Casey Kasem’s Widow Will Not Face Elder Abuse Charges

Citing insufficient evidence, Los Angeles County prosecutors declined to file elder abuse charges against the widow of iconic radio host Casey Kasem. The district attorney’s office said on a charge evaluation sheet given to the media Friday that Jean Kasem tried to ensure that her husband was continuously provided medical care. A potential elder abuse charge would be impossible to prove in a criminal court, the document said. The district attorney’s office said it talked over its decision with Los Angeles police, who took over the case from their Santa Monica counterparts. LAPD agreed with the decision, according to the document. The former host of “American Top 40” was buried December 16 at Vestre Gravlund, a cemetery in Oslo, Norway, about six months after his death in a Washington state hospital. He had been suffering from Lewy body disease, the most common type of progressive dementia after Alzheimer’s. As Kasem, 82, lived out his final days, the family feuded over the best care options for him. Kasem’s children from his first marriage said they were complying with their father’s wishes to die comfortably and peacefully surrounded by family and friends, while Jean Kasem, his second wife, claimed they were ceding care and prematurely ending the radio legend’s life. Daughter Kerri Kasem accused her stepmother of abusing her elderly father and contributing to his death by taking him from a Santa Monica care facility in May and relocating him to Washington.

Source/more: WPTV/CNN

David Wingate is an elder law attorney who practices in Frederick and Montgomery Counties, Maryland. David Wingate’s practice includes wills, trusts, power of attorneys, livening wills, Medicaid and asset protection.