In a heartrending victim impact statement, Matthew Perry’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, condemned the actor’s former assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, for enabling the addiction that led to his death in 2023.
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“His number one responsibility was to ensure that Matthew remained what he wanted to be: drug‑free,” Morrison wrote.“But instead of protecting Matthew, he aided and abetted illegal drug use, arranged for one source of supply and then another.”
Perry, 54, died after he was found unresponsive in his hot tub. He was later determined to have died from an accidental ketamine overdose.
In the months before his death, Perry underwent several treatments for anxiety and depression, including ketamine infusion therapy. Prosecutors said he later developed a dependence on the treatment and sought additional doses.
The Department of Justice said Iwamasa, 59, conspired with Jasveen Sangha, 41 — also known as “The Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood — Erik Fleming, 54, and Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 42, also known as “Dr. P,” of Santa Monica, to obtain and distribute ketamine to Perry illegally.
On August 7, 2024, Iwamasa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in the actor’s death. He admitted to repeatedly injecting Perry with ketamine without medical training, including administering multiple injections on October 28, 2023.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office noted that ketamine was a hallucinogenic anesthetic that had been used as part of an unrelated treatment for depression.
Ahead of his sentencing, Morrison wrote a victim impact statement obtained by NBC News. In it Morrison described her son — whom she called “Matso” — as someone who called her “Momma-Mooma,” a childhood name he used for her throughout his life.
“He was my Matso, my Manew. He was, in spite of all we went through, my heart and my soul,” Morrison wrote.“And then one night he was just a body, lying almost naked on the cold, damp grass of his backyard.”
She continued: “Helicopters circled overhead, eager for a glimpse of my dead little boy — a picture they could show the whole world — while I stood out on the street in the cold and begged for a blanket to cover him. Impossible, of course.”
Morrison wrote that Perry fought “half his life — more than half — against addiction.”
“He fought and failed, and came back to fight again,” she wrote. “By the time of his death, he knew more about that particular treachery than almost anyone. He wanted to help others avoid the terrible thing he had lived with for so long, but he was also determined to continue his career as an actor and a writer.”
Morrison said Perry trusted Iwamasa, whom he called “Kenny,” and that his family believed that Iwamasa “understood” his struggle with addiction. Yet despite supposedly serving as “his companion and guardian in his fight against addiction,” Iwamasa enabled him instead.
“He shot the drugs into Matthew’s body, though he was not in the least qualified. He did it even though anyone could see how obviously dangerous it was. And he did it again and again.”
Morrison also wrote that Iwamasa “insisted” on speaking at Perry’s funeral and portrayed himself as the “good guy who tried to save Matthew.” She said he sent her songs and tried to remain close to the family afterward.
“He clung to me and the family as if he were somehow the good guy who tried to save Matthew,” she wrote.
“We trusted a man without a conscience,” Morrison wrote, “and my son paid the price.”
Iwamasa’s sentencing is scheduled for May 27.
