MATTHEW Perry’s live-in assistant has been jailed for three years and five months after injecting the actor with ketamine and leaving him alone to die.
Kenneth Iwamasa, 60, learned his fate as he appeared in federal court in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
He was the fifth and final defendant to be sentenced for playing a role in the actor’s 2023 overdose death.
Iwamasa, who was previously out on bail, avoided photographs by turning up to court at 7am when the doors opened, two hours ahead of the hearing, a source told The U.S. Sun.
He was then granted a delayed surrender date of July 17.
Los Angeles Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett also ordered him to pay fines of $10,000 and $100 and be on supervised released for two years.
Iwamasa wore a grey suit and matching tie with a white shirt for the hearing.
“Kenny wishes he would have had the strength to push back and say no and for that he will forever be remorseful,” his lawyer, Alan Eisner, said as he stood beside him outside of the court.
“Kenny is not the only person here who partook in this tragic event.”
He said Perry had agency, and his family should have also been there for him during his relapse.
“Mr Perry’s family could have said no along the way,” he bizarrely stated.
His loved ones previously insisted they had no idea he had fallen back into addiction.
The attorney said the blame shouldn’t all fall on his client, a man who is at the “low end of the totem pole” and wasn’t benefiting financially like those who sold him the drugs.
Asked why he left him alone to die after injecting him with the drug, the lawyer called the comments “vindictive” and said it was an unfair narrative.
Perry’s stepfather, Keith Morrison, who arrived with the actor’s mother, Suzanne, gave an emotional impact statement, along with estate manager, according to the New York Post.
Iwamasa was reportedly on the verge of tears as Morrison addressed him in court but he did not speak to reporters outside.
Although he pleaded guilty, his counsel argued that he was trapped in a toxic employer-employee dynamic and felt unable to refuse Perry’s requests.
The actor’s publicist, Lisa Calio, who was close to him for 30 years and is now the CEO of The Matthew Perry Foundation, wrote a heartbreaking letter to the judge and slammed Iwamasa.
She claimed he hatched a delusional plan to get rid of those tasked with keeping Perry safe so he could run the show and live a lavish lifestyle, before sourcing drugs for him.
She wrote, “His narcissistic, outrageous, irresponsible behavior, his psychotic plan, caused him to heat up the jacuzzi, give Matthew the giant shot he requested and leave him alone to die.”
Referencing the day Perry was found dead, she recalled, “I received a text from Kenny at 4 a.m. as he was driving one of Matthew’s cars from the house in the Hollywood Hills to the house in the Palisades. And he was loving it.”
She claimed, “Kenny convinced Matthew that there were too many people around and that he didn’t need to spend the money on them anymore. And that battle, Kenny won. I was not aware.”
Calio claimed that it was “the beginning of the end.”
She added, “Whatever sentence he receives, it won’t be long enough.
“He will always be known as the man who killed Matthew Perry, I suppose there should be some comfort in that.”
Before he was Perry’s live-in assistant, the star had other staff members and a sober companion who saved his life.
Iwamasa had been working for Perry’s manager, Doug Chapin, since the 1990s and took a more hands-on role as the actor’s live-in assistant around 2022, according to reports.
Court documents showed he was paid around $150,000 a year to assist Perry around the clock and was tasked with helping to manage his sobriety.
They lived together at a Beverly Hills rental after Perry sold his “mansion in the sky” in Century City and was waiting for renovation work to be completed on his new home in the Pacific Palisades.
As Perry relapsed, Iwamasa obtained ketamine from suppliers and was taught how to administer it, according to court documents.
Iwamasa admitted to injecting Perry with the drug three times on the day he died, including twice in 40 minutes.
He then left him alone near his hot tub at the star’s home in the Pacific Palisades, and when he returned, he found the actor unresponsive in the water.
Iwamasa was accused of repeatedly lying to investigators, including allegedly hiding the fact that he injected Perry with several ketamine shots on the day of his death, court documents also show.
He later admitted he “cleaned up the scene” during a phone call with middleman Erik Fleming, officials claimed.
The assistant reportedly said he got rid of syringes and bottles, changed passwords on Perry’s devices and “deleted everything.”
It was several months before it was revealed that Iwamasa played a part in Perry’s death, shocking not only his family and friends but thousands of fans worldwide.
He pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death and initially faced 15 years behind bars.
But prosecutors said in court documents that he provided significant cooperation in the government’s investigation, leading to a reduced sentencing recommendation of three years and four months.
Perry’s mum, Suzanne Morrison, also described Iwamasa in a victim impact statement ahead of sentencing as a “man without conscience” and said the family felt betrayed by him.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/16417418/matthew-perry-assistant-kenneth-iwamasa-sentencing/
