Matthew Perry’s longtime assistant, Kenneth “Kenny” Iwamasa, administered the fatal dose of ketamine that killed the beloved “Friends” star on Oct. 28, 2023, law enforcement revealed Thursday.
US district attorney Martin Estrada said in a press conference that Perry relapsed from his substance abuse issues last fall and the five people charged with his death “took advantage to profit for themselves.”
The official said Dr. Salvador Plasencia “worked with” Iwamasa, who lived with Perry inside his Los Angeles home, to “distribute” approximately 20 vials of ketamine to the actor over a period of two months.
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The Department of Justice said in a press release Thursday that Iwamasa “admitted to repeatedly injecting Perry with ketamine without medical training,” including “multiple injections” the day he died.
He pleaded guilty on Aug. 7 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death and faces 15 years in prison when sentenced in his federal case.
Iwamasa stated in his linkedIn profile that he worked for Perry for more than 25 years.
He wrote in his bio, “I thrive in chaotic situations which call for order. I am discreet, loyal and honor absolute confidentiality.”
Aside from Iwamasa, Plasencia and his co-conspirator, Dr. Mark Chavez, were also arrested and charged alongside “Ketamine Queen” Jasveen Sangha and alleged street dealer Erik Fleming.
Law enforcement obtained a text from Plasencia, an urgent care physician in Calabasas, Calif., that showed their true motives and complete disregard for the “17 Again” star’s life.
He once wrote, “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “Lets [sic] find out.”
Iwamasa was reportedly the individual who found Perry dead and face down in his hot tub at his Pacific Palisades, Calif., home last October.
The “Whole Nine Yards” star had 3.54 micrograms per milliliter of ketamine in his bloodstream at the time.
In December 2023, Perry’s official cause of death was confirmed to be the “acute effects of ketamine,” with other contributing factors such as drowning, coronary artery disease and buprenorphine, an opioid.
A medical expert previously told Pvnew that ketamine is “generally safe when administered by trained health professionals in a medical setting for the treatment of depression or post traumatic stress disorder.”
Given Perry’s longtime struggles with addiction, it appears he found comfort in this type of therapy.
Pvnew exclusively reported Thursday that the “Fools Rush In” star became so obsessed with the drug, though, that he wanted to open his own business to sell it, according to a source.
“He was telling me this [ketamine] is fantastic, he wanted to go into business with this one guy in Glendale, or somewhere in the Valley,” a close friend told us.
“Obviously this guy was giving him as much as he wanted, and with an addict, you can’t do that, it was terrible.”
Following the latest charges, Perry’s stepfather, Keith Morrison, spoke out on behalf of their family.
“We were and still are heartbroken by Matthew’s death, but it has helped to know law enforcement has taken his case very seriously,” the former “Dateline” correspondent, 77, told NBC News Thursday.
“We look forward to justice taking its course.”
