Matthew Perry‘s mother, Suzanne Morrison, showed up to a Los Angeles federal courthouse Wednesday alongside her husband, NBC journalist Keith Morrison, to watch the last man sentenced in her son’s death finally face a judge.
Kenneth Iwamasa Perry’s live-in personal assistant of 25 years walked out with 41 months in federal prison, two years of supervised release, and a $10,000 fine. He was the fifth and final defendant sentenced in the Friends star’s October 2023 ketamine overdose death.
The Betrayal That Broke a Family
Perry had hired Iwamasa in 2022 and was paying him $150,000 a year to live at his Los Angeles home and serve as his assistant. The family trusted him completely and that trust is exactly what made Wednesday so devastating.
In a victim impact statement ahead of the sentencing, Suzanne wrote that her family was relieved when Perry took on Iwamasa, a man they had known for 25 years and believed understood the actor’s battles with addiction. “Matthew trusted Kenny. We trusted Kenny,” she wrote.
That trust was not returned. Suzanne told the judge, “We trusted a man without a conscience, and my son paid the price.” Perry’s younger sister, Caitlin Morrison, was equally unsparing, writing that she had no sympathy for Iwamasa.
What Iwamasa Actually Did
Court documents show that despite having zero medical training, Iwamasa acted as the primary go-between connecting Perry to illegal ketamine sources, administering more than 25 injections to the actor in the days leading up to his death.
On October 28, 2023, Perry told Iwamasa, “Shoot me up with a big one.” Iwamasa gave the actor at least three injections that day, then left the Pacific Palisades home to run errands. He returned to find the 54-year-old dead in his jacuzzi.
Suzanne’s impact statement called out exactly what Iwamasa’s job was supposed to be: “Kenny’s most important job — by far — was to be my son’s companion and guardian in his fight against addiction. His number one responsibility — ensure that Matthew remained what he wanted to be: drug free.”
In Court, Iwamasa Finally Said Sorry
Before the sentence came down, Judge Sherilyn Garnett told Iwamasa directly, “You were privy to his struggle with addiction.”
Iwamasa addressed the courtroom after sentencing: “I’m so sorry to all of you. You all know how much Matthew loved you. I’m so sorry to have done illegal acts. I will forever regret it and I will take it to my grave and be a cautionary tale and make better choices than I did. I’m horribly, horribly sorry and I offer my condolences to you.”
Federal prosecutors had described Iwamasa’s actions throughout the case as “grossly negligent,” arguing that the defendants “took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves.”
Iwamasa pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death, becoming the first of the five indicted individuals to reach a plea deal. With his sentencing Wednesday, the criminal chapter of Matthew Perry’s death is now officially closed — though for his family, nothing about it feels like closure.
Outside the courthouse, Suzanne spoke briefly to reporters and described the experience: “You don’t feel betrayed, you feel heartbroken. You feel empty.”
Matthew Perry was 54 years old when he died.
