Kenny Iwamasa, 59, Matthew Perry’s longtime live-in helper, gave the Friends star the fatal ketamine injection
Prosecutors said on Thursday that Matthew Perry’s live-in helper had entered a guilty plea to providing the late Friends star with the ketamine that ultimately led to his death.
Following a bust that resulted in the accusations of four additional defendants, including a Los Angeles doctor who provided Perry with the lethal medicine, Iwamasa now faces up to 15 years in jail.
Up until his passing in November of last year, Iwamasa lived with Perry and served as his assistant, according to a November DailyMail.com article.According to the Department of Justice, on October 28, 2023, the day Perry passed away, Iwamasa gave him a ketamine injection.
Iwamasa, 59, of Toluca Lake, entered a guilty plea on August 7 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death, according to a statement released by California prosecutors on Thursday.
According to the Department of Justice, the assistant «admitted to repeatedly injecting Perry with ketamine without medical training, including performing multiple injections on October 28, 2023 – the day Perry died.»Additionally, they filed charges against Salvador Plasencia, a 42-year-old doctor in Santa Monica; Eric Fleming, 54, of Hawthorne; and Dr. Mark Chavez, 54, of San Diego. They dubbed Jasveen Sangha, 41, the «Ketamine Queen» of North Hollywood.
The two doctors were scheming to sell Perry ketamine, and the police were able to get their text messages, which included the phrases «Lets find out» and «I wonder how much this moron will pay.»
Plasencia faces charges related to ketamine distribution conspiracy.Sangha, a dual citizen of the United States and the United Kingdom, is accused of a number of offenses, including one count of keeping a drug-related establishment, one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it, one count of possessing ketamine with the intent to distribute it, seven counts of ketamine distribution, and two counts of falsifying or altering documents or records pertaining to the federal investigation.
On August 8, Fleming entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. Fleming acknowledged that he distributed the ketamine that killed Perry.
Four days prior to Perry’s demise, Fleming acknowledged receiving 25 vials of ketamine from Sangha and delivering them to the assistant, Iwamasa.
Dr. Chavez admitted selling ketamine to Plasencia and obtaining supplies of it «by making false representations to a wholesale ketamine distributor and by submitting a fraudulent prescription in the name of a former patient without that patient’s knowledge or consent,» according to the prosecution. He also entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.
Just a few weeks before to his tragic passing, Perry and Iwamasa shared a Beverly Hills hideout, as DailyMail.com can disclose.
And on October 28, according to people close to the celebrity, it was he who found Perry’s lifeless body in the hot tub at his recently renovated home. For almost a year, the actor had been paying $49,000 a month to rent a three-bedroom hillside property with views of the ocean and Beverly Hills, while his $6 million Pacific Palisades house was under repair.
He shared the rental with Iwamasa, an executive assistant who had over 25 years of experience handling Perry’s business matters. According to John Malakzad, the landlord of the house, Iwamasa is ‘an individual living with Perry and monitoring him’.
Iwamasa was seen driving 54-year-old Perry around Los Angeles for errands and leaving the Beverly Hills house in the morning, according to photos that DailyMail.com has obtained.
Less than a month had passed since the Friends actor returned to enjoy his newly remodeled Pacific Palisades home when a «personal assistant» discovered him dead. Iwamasa, his live-in PA, is thought to have discovered his body.
Iwamasa stated on his LinkedIn profile that he was Doug Chapin’s manager at work and that he was a ‘executive assistant’.
‘Executive Assistant to personal manager responsibilities for 25 years (on-going) for client Matthew Perry (‘Friends’; actor, writer, producer),’ is one of his listed roles.
He continues, «I thrive in chaotic situations that require order.» I respect complete secrecy, am discreet, and am faithful. «I adore deadlines, contracts, crossing all the i’s, and resolving complex issues and tasks.»
Perry and Iwamasa were spotted shopping together at The Grove in Los Angeles, just two months before his untimely death and a few days after his 54th birthday, according to a DailyMail.com story at the time.
One Los Angeles-based relative of Iwamasa’s verified to DailyMail.com that the assistant had moved in with Perry recently, despite the fact that the relative had not spoken to Iwamasa since the actor’s passing. Five days before his death, on October 23, Perry shared a photo of himself enjoying a starry night in his hot tub overlooking his seaside neighborhood on Instagram.
He wrote, «Oh, so swirling around in warm water makes you feel good?» as the post’s caption. «The acute effects of ketamine» was Perry’s cause of death according to the autopsy report.
According to the study, he probably lost consciousness and slipped underwater in his jacuzzi, and there were high concentrations of the tranquilizer medication in his blood.
The Los Angeles Medical Examiner stated in a statement that «drowsing, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine (used to treat opioid use disorder) are contributing factors in Mr. Perry’s death.» «An accident is how I died.»
Perry was submerged when his assistant discovered him, according to the first responders on the site. In a desperate attempt to get him some oxygen, the helper raised his head.
It was eventually discovered that the actor had passed away by the time the Los Angeles Fire Department reached his Pacific Palisades residence.
It follows the discovery of a 15-second dispatch call that shows the exact moment his aide dialed 911 to report what seemed to be a cardiac arrest.
Perry has previously been transparent about his battles with alcoholism and drug addiction, but he claimed to be sober and clean in recent interviews.
In his memoir, which was released a year ago, Perry stated that he had spent $9 million attempting to sober up. He also disclosed that he had attended 6,000 AA meetings, 15 times at treatment, and 65 times in detox.
There were antidepressants and anxiety pills on the home, according to first responders, but no indications of illegal substances.
