Kasem Family Feud: LA Judge Orders Casey Be Fed

Jean Kasem

Doctors in Washington have said that Casey Kasem is near the end of his life, but the family fight over his medical care took a dramatic turn in Los Angeles Monday when his wife of 33 years broke down in a courthouse corridor, fell to her knees and wailed over and over, "Please don't let them kill my husband!"

NBC News reports the tense scene took place minutes before Jean Kasem, 59, and her lawyers, appeared before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel S. Murphy to protest decisions made over the weekend by Kerri Kasem, who was appointed as her father's healthcare conservator. The 82-year-old radio icon, who has Lewy Body dementia, has not received nutrition or proactive treatment for two days.

Casey Kasem

A lawyer representing Jean Kasem told the judge that Casey Kasem indicated to his wife that he wants to live and "signaled to her that he was in distress, grabbed her hand with such strength that the hospital administrator had to peel his fingers off one by one."

"This is an unusual circumstance," countered attorney Troy Martin, who represents Kerri Kasem and spoke with Casey Kasem's doctors before the hearing. "Feeding and hydration causes him tremendous amounts of pain and further infection and pneumonia."

Although Murphy upheld Kerri Kasem's temporary conservatorship, he sided with Jean Kasem and ordered that doctors immediately feed and hydrate Casey Kasem and provide whatever medications they see fit. The judge also ordered for court-appointed attorney Samuel Ingham, who represents Casey Kasem, to fly to Washington to see Casey Kasem for himself as soon as possible and report to the court on Friday.

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