Matthew Perry’s mom, Suzanne Perry, has slammed her late son’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, for how he behaved at the actor’s funeral.
On Wednesday, the 82-year-old wrote and read an emotional victim impact statement at Iwamasa’s sentencing for helping supply the ketamine that ultimately killed Matthew in October 2023.
“He insisted on speaking at Matthew’s funeral,” the letter, included in court docs obtained by Page Six, read. “He clung to me and the family as if he was somehow the good guy who tried to save Matthew.”
Suzanne added that after Iwamasa “killed” her son, he “kept a sharp eye on” her.
“He sent me songs, he drew a little map to help me find my way around the cemetery. If he saw a rainbow — one of Matthew’s favorite things — he would call me,” she penned.
Suzanne insisted that her and her family “trusted a man without a conscience,” so Matthew “paid the price.”
“He had known Kenny, and so had we, for 25 years,” she detailed. “Mathew trusted Kenny. We trusted Kenny. Kenny’s most important job – by far – was to be my son’s companion and guardian in his fight against addiction.”
As far as the “Friends” star’s loved ones are concerned, Iwamasa’s biggest responsibility was ensuring that Matthew stayed “drug free.”
“Kenny knew, should he feel unduly pressured, that with one phone call to any number of the people in Matthew’s orbit, reinforcements would be on the way, and his job would be safe,” Suzanne revealed.
But instead of protecting Matthew, “he aided and abetted” his addiction.
Suzanne claimed Iwamasa “arranged for one source of supply, then another. Shot the drugs into Matthew’s body, though he was not in the least qualified.”
She also recalled the circumstances surrounding her son’s tragic passing.
“He was, in spite of all we went through, my heart and soul. And then one night he was just a body, lying all but naked on the cold, damp grass of his backyard,” Suzanne said.
“Helicopters circled overhead, eager for a glimpse of my dead little boy,” she recounted, “a picture they could show the whole world while I stood out on the street in the cold and begged for a blanket to cover him. Impossible, of course.”
Suzanne recalled visiting Matthew the next day in a mortuary, noting he “looked almost beautiful and somehow relieved.”
The heartbroken mother concluded her letter, stating, “Nothing takes this pain away, nor will it, I am sure, for as long as a live.”
Suzanne shared Matthew with ex-husband John Bennett Perry. After remarrying Keith Morrison in 1981, she welcomed children Caitlin, Emily, Will and Madeline.
Matthew — who openly struggled with drug addiction for decades — was found dead in his jacuzzi on Oct. 28, 2023, at age 54.
A coroner later announced that the “Fools Rush In” actor died from “acute effects of ketamine.”
Matthew’s death certificate also listed drowning, coronary artery disease and buprenorphine effects as other contributing factors.
In 2024, federal prosecutors charged five people with conspiracy and distribution of ketamine, which cause the “17 Again” star’s passing.
Iwamasa, drug counselor Erik Fleming and Dr. Mark Chavez all agreed to plead guilty to the charges.
One year later, Dr. Salvador Plasencia and “Ketamine Queen” Jasveen Sangha also entered guilty pleas.
Sangha was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for running a drug trafficking business and supplying the ketamine that killed Matthew.
Dr. Chavez will serve eight months of house arrest for his corporation, while Dr. Plasencia will spend 30 months in federal prison.
Fleming received two years in prison and three years of supervised release.
Iwamasa will be sentenced on May 27.
Read the full article here
