Here is what’s in the documents that are prompting a new look at Casey Kasem’s death

 
We’re very glad to see that the CBS program 48 Hours is taking on the bizarre story of Casey Kasem’s final days, and that they appear to be taking seriously the work done by a private investigator on behalf of Jean Kasem — work that has revealed new facts so troubling, a Washington state police chief announced this week that he has opened a new look at the legendary radio DJ’s 2014 death.

Jean sent us the same documents when her investigator, Hank Foresta, put them together more than a year ago. Some of the material he had dug up about the Kasem family drama was simply stunning. But it was a huge undertaking — Foresta’s document package was hundreds of pages long — and we never got the chance to dig into it the way we had wanted to.

However, we did look into one crucial part of it, and we hope and expect that CBS will also dig into it in their episode tomorrow night.

We’re going to assume that you know much of the backstory already — Casey Kasem developed Lewy body dementia, a devastating wasting disease that there is no cure for. As his health declined, he was caught in a tug of war between the children of his first family—daughters Kerri and Julie, and son Mike—and his second family, with wife Jean Thompson Kasem and their daughter Liberty.

 
Kerri is a Scientologist who has become very visible in recent years with Scientology front groups. She just popped up here the other day in her Scientology Volunteer Minister garb at the scene of a California wildfire.

While Jean and Kerri were fighting over Casey in his final days, Jean repeatedly made the accusation that Kerri and her siblings were Scientologists who wanted his money for the church. Jean herself acted in some bizarre ways, taking Casey to Las Vegas at one point and then ending up with him in Silverdale, a Seattle suburb, in what seemed to be an attempt to keep him from Kerri and her siblings.

A Santa Monica judge granted Kerri power to make medical decisions for her father, and a Washington judge gave her the right to visit him there and have him examined by a doctor.

Jean wanted that examination to happen in the home where they were staying. But Kerri wanted it to happen at a local hospital. (By this time, Casey had lost the ability to speak, and so his own wishes were unknown.)

The crucial matter is this: What condition was Casey in at the time when Kerri had her father taken to St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor, Washington on May 30, 2014 for the check up?

There was a lot of reporting on the bizarre things happening at the end of Casey Kasem’s life, but one piece in particular seemed to have a big effect on how those events were perceived by the public. It was a lengthy and well-written feature story that appeared in the January 2015 issue of GQ, which contained some key quotes from Kerri Kasem.

The GQ article makes two crucial statements about how bad things were for Casey at the point he went to St. Anthony hospital.

First, a quote from Kerri: “My dad was moaning because he had a bedsore bigger than the size of my hand—almost to the bone…He was moaning because he had a bladder infection and she had no painkillers.”

And then GQ’s description:

“By the time Kerri got her father to St. Anthony Hospital near Seattle, he was alert but in critical condition.”

The GQ article presents the idea that Casey was in such terrible shape after the way Jean had cared for him, Kerri had little choice but to cut off his food and water and allow him to die.

But court documents and new affidavits don’t support that description.

First, there’s a sworn affidavit from Dr. Donald Sharman, who was Casey’s doctor at the time. Here’s what he says in sworn testimony:

“I was Casey Kasem’s Primary Care Physician in Washington. Casey was under my care and supervision along with Gentiva Home Health Care. Casey was exceptionally well cared for.”

And…

“It was my professional medical opinion, that the so-called ‘independent medical evaluation,’ should have taken place at the residence as a house call and not by prying Casey from his family and peaceful home environment. It was against my warnings to forcibly remove Casey from the family home against his will, to take him to a hospital, which caused him extreme trauma and stress.”

And…

“After Dr. Regimbal [of St. Anthony Hospital] examined Casey Kasem, his medical report concluded that Casey had been receiving appropriate medical care prior to his arrival at St. Anthony Hospital and that Casey was stable and could return home to the care he was receiving.” (Emphasis ours.)

Kerri didn’t allow her father to return home, however, and the day after that examination, there was a hearing about it in Kitsap County Superior Court. Here’s what Judge Jennifer Forbes said, according to an official court transcript:

“It didn’t sound to me like there was a compelling argument from the doctor in the report that he needed to stay in the hospital. It was more for observation purposes overnight and that has occurred right?…The report says, ‘I recommend a brief observation stay to optimize wound management followed by ongoing care in either skilled nursing or adult family home or in-home with 24-hour skilled/assistant skilled nursing care.’ That’s the recommendation that I have. This was written yesterday…So for me, we’ve reached that stage from this report. At this point in time, I’m going to authorize that he can return home to Silverdale if Dr. Sharman, after consulting with his current treating physician in the hospital, agree that he is medically stable. and it’s safe for him to return home to his wife.”

The judge, in other words, agreed with Casey Kasem’s physician, Dr. Sharman, that Casey should return home to Jean after his hospital visit.

Instead, Kerri kept Casey in St. Anthony and then removed his food and hydration. Casey died two weeks later.

We were stunned when we saw these court records, and so we looked up Dr. Sharman and gave him a call, wanting to hear from him directly what kind of shape Casey was in when his daughter had him removed from Jean’s home.

“He had skin breakdown, but Jean had done a pretty good job keeping the wounds clean. We had home health involved in his care, so he had wound care in the home setting,” Sharman told us.

Were the wounds unusually bad, as Kerri claimed to GQ?

“Wounds, unusual? No, they were not.”

So it wasn’t necessary to do what Kerri ordered, to have his food and water stopped?

“That was my opinion. He was in a safe environment being taken care of.”

And what were the possible outcomes? What was his prognosis?

“Overall it wasn’t all that good, but you never can predict that kind of thing. If someone takes really good care of that person, they can last a long time,” Dr. Sharman said.

Well, we were shaken after that call with Dr. Sharman. We understand how Jean Kasem is perceived by the public, and she has certainly earned her reputation for being eccentric. She acted bizarrely numerous times during Casey’s ordeal. But according to Casey’s Washington doctor, and the St. Anthony physician, and the Kitsap County judge, Casey Kasem had every right to go back home to Jean, where he was receiving proper care, and might have lived some time longer.

Instead, his food and water was removed, and he died on June 14, 2014. He was 82.

We are really looking forward to what CBS has to say about this tomorrow night.

 
UPDATE (Feb 6): The Gig Harbor Police have completed their investigation and cleared the family of any wrongdoing.

“The Gig Harbor Police Department investigation revealed that the standard of care delivered to Mr. Kasem by medical personnel was appropriate and that any medical decisions were made by family members authorized to act on his behalf,” the police said in a statement.

 
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Clay Irwin was right: Downtown Clearwater getting gobbled up by Scientologists

Tracey McManus has another terrific piece at the Tampa Bay Times today, confirming something Clay Irwin told us, that Mexico City Scientologist and developer Moises Agami is buying up multiple parcels in downtown Clearwater. Clay was told that Agami and Tom Cruise want to make some kind of entertainment district for visiting Scientologists, but there’s no confirmation of that yet. But for now, McManus has the hard data on how much storefront property has been gobbled up.

 
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Scientology’s celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs’ — now with comments!

We’re building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs.’ We’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them, in order to build a record and maintain a watch as Scientology continues its inexorable decline — and yes, we finally have comments working on these new pages! Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.

Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!

Today’s Scientology front: Criminon!

 
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Now on sale: Twice the Miss Lovely!

 
Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. What a pleasure it is for us to work with her on this after we wrote about her ordeal as a victim of Scientology’s “Fair Game” campaigns in our 2015 book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, which is also on sale in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions.

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] We’ve cooked up for you a special Scientology Thanksgiving — so pass the Source!
[TWO years ago] Before Leah Remini burns it to the ground, here’s Scientology’s side of the story
[THREE years ago] Another Scientology rehab death — and why this one is particularly bad for David Miscavige
[FOUR years ago] VIDEO: Watch a Scientology spy get busted by Marc Headley in Las Vegas last night
[FIVE years ago] Jon Atack: Why do Scientologists Find it So Difficult to Apologize?
[SIX years ago] Scientology Interviews John Travolta: Oddly, Massage Therapy Not Discussed

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on November 23, 2018 at 07:00

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Our book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

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