washington state legislature, sitting next to Falk for much of the time.

Since receiving this restraining order, Kasem has posted dozens of messages on social media about it like this: “I have a restraining order on Catherine Falk for a reason. She worked with my stepmother to try and harm me physically. I have written and verbal death threats from Falk. At this point I need to go public with the court transcripts and the vitriolic emails she has sent me because I do not know her, I met her briefly.” Kasem said in 2017.

Victims of stalking usually don’t boast about it on social media.

Most recently, the webinars that Rick Black claimed brought people together featured screeds of Kerri Kasem and others bad mouthing Falk; more recently, the webinars have been combined to also attack Marti Oakley, who hosts TS Radio, where she regularly covers guardianship abuse.

Kasem put Oakley in her crosshairs after Oakley challenged Kasem’s narrative about her father’s death.

Marti Oaklay passed away in 2023

As with Jean Kasem, Kerri Kasem also tried to have Catherine Falk charged criminally before taking out this civil restraining order; Kasem also sued Falk for defamation before settling that. 

I’m listed on Falk’s foundation’s website as part of her team, but I’m not an employee, board member, nor have I contributed financially or otherwise. I’ve never written about her or quoted her in any articles. Catherine listed me on the site to encourage victims to reach out to me because of my reputation in fighting guardianship abuse.

Presumably, this is what Martin refers to as a conflict of interest; Falk declined to comment for this article, fearing it would violate the restraining order.

Kasem Bill Vs. Falk Bill

One reason for the rivalry between Kerri Kasem and Catherine Falk maybe that both are currently promoting guardianship reform bills.

If you liked what Kerri Kasem did to her father at the end of his life, then you’ll love the bill she’s promoting.    

Kerri Kasem’s bills give people more power to petition the courts to see someone: “Any relative, neighbor, or close friend of a proposed visitee may petition for visitation with the proposed visitee.”

In the bill Falk authored working with the National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse (NASGA) and focused only on guardianship law, the language is: “Unless specifically authorized by court order, a guardian may not restrict an incapacitated person's right of communication, visitation, or interaction with other persons, including the right to receive visitors, telephone calls, or personal mail.”

NASGA, run by Elaine Renoire, is generally recognized as the leading non-profit fighting against abusive guardianship.

The difference in language may seem like a distinction without a difference, but Kasem gives lawyers even more power by allowing family members to petition- with the use of an attorney- to see an individual in guardianship while Falk’s bill makes forbids isolation in all but the most extreme cases.

As Shakespeare might say, “therein lies the rub.”

“(The Kasem) bill encourages any family to petition the court to visit an elder who is being isolated by another family member, step-parent, caregiver, etc. If families go to court, though, their isolated loved one could end up in an even worse situation-- under the control of a total stranger, because these courts see professional guardians as a solution to family conflicts.  That is the danger.” Said Marcia Southwick, a director at NASGA.  

I spoke with Rick Beck, a Republican State Representative from Arkansas. In 2016, he developed a visitation bill for his state with input from Kerri Kasem.

His bill allows family to lobby courts if loved ones are isolated. Once in court, three things are determined: 1) how visitation is limited 2) who is limiting visitation and 3) their relationship to the ward.

“My bill isolates visitation from the rest (of guardianship)” Beck told me. “It creates a third pair of eyes.”

Beck believes his bill will not create more litigation, "(His bill) Takes a very simple thing; it defines the relationship. All this bill does is say, 'I have the right to visit this person.’”

While well-intentioned, this also is the danger with Kasem’s vision. Guardianship is complicated enough already, and adding another pair of eyes only makes the process even more complicated which only benefits lawyers.

How many “pairs of eyes” were necessary before Kerri Kasem locked her dad in a hospital and ended his life?

Kerri Kasem the Scientologist

Kerri Kasem is a Scientologist and so are several others involved in this story: Troy Martin, Kasem Coalition board member Mirit Hendrickson, Kerri Kasem’s boyfriend, Jesse Kove and his father Martin Kove, known for playing the villainous Cobra Kai sensei in Karate Kid.

Both Kove’s- Jesse is a minor film star- have appeared at Scientology’s L. Ron Hubbard Theater.

Kerri Kasem works with the Foundation for a Drug Free World and Citizens Commission on Human Rights, both fronts for Scientology; Kasem stood next to Hendrickson for the ceremonial first bell at the NASDAQ on behalf of Foundation for a Drug Free World on September 15, 2017.

Tony Ortega is a journalist who has been tracking Kerri Kasem and her links to Scientology; he said she first took a class in 2011: "There's no question that Kerri Kasem is a dedicated Scientologist and has been one of the most active celebrities supporting Scientology's various front groups in the last couple of years."   

If you watched Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, then you’ll recognize Scientology’s fingerprints in this story.

Jean Kasem and Catherine Falk, in this case, would be considered suppressive persons and targets of “fair game” where enemies of the church can be “attacked, sued, deprived of property, or destroyed,” according to a 1983 interview with Ron DeWolf, himself a target of fair game.

1)    Aggressive litigation

In Remini’s show, she interviewed journalist Paulette Cooper, who was sued nineteen times for defamation by Scientology, sometimes simultaneously on multiple continents. Aggressive lawsuits are part of the Scientology playbook.

What are we supposed to make of someone who files for guardianship months after guardianship was dismissed with prejudice, someone who files a restraining order and then boasts about it on social media, someone who tells the media she doesn’t want her father’s money but then challenges his will, someone who files a wrongful death suit not only against her step-mother but her own half-sister? Aggressive litigation has defined Kerri Kasem since she became a Scientologist.

2)    Creating protests

Scientology is also known for organizing protests and according to a January 2015 article, Scientology organized one of the protests on Kerri’s behalf: “Scientologists protested in Los Angeles’ Grand Park today in support of Kerri Kasem. Grand Park is adjacent to the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, the Hall of Justice, the United States District Court and City Hall, so we suspect there is a hearing today in one of these buildings in the dispute over the estate and remains of Kasem’s father, radio personality Casey Kasem.”

Kerri Kasem spent months protesting outside her father’s house, often with media invited.

3)    Digging up dirt

Ortega told me Scientology is known for hiring private investigators to follow and dig up dirt on their enemies. David Miscavige’s father, Ron, who left the church, described investigators following him. Others described investigators talking to their friends, work colleagues, and others looking for dirt. 

Clarke trailed Jean Kasem through multiple states. He claims to have spoken to a nurse who worked taking care of Casey Kasem.

He followed her apparently to Montreal, shortly after Casey Kasem’s death, where he claimed neighbors from where she was purportedly staying- again not named- told him she was carrying on an illicit affair.

If this guy didn’t have an investigator’s license, he’d be a stalker.

Clarke, for his part, denied being in Scientology, though he’s also good friends with Martin Kove and participated in a Scientology sponsored conference on human trafficking in 2010.

4)    Fake websites/fake twitter accounts/fake Facebook pages

At about the time Kerri Kasem attacked Catherine Falk legally, a series of anti-Catherine Falk websites also appeared: catherinefalkwarning.com, catherinfalkorganizationexposed.com, catherinefalkorganization-exposed.com, and others have all been created in the last two years.

On a November 2017, episode of Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath guest Marc Headley said, “Since the shows have aired,” Headley noted, “I know at least sixteen people that have appeared on the show that have hate websites.” He noted that Remini had eighty-eight hate sites, Mike Rinder (who co-hosts the show with Remini) had twenty-five, Headley had ten, Headley’s wife had ten, and Ron Miscavige had 522.

According to an article on the website JennyATLax, requesting a restraining order is a common Scientology legal bullying tactic.

Conclusion

Marti Oakley calls guardianship human trafficking: “The current probate system is nothing less than government sanctioned human trafficking on the elderly with the intent to profit. Just because the government facilitates it does not make it any less of a crime. It is still the buying and selling of human beings.”

If Casey Kasem, a multi-millionaire celebrity known by nearly the whole world, can be trafficked by this system, what chance does the average person have?

That would have been the lesson from his death, if not for his daughter and a corrupt media.

Now that the truth is told not only should the proper people be held to account but hopefully, along with it, we’ll have the right debate over guardianship.

If the truth continues being twisted, I believe the endgame is to grab Casey Kasem’s fortune- estimated at approximately $50 million- and funnel it to the Church of Scientology, as Kerri Kasem and her foundations are fronts for that cult.