- Matthew Perry died in October 2023.
- Five people were charged with drug-related offences connected to the actor's death.
- Perry's mother Suzanne Morrison said that Iwamasa aided Perry's drug habits instead of protecting
Friends star Matthew Perry's mother, Suzanne Morrison, has slammed the late actor's assistant Kenneth Iwamasa in a heartbreaking letter. Matthew Perry, who had struggled for decades with drug addiction, was found dead in the jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023. He was 54.
In a statement, Morrison said that her son “paid the price” for trusting “a man without a conscience”, People reported. She also accused Iwamasa of "aiding and abetting” the actor's “illegal drug taking” and arranging “for one source of supply, then another," instead of protecting him.
"Shot the drugs into Matthew's body, though he was not in the least qualified.. He did it even though he could see, anyone could have seen, it was so obviously dangerous. And he did it again and again," Morrison said.
"And when he had killed my son, he kept a sharp eye on me. He sent me songs, he drew a little map to help me find my way around the cemetery," she added.
The 82-year-old also recalled how Iwamasa "insisted" on speaking at Perry's funeral and stayed close to her "as if he was somehow the good guy who tried to save Matthew".
Recalling the circumstances of Perry's death, Morrison recounted, “He was, in spite of all we went through, my heart and soul. And then one night he was just a body, lying all but naked on the cold, damp grass of his backyard”.
She thanked investigators for probing Iwamasa's role in Perry's death and added, “Nothing takes this pain away, nor will it, I am sure, for as long as [I] live.”
Iwamasa is set to be sentenced on May 27. He was one of five individuals arrested and charged with drug-related offenses in relation to Perry's death.
A coroner's report stated that the actor died from “acute effects of ketamine”.
The death certificate also listed drowning, buprenorphine effects and coronary artery disease as other contributing factors in Perry's demise.
In 2024, federal prosecutors charged five people with conspiracy and distribution of ketamine, including Iwamasa. Perry's assistant pled guilty to all charges, alongside Dr Mark Chavez and Erik Fleming. A year later, Dr Salvador Plasencia and Jasveen Sangha also pleaded guilty. Iwamasa is the only person left to be sentenced.
Sangha was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for supplying the ketamine that killed Perry and running a drug trafficking business. Fleming received two years in prison and three years of supervised release. Dr Chavez was sentenced to 8 months of house arrest, three years of supervised release and 300 hours of community service. Dr Plasencia was given a prison sentence of 30 months.
