Casey Kasem, Who Died 2 Months Ago, May Be Buried in Norway—Find Out Why

Amid a longtime family feud, the radio icon and Scooby-Doo star has still not been laid to rest since his June 15 death and the location of his body has not been revealed

By Corinne Heller Aug 15, 2014 7:33 PMTags
Casey KasemVictor Spinelli/WireImage

Here's an update about Casey Kasem, who has still not been laid to rest two months after his death.

His widow, Cheers actress Jean Kasem, who retains the legal rights over his remains, recently submitted an official written request to the government of Norway asking that her late husband be buried in the capital of Oslo, NBC News reported on Friday. Amid a longtime family feud, the location of the radio icon and Scooby-Doo star's body has not been revealed publicly since he died at age 82 on June 15.

She is quoted as saying in her letter that Casey "always said that Norway symbolizes peace and looks like heaven" and that she "would like to respectfully fulfill his wishes."

"My heritage on my mother's side is Norwegian and I plan to move to Norway by the end of this year," she added. "Therefore, I would also like to be near my husband's resting place so my daughter and I could visit him often."

Oslo's Managing Director of Funeral Service Wenche Elizabeth Madsen Eriksson told NBC News that permission to bury Casey in Oslo has been granted, adding that "as far as I know, he is not in Norway yet."

Danny Deraney, a rep for Casey's children from a previous marriage, including daughter Kerri Kasem, told E! News exclusively that the family still doesn't know the whereabouts of their father's body and has hired a private investigator.

"We don't know if he's in Norway or if he is in Montreal," Deraney told E! News, adding, "I don't think Casey has ever been to Norway. I do know that Casey wanted to buried at Forest Lawn in Glendale [near Los Angeles] and not in in Norway."

Jean and her stepchildren had feuded for years and disagreed over the handling of the radio legend's care prior to his death. He had suffered from Lewy body dementia and during his final days, his wife moved him from a California nursing home to a private residence in Washington. A judge later appointed Kerri to be Casey's temporary conservator and allowed her to implement end-of-life measures for her dad.

Chad Buchanan/Getty Images

The group had on July 16 obtained a temporary restraining order against Jean that would prohibit her from having Casem's body moved or cremated until an autopsy is performed.

His remains were last seen at a Washington funeral home. NBC News reported that on July 14, two days before the court order was granted, his body was transported to an airport and was set to be flown to Montreal, Canada. Jean had told the facility's president at the time that she planned to have her husband buried in the city, the outlet reported.

Casey's children's rep said that since Jean has conservatorship powers over the radio icon's body, "she can bury him in Egypt if she wants to."

"It's her dad," Deraney said about Kerri. "You have a famous dad whose body is being treated like a joke."

—Reporting by Claudia Rosembaum