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The live-in assistant of actor Matthew Perry has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in supplying ketamine that contributed to the star’s fatal overdose in 2023, bringing a major chapter of the case to a close.60-year-old Kenneth Iwamasa pleaded guilty in August 2024 to conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death. He was sentenced in a Los Angeles court on Wednesday and will also serve two years of supervised release and pay a $10,000 fine.Perry was found dead in his backyard hot tub in Los Angeles in October 2023. Medical officials later ruled his death was caused by the acute effects of ketamine, with drowning listed as a contributing factor.Iwamasa had no medical training and injected Perry with ketamine and worked alongside two doctors to supply the actor with more than $50,000 worth of the drug in the weeks leading up to his death. He admitted to repeatedly administering injections, including multiple doses on the day Perry died.During sentencing, Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett said Iwamasa was aware of Perry’s addiction and that he concealed evidence after the actor’s death.
In court, Iwamasa addressed Perry’s family directly."I'm so sorry to all of you. I'm just so sorry to have done illegal acts that I will forever regret. I will take it to my grave," he said.He added: "I hope I'll be a cautionary tale to someone who's in my position to make better choices."He also said he was “horribly, horribly sorry” and offered condolences to the family.Ahead of the sentencing, Perry’s family submitted victim impact statements.
His sister Caitlin Morrison wrote, "I have no sympathy for Kenny Iwamasa," and accused him of abandoning Perry in a vulnerable state. Another sister, Madeline Morrison, said she believed he was “more culpable” than other defendants in the case.Their mother, Suzanne Morrison, said Iwamasa’s responsibility was to support her son through addiction recovery, but instead he enabled drug use. "We trusted a man without a conscience, and my son paid the price," she wrote.The case is small fraction of network accused of supplying ketamine to Perry. Multiple defendants exploited his addiction for profit.Several others have already been sentenced. Los Angeles-based Jasveen Sangha, known as the “Ketamine Queen”, received 15 years in prison. Dr Salvador Plasencia was sentenced to 30 months, while Dr Mark Chavez received home detention and supervised release. Another defendant, Erik Fleming, was sentenced earlier this month to two years in prison.All five defendants in the case have pleaded guilty to related charges.
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