Matthew Perry's Personal Assistant Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison

Kenneth Iwamasa, personal assistant to the late Friends actor Matthew Perry, was sentenced to 41 months (three years and five months) in prison for his involvement in the actor’s death. Iwamasa is the last of five defendants to receive a verdict.

In addition to imprisonment, the judge ordered Iwamasa to pay separate fines of $10,000 and $100, and serve two years of supervised release upon his release. He is required to surrender to authorities on 17 July to begin his sentence.

Previously, Iwamasa pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine that caused Perry’s death. Perry was found dead on 28 October 2023 due to acute ketamine effects.

In his guilty plea, Iwamasa admitted to repeatedly injecting Perry in the days leading up to his death, including three injections on the day he died. On that day, after Perry received two doses of ketamine, he asked his assistant to administer more. Court documents state Perry requested, “Inject me with a large dose.”

Iwamasa left Perry’s Los Angeles home for other errands. Upon returning, he found the actor dead, face down in a jacuzzi.

After the judge delivered the verdict on Wednesday, 27 May, Iwamasa faced Perry’s family and relatives in court, including his mother Suzanne and stepfather Keith Morrison.

“I am deeply sorry to all of you,” Iwamasa said. “You all know how much Matthew loved you. I am deeply sorry for my illegal actions. I will regret this for the rest of my life and take it as a lesson to make better choices than I did. I am truly sorry and offer my condolences to you.”

Alongside Iwamasa, four other defendants have been sentenced for their roles. Jasveen Sangha pleaded guilty to charges of selling ketamine that contributed to Perry’s death.

The Indonesian National Police Chief has proposed classifying ketamine and etomidate as narcotics to ensure misuse of these substances can be penalised under criminal law.