Kenneth Iwamasa, the longtime live-in assistant of Matthew Perry, has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for his role in the actor’s fatal ketamine overdose case.
According to court proceedings reported by Entertainment Weekly, Iwamasa pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to distribute ketamine after admitting he injected Perry with the drug multiple times, including three injections on the day the “Friends” star died in October 2023.
During sentencing in Los Angeles federal court on Wednesday, US District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett criticized Iwamasa’s conduct, telling him: “You were privy to his struggle with addiction. Your conduct was reckless.” The sentencing effectively closes the nearly three-year federal investigation into Perry’s death.
Who is Kenneth Iwamasa?
Iwamasa, 60, had worked closely with Perry for years and was considered one of the actor’s most trusted aides. Multiple reports described him as Perry’s live-in assistant and friend of nearly 25 years.
According to prosecutors, Iwamasa was deeply involved in arranging and administering ketamine to Perry during the weeks leading up to the actor’s death.
Also Read: 5 people charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s death. Who are they?
Court documents revealed that he admitted to injecting Perry despite having no medical training.
Authorities said Perry had asked Iwamasa to administer the injections, and the assistant eventually learned how to do so from others involved in the illegal ketamine supply chain.
In victim impact statements submitted before sentencing, Perry’s family described feeling betrayed by someone they had viewed as part of the family. Perry’s half-sister Madeline alleged that Iwamasa tried to deflect suspicion in the days after the actor’s death and accused him of leaving the actor “in a hot tub to die.”
What happened in Matthew Perry’s death case?
Perry was found unresponsive in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home on Oct. 28, 2023. He was 54.
An autopsy later concluded that the actor died from the acute effects of ketamine. Drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine were listed as contributing factors.
Federal investigators later uncovered what prosecutors described as a black-market ketamine network involving suppliers, intermediaries and medical professionals.
Among those charged was Jasveen Sangha, often referred to in media reports as the “Ketamine Queen,” who pleaded guilty to supplying ketamine connected to Perry’s death. She was sentenced earlier this year.
Doctors Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez, along with acquaintance Erik Fleming, were also charged in connection with distributing ketamine to Perry.
