Victor Spinelli/WireImageCasey Kasem's body remains unburied, more than one month after his death and amid an ongoing family feud.
The famed American Top 40 radio host and voice of Scooby-Doo's Shaggy died at age 82 on June 15—Father's Day—at a hospital in Washington after battling Lewy body dementia, a degenerative disease similar to Parkinson's. His wife of 33 years, Jean Kasem, and many of his children had for months prior to his death been involved in a legal battle over his care and visitation rights.
Casey's three daughters and son were at his bedside when he passed away and they honored him with a memorial service. Jean was not present at either, according to one of his daughters, Kerri Kasem. As of Wednesday, July 16, Casey's body remains at a Washington morgue, NBC News reported. The outlet quoted Kerri's spokesperson as saying that Jean, her stepmother, holds the legal rights to his body but has not made arrangements to move him. Jean has not commented.
Kerri and her siblings from Casey's first marriage hope their father will be buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Calif.
In an appearance on The View in late June, Kerri said her stepmother had "cut him off" from his family and friends prior to his death. In May, Kerri filed a missing person's report for Casey in California, who had been moved out of a nursing home in the state. Authorities found him at a private residence in Washington with Jean and friends.
Following a court battle, a judge appointed Kerri as Casey's temporary conservator and allowed her to implement end-of-life measures for her father. At that point, Casey was unable to speak, move or eat on his own. Kerri had Casey moved to a hospital, against his wife's wishes. When Kerri arrived with an ambulance to bring her father to the medical center, Jean threw a pound of raw hamburger meat at them before allowing them inside.
Casey's wife had said in a videotaped statement posted on king5.com in May that her husband was "very happy and comfortable" and had told her "time and time again" that he wished to remain under her care. She said he told her he did not want a conservator, nor did he want his eldest daughters involved in his medical or state affairs.