Suzanne Morrison attended the Wednesday, May 27, sentencing of Kenneth Iwamasa with her husband, Keith Morrison
NEED TO KNOW
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Iwamasa was her son Matthew Perry's live-in assistant, who'd known the star for more than two decades
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Iwamasa, who provided the late Friends alum with a lethal amount of ketamine, was sentenced to 41 months in prison and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine
Matthew Perry's motherSuzanne Morrisonwas in court on Wednesday, May 27, to attend the sentencing of the late actor's former assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa.
Suzanne was photographed arriving at federal court for Iwamasa's sentencing, with her husbandKeith Morrison.
Iwamasa, 61, was Perry's live-in assistant. He injected the actor with ketamine three times before he was found dead, face down in the hot tub at his Los Angeles home on Oct. 28, 2023. Perry was 54.
Iwamasa was one offive defendants chargedin connection with the death. He wassentenced to 41 months in prisonfor his involvement and also received a $10,000 fine.
“I'm so sorry to all of you," Iwamasa told the courtroom after the sentencing. "You all know how much Matthew loved you. I'm so sorry to have done illegal acts. I will forever regret it and I will take it to my grave and be a cautionary tale and make better choices than I did. I'm horribly, horribly sorry and I offer my condolences to you.”
The other defendants sentenced in connection with Perry's death were Erik Fleming, an acquaintance of the actor; Mark Chavez, a doctor in San Diego; Salvador Plasencia, a Santa Monica doctor; and Jasveen Sangha, who was called the "Ketamine Queen" by federal prosecutors.
Fleming wassentenced to 24 monthsin prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. Chavez was sentenced to three years of probation, eight months of home detention and was ordered to perform 300 hours of community service after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.
Plasencia was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine.
Sangha was sentenced to 15 years in prison. She pleaded guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury.
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The month that Perry died, Iwamasa purchased 51 vials of ketamine from Fleming over the course of 11 days, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a press release.
Prosecutors argued that Iwamasa, who had known Perry since 1992, was aware of the actor's “long history of drug addiction,” and “rather than help Mr. Perry maintain sobriety, [Iwamasa] became his enabler and drug supplier.”
Prosecutors also said that Iwamasa had found Perry unconscious from drug use on at least two occasions before his death, and that the former assistant deliberately omitted mentioning ketamine was in Perry's system when first responders arrived.
Ina victim impact statementahead of the sentencing, Suzanne said her son "trusted" Iwamasa.
"In the past, when the drugs got the better of him, he hid away so that no one would know — which, of course, was the signal to us that it was time to get in there and get help," she wrote of Perry. "Which is why we were relieved when he took on an assistant who — he believed and we believed — understood. He had known Kenny, and so had we, for 25 years. Matthew trusted Kenny. We trusted Kenny."
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"Kenny's most important job — by far — was to be my son's companion and guardian in his fight against addiction. His number-one responsibility — ensure that Matthew remained what he wanted to be: drug free," she said.
Suzanne and Keith were alsopresent for Sangha's court hearingin September 2025.
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