Matthew Perry’s relatives have described the “cruel joke” they say continues to haunt them after his assistant was accused of ‘repeatedly’ injecting him with ketamine in the lead-up to his death.
Perry was discovered unresponsive at his Los Angeles home on October 28 2023 by his live-in assistant, Kenneth “Kenny” Iwamasa. A coroner later concluded the actor died from the “acute effects of ketamine”.
In the wake of the investigation, five people have been convicted in connection with the circumstances surrounding Perry’s death.
Dr Salvador Plasencia was found to have allegedly sourced ketamine for Perry illegally. Another physician, Dr Mark Chavez, was charged with conspiracy to distribute ketamine. Iwamasa was charged with conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death.
Erik Fleming admitted to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. Another defendant, drug dealer Jasveen Sangha — dubbed the “Ketamine Queen” — admitted to five charges, including one count of distributing ketamine resulting in death or bodily injury.
Before Iwamasa’s sentencing, members of Perry’s family shared their grief and anger in a victim statement obtained by Page Six.
His sister, Madeline Morrison, said of the assistant: “He had injected my brother with a lethal dose of ketamine and left him in a hot tub to die.
“It is difficult to put into words the sense of betrayal I felt when I found out what Kenny had done.
“Everything I believed about the day he died — everything Kenny told us — was a lie.
“The idea that someone my brother considered family could betray him in such an unimaginable way is something I never could have conceived.”
The Department of Justice has said Iwamasa ‘repeatedly’ administered ketamine to Perry despite having no medical training.
Morrison also recalled the funeral, describing the impact of hearing Iwamasa speak during the service: “The person responsible for my brother’s death stood up and addressed the people who loved him most.
“That is like a cruel joke I still struggle with. He didn’t just take my brother’s life — he tainted our final memories of saying goodbye.”
Perry’s younger sister, Caitlin Morrison, said she may never know whether the final dose “was only lethal by accident.”
“But I know that when Kenny left the house, he was doing one of two things. He was either escaping from something he knew he had done or he was wilfully abandoning a vulnerable person in a dangerous situation,” she said.
Iwamasa is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday (May 27) by Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett, who also sentenced Plasencia, Chavez, Fleming and Sangha.
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