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Matthew Perry's family speaks out after arrests in connection with his death

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Matthew Perry's family has spoken out after five people were criminally charged in connection with the death of the “Friends” star at the age of 54 last October.

“We are and continue to be heartbroken by Matthew's death, but we have been helped by knowing that law enforcement took his case very seriously,” the Morrison family said in a statement provided to USA TODAY on Thursday.

“We look forward to justice being served, and we are grateful for the extraordinary work of the numerous agencies whose agents investigated Matthew's death. We hope the unscrupulous suppliers of dangerous drugs get the message.”

Keith Morrison, the longtime Dateline correspondent, is Perry's stepfather. He married Suzanne Perry, Matthew Perry's mother, in 1981.

Morrison had previously stated in a March episode of the podcast “Making Space with Hoda Kotb” that Perry's loss “was not easy, especially for his mother (Suzanne).”

“As other people have told me hundreds of times, it doesn't go away. It's with you every day. It's with you all the time, and there are always new aspects that attack your brain,” Morrison told Kotb.

“Towards the end of his life, they were closer than I'd seen them in decades, texting each other constantly and sharing things that most middle-aged men don't tell their mothers,” Morrison added. “He was happy and he said so. And he hadn't said that for a long time, and that's a consolation, but he also couldn't have his third act. And that's not fair.”

Morrison said Perry's battle with alcohol and drug addiction was a “disease” and “difficult to beat.” Morrison and Suzanne Perry have since founded the Matthew Perry Foundation to support agencies and organizations that help people struggling with addiction and substance abuse.

Investigation by Matthew Perry: Charges brought against five people, including a doctor and assistant to the “Friends” actor

Five people are said to be responsible for Matthew Perry's death

On Thursday morning, the Justice Department announced that a Los Angeles doctor and a suspected drug dealer had been arrested on suspicion of playing a role in Perry's death in October 2023.

Salvador Plasencia, a 42-year-old doctor, and Jasveen Sangha, 41, who was dubbed the “Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood in the Justice Department's press release, face 18 counts of “distributing ketamine during the final weeks of Perry's life.”

Co-conspirators in the case included Perry's assistant Kenneth Iwamasa (59), who lived with him, 54-year-old Dr. Mark Chavez and 54-year-old Erik Fleming, who is described as an acquaintance of Perry.

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Iwamasa and Fleming pleaded guilty earlier this month to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine; Fleming also pleaded guilty to distribution of ketamine resulting in death. Chavez “has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine,” the Justice Department said.

Iwamasa faces up to 15 years in prison; Fleming's charges carry a maximum sentence of 25 years. Chavez, who is scheduled to be arraigned on August 30, faces up to 10 years in prison.

Officials alleged that Iwamasa injected Perry with ketamine on October 28, 2023, the day he died, as he had done several times before, without having the proper medical approval for the injections. The ketamine used in Perry's death was administered according to instructions and with syringes provided by Plasencia, with ketamine sold by Fleming and Sangha, officials allege.

The autopsy report: Cause of death of Matthew Perry announced

On October 28, 2023, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to Perry's home in Pacific Palisades at 4:07 p.m. and found “an adult male unconscious in a freestanding hot tub.” Arriving officers pronounced him dead at 4:17 p.m.

In December, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office released Perry's autopsy report, which was obtained by USA TODAY. His death was ruled an accident, with the cause of death being “the acute effects of ketamine.” Contributing factors included drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine.

Buprenorphine is “an opioid-like medication used to treat opioid addiction and acute and chronic pain,” Perry's 29-page autopsy report states. There were no signs of “fatal trauma and there is no suspicion of foul play,” the report says.

Contributors: Jay Stahl

If you suspect that you or someone you know needs help with alcohol abuse, you can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit

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