Matthew Perry’s stepfather Keith Morrison reacts to arrests in death case: ‘Justice’
The family is speaking out.
On Thursday, authorities announced that five people, including Matthew Perry’s personal assistant and a woman known as the “Ketamine Queen of Los Angeles,” have been arrested in connection to the “Friends” star’s overdose death last fall.
Perry did not leave behind a wife or kids, but he was survived by a large family, including his parents, siblings and stepfather Keith Morrison of “Dateline” fame, who has been married to Perry’s mother since 1981.
Following the report of the arrests, the family told NBC News in a statement, “We were and still are heartbroken by Matthew’s death, but it has helped to know law enforcement has taken his case very seriously. We look forward to justice taking its course.”
Perry died at age 54 of an apparent drowning in October of 2023. His cause of death was later attributed to the acute effects of the anesthetic ketamine. Drowning, coronary artery disease and buprenorphine effects were also listed as contributing factors to his death on the autopsy.
At the time of his passing, “The Whole Nine Yards” actor had about 3.54 micrograms per milliliter of ketamine in his bloodstream — which is nearly three times the normal amount.
“As other people have told me hundreds of times, it doesn’t go away,” Morrison, 77, told Hoda Kotb on her Making Space podcast in March.
He continued reflecting on his stepson’s death, “It’s with you every day. It’s with you all the time, and there’s some new aspect of it that assaults your brain. It’s not easy, especially for his mom.”
Morrison was listed as the informant on Perry’s death certificate — which means that he was the one who identified his stepson to authorities after Perry passed away.
About Perry’s lifelong struggles with addiction, Morrison said, “He felt like he was beating it. But you never beat it, and he knew that, too.”
Perry spoke openly about his battle with addiction, and wrote about it in his 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.”
As Perry noted in his book, received ketamine infusions while in a Swiss rehab clinic during the pandemic.
“Ketamine was a very popular street drug in the 1980s. There is a synthetic form of it now, and it’s used for two reasons: to ease pain and help with depression,” he said in his book, adding, “Has my name written all over it — they might as well have called it ‘Matty.’“
At the time of his death, the “Friends” star was undergoing ketamine therapy for depression. But, according to the coroner, the drug in Perry’s system could not have been from his treatment, because ketamine’s half-life is only three to four hours, and he had last been treated over a week before he passed away.
Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s assistant, along with Dr. Mark Chavez and Dr. Salvador Plasencia, are all facing a slew of federal charges, including conspiracy to distribute ketamine, the New York Times first reported, citing documents filed by the Central District of California.
Authorities also charged Perry’s friend Erik Fleming and Jasveen Sangha — an alleged drug dealer prosecutors claim was known as the “Ketamine Queen of Los Angeles” — in connection with Perry’s death.
Dr. Plasencia, who worked at an urgent care center, allegedly helped Perry procure additional ketamine despite knowing about his history of drug abuse, according to the indictment.
When Kotb asked on her podcast if Morrison was surprised by the tragedy, he said, “It was the news you never want to get, but you think someday you might. Yes and no, I guess is the answer to that.”
