Matthew Perry‘s personal assistant who injected the actor with the ketamine that led to his fatal overdose was sentenced Wednesday to 41 months in prison.
The assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, pleaded guilty in 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. He repeatedly gave Perry the drug despite several warning signs of danger, administering the dose that killed him on Oct. 28, 2023.
The sentence puts an end to a yearslong legal saga after Perry was discovered unresponsive and floating face down in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home after becoming increasingly reliant on the drug. Four others have been charged and sentenced in connection to the death.
Iwamasa, who was paid $150,000 per year, had known Perry since 1992 and became his live-in assistant in 2022. Prosecutors said he was aware of the actor’s struggle with addiction and was warned by doctors that ketamine shouldn’t be self-administered.
Starting in 2023, Perry directed Iwamasa to procure him ketamine, according to a sentencing memo. He was introduced to Salvador Plasencia, who was sentenced to 30 months last year for supplying the actor with 20 vials of ketamine over two weeks in the period leading up to the overdose, as a source. Iwamasa bought dozens of vials of the drug across several purchases, injecting Perry as the actor’s addiction worsened. “Found the sweet spot but trying different places led to running out of ketamine,” he told Plasencia.
Prosecutors said Iwamasa found Perry unconscious on at least two occasions due to adverse reactions to ketamine. In the days leading up to the overdose, the former assistant injected the actor with increasing quantities. He found Perry dead in the jacuzzi after administering a large dose, Perry’s third of day.
Prosecutors sought a sentence of 41 months. They argued Iwamasa took steps to cover his involvement in Perry’s death, concealing the actor’s ketamine usage when questioned by law enforcement and removing ketamine bottles and syringes from his home. He ultimately cooperated in the investigation provided information that led to the discovery of the ketamine that killed the actor, according to court documents.
In a letter to the court, Suzanne Morrison, Perry’s mother, said Iwamasa “killed my son.”
“Kenny knew, should he feel unduly pressured, that with one phone call to any number of the people in Matthew’s orbit, reinforcements would be on the way, and his job would be safe,” she added. “But instead of protecting Matthew, he aided and abetted illegal drug taking, arranged for one source of supply, then another. Shot the drugs into Matthew’s body though he was not in the least qualified.”
Madeline Morrison, Perry’s sister, said Iwamasa “betray[ed]” the family by procuring the actor drugs.
Iwamasa sought a sentence of six months in prison and six months of home confinement. He stressed he was simply following his employer’s directions and risked his job if he refused.
In April, Jasveen Sangha, the North Hollywood drug linchpin who pleaded guilty to selling the ketamine that killed Perry, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
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