Matthew Perry’s stepfather Keith Morrison has spoken out after several people were arrested in connection with the actor’s death on Thursday.
The Friends star died in October 2023, aged 54, from the acute effects of ketamine, and five defendants have been charged with crimes related to the death.
“We were and still are heartbroken over Matthew’s death, but it was helpful to know that authorities took his case very seriously,” the 77-year-old Dateline correspondent said in a statement.
“We look forward to justice and are grateful for the exceptional work of the multiple agencies whose officers investigated Matthew’s death.”
Morrison concluded: “We hope that unscrupulous suppliers of dangerous drugs get the message.”
Matthew Perry’s stepfather Keith Morrison (pictured in 2019) has spoken out after several people were arrested in connection with the actor’s death on Thursday.
The Friends star died in October 2023, aged 54, from the acute effects of ketamine, and five defendants have been charged with crimes related to her death; (Morrison and Perry)
Perry’s mother, Suzanne Perry, married Morrison in 1981 and the actor credits his stepfather with reuniting his family after his parents’ difficult separation.
Suzanne and Matthew’s father, John Perry, was married from 1968 to 1970.
Following the arrests, sources told US Weekly that Perry’s family friends were “shocked” and “saddened” by the arrest of his personal assistant Kenneth.
“When Matthew’s (previous) assistant left, they didn’t hire anyone new for a while,” the source added. “Matthew wasn’t acting at the time, so someone was needed to just take care of his life and the house.”
‘Kenny came across as a decent person.’
Perry’s autopsy report in December revealed he died from acute effects of ketamine and his death was officially ruled accidental.
On Thursday, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada announced charges against Jasveen Sangha, nicknamed “The Ketamine Queen,” and licensed physician Dr. Salvador Plascencia.
Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s personal assistant, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death.
Additionally, Erik Fleming and Dr. Mark Chavez face separate charges for their roles in the ketamine distribution conspiracy, the Justice Department said.
Authorities accuse the five men of knowingly providing Perry with ketamine, taking advantage of his addiction and trying to conceal their involvement after his death.
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said Perry had relapsed into addiction in the fall of 2023, just before his death.
“These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction problems to enrich themselves,” Estrada said during a news conference.
Los Angeles police said in May they were working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service on an investigation.
“We look forward to justice taking its course and are grateful for the exceptional work of the multiple agencies whose officers investigated Matthew’s death,” Morrison said.
Perry’s mother, Suzanne Perry, married the Dateline correspondent in 1981 and he credits his stepfather with reuniting his family after his parents’ difficult separation; (Perry and Morrison in 2017)
The December autopsy report revealed that Perry died from acute effects of ketamine, and his death was officially ruled accidental; (photo from 2018)
It was previously reported that Charlie Sheen’s ex-wife Brooke Mueller was among those who had been interviewed “multiple times” by the LAPD in connection with the death.
However, she has not been named as one of the people arrested, according to TMZ.
Mueller and Perry are said to have fallen in love during a stint in rehab. She has remained adamant that she had nothing to do with her friend’s death.
The outlet also reports that the search warrant uncovered text messages discussing Perry and the ketamine he wanted, including how much he would pay for it.
The investigation is also said to have revealed other celebrities linked to the world of drugs.
Local police and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents interviewed some “key people in Hollywood” who are known drug users.
Beloved actor Perry had been receiving prescription ketamine therapy to treat his anxiety and depression.
But he had not received any of those treatments for a week and a half before his death.
That means the ketamine found in his system after he drowned in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home had not been prescribed.
Perry’s death at the age of 54 shocked the world. An autopsy attributed his death to the “acute effects of ketamine.”
The amount in his blood was within the range used for general anesthesia during surgery.
It was listed as the primary cause of death, which was ruled an accident with no suspicion of foul play, according to the report.
The actor had been open about his struggles with substance abuse.
In 2022, he said he estimated he had spent $9 million battling his addictions in 15 rehab stays.
Just days before his death, Matthew shared a rare photo on Instagram of himself hanging out with his father John Perry.
The beloved Friends actor had been open about his struggles with substance abuse over the years.
In a revealing memoir, Perry claimed he was finally sober after multiple failed attempts at detox.
Sources later told DailyMail.com that the “reclusive” star had younger contacts from dating app Raya deliver drugs to her home even while she was under the 24/7 care of a nursing team.
Despite having a nursing staff at his $6 million Pacific Palisades home, as well as a sober-minded live-in partner, Perry managed to have his casual contacts bring him illicit drugs undetected, sources explained in December 2023.
“He met girls on dating apps and invited them to visit him,” sources close to the incident said.
‘There were a lot of young people between 21 and 25 years old that I knew at Raya. They were carrying drugs. Mostly Oxycontin (a powerful opioid painkiller).
“He also obtained illegal drugs from old girlfriends, there was a kind of network,” said a source.
The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner ruled that Perry died of an accidental ketamine overdose on October 28, 2023.
He drowned in the “hot end of his pool,” according to the autopsy report, but it was a secondary factor in his death.
The examiner’s report does not specify how or when Perry consumed the fatal dose of ketamine.
But traces were found in his stomach and there were prescription drugs and loose pills in his home.
The autopsy report found no alcohol in his system, nor traces of other drugs such as cocaine, heroin or fentanyl.
Perry’s ex-girlfriend Kayti Edwards, who dated Perry in 2006 and worked as his assistant in 2011 at the height of his drug addiction, has previously called on police to investigate medical staff, “to see if he had a deal with any of them to give him some ketamine on the side.”
These arrests are not the first to occur in the case of a fatal celebrity overdose.
Following Michael Jackson’s death in 2009, his doctor, Dr. Conrad Murray, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after giving him a lethal dose of propofol.
In 2021, New York prosecutors charged four men who supplied The Wire actor Michael K Williams with fentanyl-laced heroin.
