Matthew PerryThe sisters delivered emotional victim impact statements in court Wednesday ahead of the sentencing of late actor Kenneth Iwamasa’s personal assistant, one of five people convicted of crimes related to Perry’s October 2023 death. In court filings filed May 20, Caitlin and Madeline Morrison described Iwamasa as a man who betrayed his brother in the most unimaginable way, injecting him with ketamine and leaving him in a bathtub while deceiving his grieving family about what really happened.Perry was found in his bathtub in October 2023, and the cause was determined to be the acute effects of ketamine. He was 54 years old. According to the Justice Department, Iwamasa repeatedly injected Perry with ketamine without any medical training, including on the day he died.
What Matthew Perry’s sisters said in their victim impact statements
Madeline Morrison addressed her statement to U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Garnett, writing, “It’s hard 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 had died again. Everything I believed the day he died, everything Kenny told us, was a lie.”She described a particularly disturbing memory of the days following Perry’s death. “A few days after Mateo’s death, my sister and I went to pick out burial clothes, one of the most surreal and moving experiences of my life,” she wrote. “I remember how manic and restless Kenny seemed. He repeatedly volunteered his version of events without being asked, as if a friend was being interviewed rather than grieving. In fact, he was trying to distract from the truth: that he had injected my brother with a fatal dose of ketamine and left him in a heater to die.’Madeline also described the pain of knowing that Iwamasa had spoken at Perry’s funeral. “Kenny also spoke at Mateo’s funeral. The person responsible for my brother’s death stood up and addressed the people who loved him the most. That’s like a cruel joke I still struggle with. He didn’t just take my brother’s life, he tainted our last memories of saying goodbye.”
Caitlin Morrison and mother’s statements
In a separate statement, sister Caitlin wrote that she has “no sympathy” for Iwamasa. “I can’t read Kenny’s mind. I’ll never know if the fatal dose of ketamine was fatal by accident. But I do know that when Kenny left home he was doing one of two things. Either he was running from something he knew he had done or he was willingly abandoning a vulnerable person in a dangerous situation.”He has also been accused of trying to manipulate the results. “What I wouldn’t do is a dog left behind by a bereaved family. I wouldn’t make up a story to cover my tracks. I wouldn’t try to get compensation from a mother who lost her first child’s life at my hands.”Perry’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, 82, also released a statement, writing: “Kenny’s most important job by far was being my son’s companion and mentor in his battle with addiction. His main responsibility was to keep Matthew what he wanted to be: drug free. And when he killed my son, he looked at me sharply.’
The wider case and Wednesday’s ruling
According to the Department of Justice, Iwamasa conspired with Dr. Jasveen Sangha, Erik Fleming and Salvador Plasencia to illegally obtain and distribute ketamine to Perry. Sangha, known as the “Ketamine Queen,” was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in April to multiple charges, including distribution of ketamine resulting in grievous bodily harm. Dr. Mark Chavez and others connected to the case have also pleaded guilty to multiple charges.Iwamasa’s sentencing is set for Wednesday, May 27, where he faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine with deadly effect.Prosecutors have recommended a sentence of 41 months in prison plus three years of probation, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.“For the past two and a half years, my family has lived through a sentence of sorts,” Madeline wrote in closing. “When I think of Mateo, I want to smile again. I want to remember his laugh, his great sense of humor, his game nights and movie marathons.”Perry, best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the beloved sitcom “Friends,” which ran for ten seasons from 1994 to 2004, remained one of the most beloved characters in television history. As Wednesday’s sentencing approaches, his family continues to come to terms with the loss that has left an irreplaceable void in his life and in the hearts of millions of fans around the world.
