Casey Kasem's Body Was Flown to Montreal

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, July 23, 2014 | 8:41am CT

According to new reports from CNN, Casey Kasem's body was flown from the Gaffney Funeral Home in Tacoma, Washington, to Canada a month after he died. The move took place before Kasem's daughter, Kerri Kasem, could enforce a court order against it being removed. Kasem's wife, Jean Kasem, said she has been "blackmailed" by her husband's children for 35 years telling the news station, "This is a shakedown and I will not negotiate with terrorists. I will not give in to their blackmail and attacks."

Meanwhile, Kerri Kasem has accused her stepmother of abusing her elderly father and contributing to his death by taking him from a Santa Monica, California, care facility in May and relocating him to Washington. Santa Monica Police are continuing "an open and ongoing investigation" into the elder abuse allegation according to police Sgt. Rudy Camarena.

Corey Gaffney, of the Gaffney Funeral Home, said Kasem's body was kept in his funeral home until he was instructed by Jean Kasem to send it to Montreal last week. He added, "I took Casey to the airport myself, oversaw every detail myself from the moment we brought him into care."

Kerri Kasem has now become an advocate pushing for a new law in California to give adult children visitation rights with their aging or incapacitated parents. In a Facebook posting she said, "There are so many people dealing with the same situation my family is dealing with, and we are receiving so many letters and e-mails."