The Man Who Killed Matthew Perry Is Going to Prison

Kenneth Iwamasa, 60, was Matthew Perry's live-in personal assistant. On Wednesday, a federal judge sentenced him to 41 months in prison for his role in the Friends star's death.

The man who actually injected Perry with ketamine — multiple times — was not a doctor, not a nurse, not a medic. He had zero medical training, according to prosecutors.

What He Actually Did

Iwamasa didn't just hand Perry a pill. According to BBC News and AP News, he worked alongside two doctors to supply Perry with more than $50,000 worth of ketamine in the weeks leading up to Perry's death in October 2023.

Perry was found dead in his backyard hot tub in Los Angeles. The cause: ketamine overdose.

Iwamasa pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death — a charge carrying a maximum of 15 years in federal prison. He got 3 years and 5 months. He'll also serve two years of supervised release and pay a $10,000 fine, according to BBC News.

He reports to custody on July 17.

The Judge Named the Real Problem

Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett pointed to two things when sentencing Iwamasa: his full knowledge of Perry's addiction struggles, and the fact that he concealed evidence after Perry's death.

This was a man who knew his employer was fighting a desperate battle against addiction — and kept injecting him anyway.

Perry's Family Didn't Mince Words

Perry's mother, Suzanne Perry, and stepfather, Keith Morrison — the Dateline NBC correspondent — were both in that courtroom Wednesday.

Morrison delivered a victim impact statement described by the NY Post as "very dramatic." He looked directly at Iwamasa and said: "You were part of the family. You could have called someone. You kept injecting him." He added: "You were living a dandy life. Like a king."

Suzanne Perry's written statement, obtained by the NY Post, was even more devastating. She wrote that Kenny's "most important job — by far — was to be my son's companion and guardian in his fight against addiction. We trusted a man without a conscience, and my son paid the price."

She described standing outside in the cold, begging for a blanket to cover her son's body while helicopters circled overhead.

Iwamasa turned to face the Perry family in court and said: "I'm so sorry to all of you. I will take it to my grave." He called himself a "cautionary tale." According to the NY Post, he appeared on the verge of tears as Morrison spoke.

Last Man Sentenced in a Five-Person Case

Iwamasa is the last of five defendants sentenced in connection with Perry's death, according to the New York Times. The other four included two doctors who supplied the ketamine. Multiple people enabled a visibly struggling addict — some for cash, some for convenience.

Forty-one months is less than four years for a man who injected a helpless addict to death. Perry trusted this man with his life, and Iwamasa took the money, ignored the addiction, and kept the needle moving.

Morrison's line from the stand captures it: "You could have called someone."

He didn't. Matthew Perry is dead. And Kenneth Iwamasa will be out of prison before Matthew Perry's son — if he had one — would have started high school.