Assistant Sentenced in Matthew Perry's Death Case
The live-in personal assistant to Friends star Matthew Perry has been sentenced to 41 months in prison, concluding a multi-year legal case related to the actor's death.
Kenneth Iwamasa, 60, who administered ketamine injections to Perry, collaborated with two doctors to supply the actor with over $50,000 (£38,000) worth of the drug in the weeks prior to his death, according to prosecutors. Iwamasa had no medical qualifications.
Perry was discovered deceased in his backyard hot tub in Los Angeles in October 2023.
Iwamasa pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death and faced a maximum federal prison sentence of 15 years.
He was also sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.
Prosecutors had requested a prison term of three years and five months for Iwamasa, who was the first among five defendants to reach a plea agreement in the case and the last to be sentenced.
Family Statements Ahead of Sentencing
Prior to Iwamasa's sentencing, Perry's mother and sisters submitted letters expressing their views on the sentencing.
"I have no sympathy for Kenny Iwamasa," wrote his sister Caitlin Morrison, adding that when Iwamasa left Perry the night he died, he was "either escaping from something he knew he had done or he was willfully abandoning a vulnerable person in a dangerous situation".
Perry's other sister Madeline Morrison told the judge in a letter that she believed Iwamasa was "more culpable" than ketamine dealer Jasveen Sangha.
Suzanne Morrison said that Iwamasa's "most important job" was to be her son's companion and in his fight against addiction and ensure that Perry remained drug free.
She added that Iwamasa knew that if he felt unduly pressured, he could call a number of people in Perry's orbit and "reinforcements would be on the way, and his job would be safe".
Instead of protecting Perry, he aided and abetted illegal drug taking and arranged for one source of supply, then another, she wrote.
"We trusted a man without a conscience, and my son paid the price," she wrote.
Medical Findings and Legal Proceedings
Medical officials determined that Perry's overdose death was caused by the acute effects of the dissociative anaesthetic ketamine. Drowning was listed as a contributing factor in his death.
Iwamasa admitted to repeatedly injecting Perry, including administering multiple injections on the day Perry died.
US authorities stated that a group of defendants supplied ketamine to Perry and exploited his drug addiction for profit, which ultimately led to the actor's overdose death.
All five defendants agreed to plead guilty to their respective charges in the case.
Sentences for Other Defendants
In April, Jasveen Sangha, a Los Angeles woman known as the "Ketamine Queen," was sentenced to 15 years in prison for selling drugs that contributed to Perry's death.
Dr Salvador Plasencia, who supplied Perry with ketamine in the weeks before his death, was sentenced in December to 30 months in prison.
Also in December, Dr Mark Chavez, a California doctor who sold ketamine to Perry, was sentenced to eight months of home detention and three years of supervised release.
Erik Fleming, who sourced the drug from southern California's so-called Ketamine Queen, was sentenced earlier this month to two years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $200 fine.
Ongoing Coverage
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