Matthew Perry’s sisters speak out against assistant ahead of sentencing in drug overdose death case

The ‘Friends’ star died in October 2023 because of Ketamine overdose
Matthew Perry’s sisters blast his assistant Kenneth Iwamasa (Getty Images and Screengrab/@Kenneth Iwamasa/LinkedIn)
Matthew Perry’s sisters blast his assistant Kenneth Iwamasa (Getty Images and Screengrab/@Kenneth Iwamasa/LinkedIn)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Matthew Perry’s sisters, Caitlin and Madeline Morrison, have called out his assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, for leaving “him in a hot tub to die”.

The ‘Friends’ star died in October 2023 at the age of 54 due to an overdose.

Kenneth Iwamasa expected to get prison time spanning more than a decade

Now, his personal assistant is going to face sentencing after being convicted of crimes related to Perry’s death. Iwamasa is one of the five people who have been convicted. 

Matthew Perry
Actor Matthew Perry of the television show 'The Kennedys - After Camelot' speaks onstage during the REELZChannel portion of the 2017 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour at the Langham Hotel on January 13, 2017, in Pasadena, California (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

As per the findings of the Department of Justice, Iwamasa had “repeatedly” given an injection to Perry “without medical training.” He even injected Perry with the drug multiple times on the day he died.

Iwamasa is set to be sentenced on Wednesday, May 27, where he faces up to 15 years behind bars.

Matthew Perry's sister speaks about betrayals of Kenneth Iwamasa

Ahead of his sentencing, Caitlin and Madeline Morrison submitted a victim impact statement on May 20.

“He had injected my brother with a lethal dose and left him in a hot tub to die. It is difficult to put into words the sense of betrayal I felt when I found out what Kenny had done. In many ways, it felt like my brother died all over again,” Madeline mentioned in her statement written to the US District Judge Sherilyn Garnett.

She further noted that “everything I believed about the day he died—everything Kenny told us—was a lie, before adding, “The idea that someone my brother considered family could betray him in such an unimaginable way is something I never could have conceived.”

Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry appears on stage at the 2023 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the University of Southern California on April 22, 2023, in Los Angeles, California (David Livingston/Getty Images)

Madeline Morrison says Kenneth Iwamasa 'tainted our final memories of saying goodbye' to Perry

The grieving sister also shared her anger at Iwamasa for speaking at Perry’s funeral despite being responsible for it.

“The person responsible for my brother’s death stood up and addressed the people who loved him most. That is like a cruel joke I still struggle with. He didn’t just take my brother’s life — he tainted our final memories of saying goodbye,” Madeline asserted.

Perry's sister claims Kenneth Iwamasa 'willfully abandon[ed] a vulnerable person'

The late actor’s other sister, Caitlin, in her statement, said that she would “never know if the lethal dose of the injection was only lethal by accident.”

“But I know that when Kenny left the house, he was doing one of two things. He was either escaping from something he knew he had done or he was willfully abandoning a vulnerable person in a dangerous situation,” she added.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - APRIL 1: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE)  Matthew Perry poses for pictures at Magic Ra
Matthew Perry poses for pictures at Magic Radio on April 1, 2015, in London, England. Perry is presenting Magic Radio shows on April 2 and 9 (Alex B. Huckle/Getty Images)

‘The Whole Nine Yards’ star’s 82-year-old mother, Suzanne, also shared her own statement in which she wrote about Iwamasa: “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.”

“And when he had killed my son, he kept a sharp eye on me,” she claimed.

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