Matthew Perry’s stepfather Keith Morrison breaks his silence on the arrest of the Friends actor’s dealers

Matthew Perry’s stepfather Keith Morrison has spoken out after multiple people were arrested in connection with the actor’s death on Thursday.

The Friends star died in October 2023 at the age of 54 from the acute effects of ketamine. Five suspects have been charged with crimes related to his death.

“We were and remain devastated by Matthew’s death, but it has helped us to know that law enforcement is taking his case very seriously,” the 77-year-old Dateline correspondent said in a statement.

“We look forward to justice being served and are grateful for the exceptional work of the various agencies who investigated Matthew’s death.”

Morrison concluded: ‘We hope unscrupulous suppliers of dangerous drugs get the message.’

Matthew Perry’s stepfather Keith Morrison (pictured in 2019) has spoken out after multiple people were arrested in connection with the actor’s death on Thursday

The Friends star died in October 2023 at age 54 from the acute effects of ketamine, and five suspects have been charged with crimes related to his death; (Morrison and Perry)

Perry’s mother Suzanne Perry married Morrison in 1981 and the actor credits his stepfather with helping to reunite his family after his parents’ difficult divorce.

Suzanne and Matthew’s father John Perry were married from 1968 to 1970.

After the arrests, sources said VSWeekly that Perry’s family friends were “stunned” and “saddened” by the arrest of his personal assistant Kenneth.

‘When Matthew [previous] assistant left, they didn’t hire another one for a while,” the insider added. “Matthew wasn’t acting at the time, so they just needed someone to manage his life and the household.

‘Kenny presented himself as a decent person.’

Perry’s autopsy report in December found that he had died from the acute effects of ketamine. Officially, his death was ruled an accident.

On Thursday, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada announced charges against Jasveen Sangha, nicknamed “The Ketamine Queen,” and licensed physician Dr. Salvador Plascencia.

Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s personal assistant, had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death.

Additionally, Erik Fleming and Dr. Mark Chavez are being separately charged for their roles in the ketamine distribution conspiracy, the Justice Department revealed.

Officials accuse the five people of intentionally administering ketamine to Perry, abusing his addiction and attempting to conceal their involvement after his death.

District Attorney Martin Estrada noted that Perry relapsed into his addiction in the fall of 2023, shortly before his death.

“These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction problems to enrich themselves,” Estrada said during a news conference.

Los Angeles police said in May that they were working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service on an investigation.

“We look forward to justice being served and we are grateful for the exceptional work of the various agencies whose officers investigated Matthew’s death,” Morrison said.

Perry’s mother Suzanne Perry married the Dateline correspondent in 1981, and he has credited his stepfather for bringing his family back together after his parents’ difficult divorce; (Perry and Morrison in 2017)

The December autopsy report found that Perry died from acute effects of ketamine, with his death officially ruled an accident; (2018 photo)

It was previously reported that Charlie Sheen’s ex-wife Brooke Mueller was among those questioned “multiple times” by the LAPD in connection with the death.

However, according to TMZ, she was not named among those arrested.

Mueller and Perry reportedly bonded during a stint in rehab. She has always been adamant that she had nothing to do with her friend’s death.

According to the outlet, the search warrant also found text messages discussing Perry and the ketamine he wanted, as well as how much he was willing to pay for it.

The investigation is also said to have uncovered other celebrities with ties to the drug scene.

Local police and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents questioned a number of “key Hollywood figures” known to be drug users.

Beloved actor Perry was prescribed ketamine therapy to treat his anxiety and depression.

But he had not received any treatment in the week and a half before his death.

That means the ketamine found in his system after he drowned in a hot tub at his LA home was not prescribed.

Perry’s 54-year-old age shocked the world. An autopsy attributed his death to the “acute effects of ketamine.”

The amount in his blood was in the range used for general anesthesia during surgery.

It was ruled the primary cause of death and was ruled an accident with no foul play involved, the report said.

The actor has been candid about his struggle with drug abuse.

In 2022, he estimated he had spent $9 million battling his addictions, spread across 15 rehab clinics.

Just days before his death, Matthew shared a rare photo of himself with his father John Perry on Instagram

The beloved Friends actor has been candid about his struggles with drug abuse over the years

In his revealing memoir, Perry claimed he was finally sober after several failed attempts to get clean.

Sources later told DailyMail.com that the ‘reclusive’ star hired younger partners from dating app Raya to deliver drugs to his home, even though he was under the care of a nursing team 24/7.

Despite having a nursing team at his $6 million Pacific Palisades home and a sober companion living with him, Perry managed to steal drugs through casual contacts without realizing it, sources said in December 2023.

“He met girls on dating apps and invited them over,” insiders claimed.

‘There was a whole group of 21 to 25 year olds that he met on Raya. They brought drugs. It was mostly Oxycontin [a powerful opioid pain killer].

“He also got drugs from old girlfriends, there was some kind of network,” a source said.

The Los Angeles County coroner ruled that Perry died on October 28, 2023, of an accidental ketamine overdose.

He drowned in “the hot part of his swimming pool,” the autopsy report said, but that was a secondary factor in his death.

The investigator’s report does not say how or when Perry ingested the lethal dose of ketamine.

However, traces were found in his stomach and prescription medications and loose pills were found in his home.

No alcohol was found in his system by the autopsy report. There were also no traces of other drugs such as cocaine, heroin or fentanyl.

Perry’s ex-girlfriend Kayti Edwards, whom Perry dated since 2006 and who worked as his assistant in 2011 at the height of his drug addiction, has previously called for a police investigation into the medical staff “to see if he had a deal with one of them to give him some ketamine”.

This is not the first time that people have been arrested in the case of a celebrity’s fatal overdose.

After Michael Jackson’s death in 2009, his physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter after administering a lethal dose of propofol to him.

In 2021, prosecutors in New York charged four men with supplying The Wire actor Michael K. Williams with fentanyl-laced heroin.