Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Was America's Top 40 star Casey Kasem MURDERED? Wife and children say YES

Episode Date: November 28, 2018

Four years after Casey Kasem died at 82, his widow and oldest children accuse each other of killing the iconic DJ. Jean Kasem convinced a Washington State police chief -- in the town where Kasem died -- to open a homicide investigation targeting her stepchildren. The daughters point the finger at their stepmother, accusing her. Jean Kasem talks to Nancy Grace about her claims, along with a panel of experts including psycho analyst Dr Bethany Marshall, defense lawyer Troy Slaten, forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan, family & divorce lawyer Kathleen Murphy, and Crime Stories producer Alan Duke. Grace also updates the case of North Carolina teen Hania Aguila. The FBI believes a body found about 10 miles from the home where she was kidnapped is the 13-year-old. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Breaking news now. In the last hours, we are discovering the FBI has found a body in the search for a missing little girl, Hania Aguilar. As you will recall, Hania went outside of her home early, early in in the morning a little after 7 a.m to crank up the car to be taken to school she was ready she was waiting on her aunt to come out and drive her to school she gets out there she knows how to turn the ignition she did it and at some point we have now learned that a male comes up and is spotted by a neighbor wrestling her into a car, wrestling her into a vehicle,

into an SUV, and drives off. The SUV was later found dumped in Lumberton, several miles away from where Hanya lived. In the last hours, we are learning a body has been found. To Alan Duke, joining me. Alan, what do we know right now? We know that the body was found about 10 miles from where Hanya was last seen, where she was abducted from a home before school. However, at this hour, they're not positively identifying the body as Hanya, but the FBI says it was located in an area where they were already following a lead. So they very definitely believe that it is this child. Vincent Hill with me right now, cop-turned-private investigator,

author of Playbook to a Murder. Vincent, the FBI has stated that the same authorities investigating the little girl, Hanya Aguilar's disappearance, found the body. It was found late in the afternoon near Lumberton. That's telling me two things. These investigators find the body, which tells me it's connected to her, that it is her body. And number two, it was found near Lumberton. That tells me it was somebody local that took this child. She wasn't put in a car and raised 200 or 300 miles away. She was stolen by somebody familiar with that area, Vincent Hill.

Yeah, absolutely, Nancy. I mean, I think all signs do point that this was her body, and the fact that her body was found not too far from where the truck was abandoned does indeed suggest it was someone local that knew the area and not someone that wanted to kidnap her and take her across state lines or anything like that. So that's where I would definitely start my investigation right there locally. I'd also look at what was found near where her body was found. You know, the beauty in this tragedy is the weather has been cold. So maybe some DNA evidence has been preserved there around the field.

So I'm sure investigators are looking into all that right now, Nancy. It hurts me to even go there right now to think about DNA evidence on this little girl's body. The fact that there was someone out there clearly waiting for her, watching her at 7 o'clock in the morning. Susan Constantine with me right now. You're the human behavior expert. Weigh in. Nancy, what I was really focusing on was the video of the subject that was walking within 10 minutes of when she was abducted. And that was really telling to me because it really helps us to understand who that person might be. Someone that is out there

that is watching this video saying, you know, that person's walk, their stride, their movement, their characteristics are similar to someone that I know. And who else would be in that area at that time in the morning? Someone that knows their patterns and behaviors. So that video is very telling. In fact, in Tampa, we had a similar case here where there was a shooter where a shooter walked right up to an innocent person, shoot and walk away.

And they had footage. And we were able to identify a lot of their characteristics, which were similar to a person that they found working, I believe it was at a McDonald's, and he was later found and then apprehended and composed to the murder. In a bid to generate new leads in Hania's disappearance, the FBI put out photos of shoes, shoes similar to those belonging to hania and they're they're very unique they're white but with a blast of a color design in the back basically trying to garner interest in the case this after they'd already released the video that susan constantine is

telling you about right now we are waiting on a positive ID, a positive ID regarding the discovery of this body that we believe to be this little girl. Another issue that, in my mind, other than being covered here on CrimeOnline.com and Crime Stories, I noticed there was very, very little coverage of Hania's disappearance, except in local papers. Is it because she's Hispanic? For some reason, does her life matter less than other people's? Because it doesn't to me.

I want answers. Who did this to this child? Who is thinking of kidnap and murder and assault at 7 o'clock in the morning, waiting, waiting like a wolf in a quiet residential neighborhood. Tip line 910-272-5871. Repeat, 910-272-5871. There is a $30,000 reward. In 2007, at the age of 75, Casey Kasem was diagnosed with a Parkinson's-like disease called Lewy body dementia. It slows them down. They can either get rigid or shaking. It may sometimes affect their speech in 2009 he gave up his beloved radio show and signed off for the last time now one more time keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars casey would have no financial worries with an estate valued between $80 and $100 million.

But around that time, Jeannie claims, his children became focused on one thing. It was all about the money. We became the bank of Kasem, the personal ATM machine. You're hearing the widow of legendary Casey Kasem, that's Jean Kasem, accusing his children of focusing on nothing but money being interviewed by CBS Peter Van Zandt. Well, the plot thickens. Listen. Around 2012, according to Jeannie, Casey was fed up and cut them off financially. Jeannie says the kids were furious, but instead of getting mad, Jeannie claims Carrie and the others did something almost unimaginable. I believe that Carrie Kasem did kill my husband,

that it was a long-term premeditated plan, and he's gone. It's just lie after lie after lie without any evidence. You are hearing reporter Peter Van Zandt with CBS interviewing Casey Kasem's widow. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. What happened to legendary star Casey Kasem right now in a bizarre twist. His widow claims his three children from his first marriage, not her bio children, conspired to murder him for his money. But they say she is the one who killed the radio star. With me right now, Alan Duke joining me from LA. Alan, just give me a bare bones. What happened? This legend of radio, it was diagnosed with Lewy body disease, which is a

Parkinson-like disease that is degenerative. He deteriorated over the next seven years, and there was some serious family feuding going on between the three children from his first marriage and his then wife, his widow, now Jean Kasem, he'd been married to for about 30 years before his death. And each say it is all about the money. Well, they're both saying that, but right now, the question is, what happened to Casey Kasem, listen. That move that night was to get him out of the drama and to keep him safe and secure. We had had enough. Jeannie Kasem, Casey's wife of 34 years, says she was convinced her husband's life was in danger. What were you thinking, Jeannie? I was thinking that it was time to protect my husband.

You are hearing her explaining why she took Casey out of a Santa Monica care facility and took him on a, quote, road trip in May. He's ailing. He's suffering from this syndrome. She thought she had to protect him, so she says, by taking him out of a care facility. The legendary DJ, Casey Kasem's widow, claims his three grown children conspired to kill him for the $100 million estate, but they blame her, Jean Kasem, his second wife. She says the children tricked their father into signing over power of attorney to them. And they are the ones responsible for his death. But what really happened? Joining me right now, Troy Slayton, defense lawyer out of L.A., high-profile defense lawyer.

You're very close with the children, have just spoken recently to Carrie. What's your understanding of what's happening, Troy? Is that everything that Jean is saying is completely belied by the facts, where she claims that Carrie killed her husband by essentially pulling the plug. What happened was hydration and nutrition was removed by the order of or at the recommendation of three doctors, an internist, a hospitalist, and an ethicist. And the judge in Los Angeles gave Carrie Kasem that authority to allow the doctors to do what they thought was best. Okay, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Let me understand this. So it's the daughter who made the decision to pull the plug it was casey casem it was the daughter

following the orders or the recommendation of three doctors well i can tell you this troy slayton i hear what you're saying uh and you're very good friends with the children that when it came right down to it i did not want the plug pulled on my father. I wanted him to live if there was any chance. I was having a showdown with the doctors hoping that he could live. And I also find it very interesting, joining me, psychoanalyst Dr. Bethany Marshall, also in L.A. Why does everything happen in L.A.? Don't you people have enough money and enough luxury homes and cars and plastic surgery to be happy. Because from what I am understanding, it's her, Jean Kasem, the wife, the second wife,

is the one who hires a private investigator who concludes that Casey Kasem was the victim of homicide. Now, that's according to 48 Hours. She's the one that hires the PI to find out what happened. Right. What am I missing here, Bethany? Well, I mean, if she hired the PI, it doesn't imply that she would be guilty.

You know, Nancy, I hear this from a mental health perspective. In the 70s and the 80s, we had this term blended families that if the dad remarried, then the stepmother and the stepchildren would live happily ever after. Bethany, Bethany, Bethany, you know, you're much too glamorous to make your own breakfast, but I make John David a smoothie. And when you blend things, sometimes there's big chunks in it that just don't go down very well. So we talk about a blended family. I think this one had a few chunks in it that didn't go down very well. That's why I say the idea of the blended family

was a myth. There's a lot of research regarding blended families and what's happening in the Casey Kasem family happens in every other family. Initially, the stepchildren idealize their stepmother. The stepmother is like the bestie. And then within a few years, they begin to hate the stepmother. She's not my mom. It's your fault my dad divorced. You're not really his wife. And there's a very telling statement. I think it's Carrie Kasem or one of the children said, why did Jean get the mansion when I work for a living?

So somehow these kids feel that the money that was given to the wife of 34 years should be going to them. And I think that's what this is all about, is they don't think that she's his real wife. But she might be crazy. She may have made very poor medical decisions. Maybe she did, against doctor's advice, load him in the back of an SUV in a paranoid state and take him to a private home to nurse him for the remainder of his months or years. But she was still his wife.

And I think that's where the confusion lies in all of this. Can you tell me something, Bethany, Dr. Bethany, joining me along with Troy Slayton, Joseph Scott Morgan, Kathleen Murphy, and Alan Duke, and of course, joining us shortly will be Jean Kasem. Bethany, when my dad was on his deathbed, and it pains me to even say those words in the same sentence, I just wasn't thinking straight. Every night, I would make him a cup of decaf and a certain way, and I would give him a dessert after supper. Now, he was borderline diabetic and had heart issues. So I'd have to make a special dessert. Okay. And I remember this,

and I don't know what was in my head, but as he was lying there and everybody else was saying, you can go now. It's okay. Let go. I was literally in his ear saying come home daddy i'll make you a cup of decaf come home don't go do not go don't leave me well so i'm just projecting what may have been going through her mind i mean that makes no sense at all like loading him up in the back of the station wagon and taking him it doesn't make any sense it doesn't have to make sense. Well, to me, it makes sense if you think that the stepchildren are nipping at the parents' heels, wanting the money, trying to visit the dad. And I understand why they would want to visit the dad. I'm just taking this from a research perspective and what I know happens in all families, most families, when a stepmother

is introduced, that the children develop great animosity for the step-parent. And then the step-parent sometimes gets very paranoid and very crazy in an attempt to protect the marriage. This happens in case after case after case. I've seen it in my practice. There's research that backs this up. So I think this is the underlying theme that could account for all the craziness, as well as $80 to $100 million, is that the stepkids did not feel that their stepmother was rendering good care. Now, should she have loaded him up in the back of an SUV? Absolutely not. And she did at AMA, against medical advice. But the fact that the children wanted to pull the plug, I think is very suspicious because unless a patient has cancer

and is in extraordinary pain or is on life support, usually family members do not want to pull the plug. They want to sit by the side of their loved one and let them slowly drift away. And that's how it goes. So the pulling of the plug is very mysterious to me. But Nancy, that wasn't the case here. The doctors, three doctors said that having him hooked up to hydration and nutrition, which sounds like, you know, a basic life support that you would give anyone, you don't want anyone to starve or die of dehydration, that those were actually killing him. Because his organs were shutting down and his G-tube was backing up, that those things were actually causing him more pain than they were doing good. And a judge made a distinct finding that Gene Kasem was not acting in his best interest.

The children of legendary DJ Casey Kasem are demanding to know where is Kasem? Those adult children had put targets on our back. Do you believe that your husband Casey Kasem feared his children? Yes. And feared that they could do what? What they did. Which was? Kill him. That's ridiculous. That's just, that's ridiculous. There's no more evil in this world than Gene Thompson Kasem. You were hearing just a tiny taste of what's been going on regarding the death of DJ superstar Casey Kasem. Who can't remember America's Top 40?

I mean, and the voice of Shaggy for Pete's sake. Shaggy in Scooby-Doo is Casey Kasem. I remember when I was doing Dancing with the Stars. And it was the first time I was away from the children for extended periods of time in their waking hours usually I go do my headline news show at night and so I was away from them practicing dancing eight hours a day and my husband allowed my son to develop a very unhealthy obsession with Scooby-Doo so we watched it night and day we We'd order the DVDs, we'd scour the aisles of Target for more Scooby-Doo. And Shaggy, you know, is Casey Kasem. Of course, there's America's

Top 40. That voice will go down in history. We're talking about not just his stellar career, but the death of Casey Kasem. Right now, what we understand is that Casey Kasem's widow claiming his three adult children from his first marriage conspired to kill Casey for his money. But they say she, quote, air quote, murdered the radio legend. What is the answer? We just left off in a feud between Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst in L.A., and Troy Slayton,

high-profile defense attorney in L.A., who is very dear friends with Kasem's children. Shouldn't it be a simple matter to Joseph Scott Morgan, death investigator, professor of forensics, Jacksonville State University, author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon, to figure out why he died?

What do you know about the disease he had, Joe Scott? Yeah, Lewy body dementia is in kind of the same class as Parkinson's, but it has a different feel for it. And many times people are initially misdiagnosed with Parkinson's, which, you know, many of us that have people with Parkinson's in our families, we've noted tremors and the unsteady gait and this sort of thing. But with the Lewy body dementia, over a period of time, you begin to see that people will present with hallucinations. They're disoriented. And it ends with them completely in a contracted state where they're not able to even take care of themselves. Their basic needs. Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. When you say a contracted state, okay, does that mean they physically die from the disease or they mentally disintegrate? Yeah, they disintegrate mentally, but also as a result of that, their physical faculties fail them.

They can't feed themselves. They become very rigid. And many times they'll begin to hallucinate. And, you know, they'll see things that aren't, you know, that aren't part of reality. And they're muted as well. They lose the ability to actually speak. So you have a person, an adult person, who is in a very infantile state at this point. They're very, very vulnerable.

Now, this is what we know. Leading up to Casey Kasem's death, there was another battle brewing. The eldest daughter of 81-year-old Casey Kasem is claiming that her stepmother, Jean Kasem, is banning her and her siblings, her uncle, and Casey's closest friends from seeing him. Carrie Kasem tells CNN that she used to visit her dad once a week until about three months ago when she was suddenly no longer allowed visitation. There have been some accusations that Casey's children want access to him because they're after his estate. And that's something Carrie strongly denies. Here's what she told CNN about that. My dad told us a long time ago we were not

in the will and we're okay with that. We've known that for years. I don't want any of his money. My father taught us to stand on our own two feet and I'm proud of that. It's not about the money. We love our father and he's been ripped from us. You are hearing my friend A.J. Hammer reporting regarding what was going on before Casey passed away to Kathleen Murphy. We need you now, Kathleen. Family lawyer joining us. It sounds like the children are battling to have visitation with their father. That sounds exactly like that to me too, Nancy. And it appears to me that they were resigned to not getting the money. They loved their dad. We love our dad. And I don't see any motives on the part of the children, any motives except for the true love

of their father. Well, it's a little confusing to me because what we're hearing and Troy Slayton, I want you to listen to this. You're the defense lawyer siding with the children. I'm not siding with anybody, by the way, because I don't know the answer yet. But the children, they say, were fine about being written out of the will. But listen to this. Gene claims that Casey has no memory of ever signing that document. Watch the tape. Put the address. UPS store. You'll see my dad knew what he was doing, knew what he was signing. 54-19. Now estate planning is normally done in a lawyer's office. You're at a UPS store. He was terrified that Jean would find out.

Let me give you Jean's interpretation of what she told me. And this is you? Yep. And this is your father? Yes. Now, there's a circle here because he supposedly had had a medical procedure and had sutures in his head. Is that true? To my knowledge, that is falsified information.

You were hearing right there that CBS reporter Peter Van Zandt questioning the daughter, Carrie Kaysen, about the unusual circumstances about how she and her siblings got their dad to sign a trust document at a Hollywood UPS store. You know, United Parcel Services. So why is such an important document being signed by him at the UPS store at the counter, a very serious legal document, where the guy with a $100 million fortune, what's happening? And then the other allegations that he

actually had stitches in his head and was being presented with this document by his daughter to sign what if anything does it mean now the daughter says he knew exactly what he was doing not so says his widow of 34 years jean casem and right now, Jean Kasem is joining us live. Miss Kasem, thank you for being with us. Hello, Nancy. Thank you for having me. Miss Kasem, over all the years, I've watched you and Casey Kasem on red carpets and Hollywood events. And he's always dressed in a black tuxedo. And you're always just in this glamorous dress with the beautiful hair. I'm looking at you right now with your hair all done up in a red glittery dress and you both have beautiful smiles and it just seems like you had the world by the tail. What happened, Jean?

Well, like you said, we were married for 34 years, and we had a beautiful life, and we were inseparable, and we worked very hard. And when we weren't working, we worked even harder for charitable events. Jean, I don't understand how everything went sideways. I know that Casey Kasem, who I'm just a huge fan. I was just telling the others a story of he, I, I know he's gone from your world, but in our world, my children watch Scooby-Doo incessantly. And of course the top 40 is still in syndication right now. He is living on forever. Yeah. But I, yeah, I don't understand. I know he was ill, but I don't understand what's happening now. I know that he left you his estate. And at that time, the grown children said, Hey, we're fine with that. We've got our own money.

But then how did this legal document end up getting signed, an executorship, I believe, at a UPS store? And it's caught on video. Well, ironically, this is a real Scooby-Doo mystery, isn't it, Nancy? With me is Casey Kasem's widow, Jean Kasem, married to Casey, the legend, for nearly 40 years. What do you believe happened, Ms. Kasem? Well, I think everybody needs to go back to the year 2013 when they filed the first corrupt guardianship attempt of my husband. And in the court sealed documents, the first stipulation was to consent refusal of consent or withdrawal of consent to any care, treatment, service or procedure to maintain, diagnose,

or treat any physical or mental condition of the proposed conservatee, including without limitation, the withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining procedures in a terminal condition. I think that shows the premeditation, and I think that's why they took him down on Hollywood Boulevard in a UPS store to basically sign his life away. He was alone. They had no legal counsel. There was undue influence. He had stitches in his head. He had been recuperating from surgery. He was on various medications and no glasses. You know, hearing you describe that, so what he was signing, I guess, Kathleen Murphy with me, family lawyer, is an executorship of

sorts that they, the children, would make the decision as to whether he would remain on life support, Kathleen. That's correct, Nancy. The children's behaviors and actions as described by Ms. Kasem are concerning. Jean Kasem with me and Troy Slayton. I'm going to give you a chance to defend the children with whom you're friends. Jean, I'm just listening to what you're saying. And it was ultimately the children that decided to take him off life support. And you're saying that in your mind, premeditation for exactly that began when they got him to sign over this document at a UPS store. Is that right? Well, Nancy, the document was signed on Veterans Veterans Day, and my husband was a vet, in 2007 and held in secrecy until it was actively

concealed until 2013. And that's when they filed. And that document allowed them to make the life support decision. Is that right? No, I don't really like the words life support because at that time he was very much alive. And life support to me means that there's artificial machines allowing one to live. And that was not the case. Ah, you know what? That is a very important distinction. You're absolutely right.

Let me ask you this. When you took him, a lot of controversy is swirling around your decision to pack him up and take him out of that care facility in Santa Monica. Can you explain your reasoning? Well, first of all, Nancy, let me tell you how that first corrupt attempt ended. It was denied for no good cause, and it was ultimately denied with prejudice and put to an end, case closed, on January 14, 2014.

Hold on just a moment, Jane. Troy Slayton, defense lawyer, you're defending the children today. The judge actually ruled against them? artificial hydration and nutrition reinstated onto Casey Kasem. And she went in ex parte, that means on her own, into court and convinced the judge to order the hospital to reinstate those things. No, I'm sorry. I must interrupt. Ex parte does not mean on your own. I was represented with legal counsel. She was not appropriate. And I hate to correct you, but I really want the facts to come out because there has been such a false narrative put out there about me and about my daughter, Liberty, and about Casey. So I really, I really feel strongly in having to stop you when you're going down the wrong track.

I think what he meant was, you're saying you went with your lawyers and your reps. He means the other side, the children weren't there. Ex parte means just one side goes before the judge. Troy Slate, when you were giving the details, you left out the little fact that the judge had previously ruled against the children. You know, to Jean Kasem, why do you think the children, you're accusing the children of basically

murdering their dad. I want to find out why you think they would have, what their possible motivation was and why that day you felt you had to remove him from that care facility. You know, Nancy, after it was denied with prejudice for no good cause and case closed, four months later, they filed another fraudulent guardianship petition. And when you know that somebody is trying to kill your husband, you will do everything in the world to try to protect him. Casey and I knew and we spoke

many times after the first attempted guardianship of what their motives were. Back to that evening that he left the care facility, what was your thinking, Jane? Just to seek peace. Just so I could care for him, just seeking peace. Just so I could care for him peacefully without all the disruption, without the onslaught of the media, without being stalked, without being followed, without being harassed.

You were married to Casey Kasem for, I know, 34 years and you, you know, courted before that. When did you first realize the children, his children did not like you? I don't know why. I've always contributed to their lifestyle and their livelihood. What do you mean by that? You contributed to their lifestyle and their livelihood? Well, where do you think they got their money from? From their dad. Definitely from you and their dad. Me too. Now, it's my understanding that they worked. Is that right, Troy Slayton? Did the children have their own jobs? That's absolutely true, Nancy. They are all independently successful. Julie, who is his, well, Carrie, who's his eldest daughter, has been in broadcasting, has been a model for over 20 years.

Julie is a physician's assistant and her husband is a well-renowned cardiologist at UCLA. This so-called, quote, homicidal guardianship scam started in 2007 when Casey signed that power of attorney or that durable power of attorney for health care. But the court didn't rely on that 2007 power of attorney. It relied on the 2011 advanced health care directive that Gene had Casey signed when he wasn't competent to do so, according to his good friends. And in that 2011 health care directive that Gene had him sign, it said that if extension of his life would result in a mere biological existence and he wouldn't, it was essentially terminal, that he didn't want any artificial life-sustaining procedures, including nutrition and hydration. That's from the durable power of attorney that Jean had him sign. I want to go to Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst.

Bethany, weigh in. I mean, this sounds like such, it's so much legal maneuvering but yeah when it boils down to it when you hear Jean talking about her husband I mean I can tell she loved him she loves him yes I think that Casey Kasem's body and health has become the battleground for a power struggle between the stepmother and the stepchildren. I think that's what's really happening. I think all this health stuff and all this wrongful death lawsuit is a red herring, meaning it's an excuse.

The fact is she was his wife for 34 years. He loved her. He chose her. That's what we have to remember. No matter what the children think, their father chose Jean to be his wife. And therefore, their agreements and their love and their relationships supersede what's happening with the children. The children have their own lives, their own spouses, their own careers. And when one of the children said, we don't care about the money, I don't believe that

because we all care about money. You care about money. I care about money. Yes, it is salt in the wound when a parent dies and leaves everything to one person and doesn't distribute amongst the children and the grandchildren. I've seen this in so many cases in my practice. His decision, not the children. Right now in another bizarre twist, Casey Kasem's family feud is ongoing. His wife with me right now, Jean Kasem, and his adult children file wrongful death suits against each other in a battle for his fortune. And now, long after the death of the radio legend, his wife, with us now, reveals her version of what happened in Casey Kasem's last days. We are learning that she blames his adult children for his passing. They blame her.

I'm trying to understand how it should all work out. To Jean Kasem, was his will honored? Where did the bulk of his estate go upon his death? Well, remember, Nancy, they kept saying that it wasn't about the money, but now they're fighting about all the money. So we're in court. Alan, do we know who was the main beneficiary of Casey Kasem's estate? Well, of course the wife is, but there is money in there, from what I understand, for the children, and that actually is being probated now. The very first probate hearing on Casey Kasem's last will and testament. The Casey Kasem case is in court right now, today. This is happening now. Jane, you are saying that Casey's children, Carrie, Julie, and Michael, were all after his money, and that eventually

your husband cut them off financially. Is that correct, Jean Kasem? That is correct. What led him to do that? Well, they say that they're all financially stable, but we were issuing checks up until the year 2012. I have hundreds and hundreds of checks that total almost $3 million. Okay. You know, Troy Slayton, defense lawyer, friends with the children, you say they're all financially independent, $3 million. That's not independent, Troy Troy if that's true I don't know whether that's true or not but I know that by 2011 his dear friend who was 30 years in broadcasting Les Martin and also an attorney spoke to Casey regularly on the phone and by 2011 knew that Casey was no longer able to recall common stories and adventures that they had had and it's all going to come out in court.

Well this is what I don't understand Troy if it's not about the money, why are the children filing a wrongful death suit, which is for money? Because they believe that their stepmother hastened and caused the death of their father. They're seeking justice. Well, wait a minute. Let me understand this. Don't hospital records show that Casey Kasem had a stage three ulcer and had suffered septic shock, respiratory failure, and a host of other ailments. I mean, it's really hard for me to believe that other than pulling the plug, okay, on his treatment, that anyone hastened it. and who did you say made the decision to pull the plug troy that stage three ulcer nancy is a what's known as a bed sore and it was because he was not getting proper care when jean took him out of that uh what was a convalescent hospital once she discovered that they had allowed the children to come in

and visit with their father. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Who ordered him to be taken off of his fluids and nutrition, Troy? Three doctors, an internist, a hospitalist, and an ethicist. The daughter, right? It was the daughter's decision to follow those doctor's orders. Is that correct? Yes. It was the daughter's decision because she was told that it would cause him to be in his death to keep him on those things. I bet you if you had talked to Gene Kasem's doctors, they would have said something completely different. Joe Scott Morgan, death investigator, I'm very familiar with what Troy Slayton just said. He called it a bed sore. Now they call it, quote, pressure points.

You know, that's how Superman died. Christopher Reeves. Okay. We all know that he was paralyzed after a riding accident with a horse. But when you lie in a bed or you sit in a chair for 20 years, you can get moved and turned over and have those beds that inflate and deflate. But after 20 years, you're going to get bed sores. All right. And if they're not attended to immediately, I mean, sometimes within an hour or so, you get infections and it can turn into septic shock. That's right. I'm very familiar with it. Pressure points is just putting perfume on the pig. What

that is is a bed sore. And they're saying it was stage four ulcer. But in that care facility that Gene Kasem took him out of, that's where he got that bed sore, Joe Scott Morgan. Yeah. And bed sores are very common in patients that are essentially in stasis, which means they can't move around. They can't take care of themselves. And keep in mind, we've got all these other bodily functions that are going on. And so it's a very, you know, hospital and treatment facilities, they're some of the dirtiest places in the world that an individual can be. And sometimes people get sicker when they're in there. Yeah. Yeah. I remember when my dad went with his first coronary thrombosis, I think it was four people died of septic shock on his wing. My mom got him out of that hospital. And as we say, a New York minute to Jean Kasem,

this is Casey's widow. They were married 34 years. Jean, let me ask you a question. How did you meet Casey Kasem? We met in our agent's office. Was it love at first sight, Jean? Yes, it was. I know a lot of people don't believe that, but it was. I believe it. And what happened after you met in an agent's office? Basically, we dated every night for a year and got married a year to the day that we met. Do you remember your first date? Yes, I do. It was at the agent's Christmas party. Wow. I bet you can even remember what you were wearing. Yes. What was it? Just curious because I remember what I was wearing the first time I met my now husband, David. Okay. I remember the whole thing like it happened yesterday. What were you wearing? Just curious. A lavender dress. What was your reaction when you found out his children had filed a wrongful death suit against you?

I was surprised because they were the ones that took him to the hospital for a supposed independent medical evaluation. It was a ruse, of course, and they then kept him for an unauthorized overnight observation. And then they began to chemically restrain him and withdraw all of his hydration, nutrition, and proactive medical care. on a friday evening june 6 with all courts closed i received a call to come to the hospital where i was told along with our daughter liberty that they had already begun the process. And we didn't know what that meant. We thought it was a new kind of treatment

until they sat us down and explained to us what was going to happen. We were allowed only five minutes each to see him. We went into the hospital room and Nancy, I don't know if you experienced this with your husband or not, but you could be across a crowded room and you could know by the look on your spouse's face, if they're panicked or in trouble or what they're trying to say. And that was that look that I got. So I approached the bed, and he grabbed on to Liberty and I, and the nurse had to pry

his fingers off one by one. And of course, that's the moment where you say all the beautiful things that you're supposed to say to somebody that you love. And then they said that we had to leave the hospital. And so I went to the door and I looked back at him and he looked so scared and so panicked that I rushed back in and I picked him up in my arms and I told him that I had to go and I would be right outside the door.

And then they escorted us out of the hospital down to the lobby and there was a chapel. Liberty and I begged to go into the chapel just so we could sit and just ask for help from God for people to just come to their senses. And then they told us that we had to leave the chapel and they escorted us out to the parking lot and told us that we had to get off the property. That was the last time we ever saw him alive again. I immediately got a private plane and flew down to Los Angeles so I could confront Judge

Daniel Murphy. I wanted him to see me. And I wanted to tell him that that was my husband of 34 years. And that when they picked him up for that so-called independent medical evaluation, that that morning he was singing when he was being shaved and he was singing to liberty's music and he was happy and that he did not want to go with her he was fighting with the paramedics and he said please please no i don't want to go. I want to stay here with my wife and my daughter. My daughter went into an acute asthma attack, and the paramedics had to come for her.

The judge had ordered Carrie not to bring any press to our host family home, and she came as usual with press and tell and it was just a god-awful scene to see Casey fight like that and to say please let me go and I don't want to go and he said no no no I don't want to go. They took him against his will for this so-called independent medical evaluation. And then they devised another ruse to keep him for an overnight observation. The doctor cleared him on June 1st. first. On June 2nd, we were called his personal private physician, Donald Sharman and I were called and we were told he was discharged. We went to court and the judge said that he could return and they never brought him back. They gave him enough drugs to kill an elephant,

and he still fought because this man wanted to live. He never complained. He was never in any pain. His only regret is that he just had so much left to do. Jean Kasem, thank you so much for sharing your story. And we wait as justice unfolds in a court of law. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off. Goodbye, friends.

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