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Matthew Perry's Assistant to Be Sentenced for Ketamine Injection That Killed Actor
Kenneth Iwamasa faces sentencing Wednesday after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death. He is the final defendant in the case involving the October 2023 overdose of the Friends star.
May 27, 7:57 AM·2m read5 sources
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Kenneth Iwamasa, Matthew Perry's former live-in assistant, is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday in Los Angeles federal court for injecting the ketamine that caused the actor's death. Iwamasa, 60, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death.
Prosecutors said he administered repeated injections without medical training in the weeks before Perry's Oct. 28, 2023, overdose.
Iwamasa had known Perry since around 1992 and was hired in 2022 at a salary of $150,000 a year to live in the actor's Los Angeles home and handle responsibilities that included medical care. Prosecutors stated that Iwamasa obtained ketamine from two doctors and later from two dealers, acquiring dozens of vials that were supplied to Perry.
On Oct. 28, 2023, he gave Perry two doses, then a third after the actor asked him to prepare the jacuzzi and "shoot me up a big one." Iwamasa left to run errands and returned to find Perry dead, face down in the jacuzzi. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled ketamine intoxication the primary cause of death, with drowning listed as secondary.
“When defendant Kenneth Iwamasa was hired as Matthew Perry's live-in personal assistant, he was acutely aware that Mr. Perry had suffered from drug addiction for most of his life. But rather than help Mr. They noted he found Perry unconscious at least twice in October 2023 and observed him "freeze up" after a large injection yet continued administering the drug. Defense attorneys argued that Iwamasa acted at Perry's direction as an employee and did not abuse a trusted position. They stated that multiple third parties outside the employment relationship also participated in supplying ketamine. Perry's mother, Suzanne Morrison, submitted a victim impact statement describing the family's trust in Iwamasa and stating that he "aided and abetted illegal drug taking" despite visible danger.”
Iwamasa is the fifth and final defendant to be sentenced.
