Keith Morrison, Matthew Perry’s stepfather, has spoken out about the recent charges against five people linked to the Friends star’s death.
“We were and still are heartbroken by Matthew’s death, but it has helped to know law enforcement has taken his case very seriously,” the Morrison family said in a statement, per TMZ.
“We look forward to justice taking its course and we’re grateful for the exceptional work of the multiple agencies whose agents investigated Matthew’s death. We’re hoping unscrupulous suppliers of dangerous drugs will get the message,” they added.
Perry passed away unexpectedly on October 28 due to the acute effects of the anesthetic ketamine, as indicated by an autopsy released in December.
The autopsy report indicated that Perry had been undergoing ketamine infusion treatment close to the time of his death. However, due to ketamine’s short half-life, the traces of the substance found in his system could not have originated from those treatment sessions.
Those Charged Include a Suspect Dubbed the “Ketamine Queen.”
On Thursday, a coalition of law enforcement agencies held a press conference in Los Angeles, announcing that five individuals have been indicted and charged in connection with Perry’s death. Those charged include the actor’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa; two doctors, Salvador Plasencia, and Mark Chavez; street drug dealer Erik Fleming; and Jasveen Sangha, known as the “ketamine queen.”
During their investigation, authorities revealed the discovery of a vast underground criminal network responsible for Perry’s death.
“These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves. They knew what they were doing was wrong” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada noted at Thursday’s press conference,
Officials have reported that Iwamasa has pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death. Chavez has admitted guilt to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, while Fleming has pleaded guilty to both conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine leading to death.
Keith Morrison Opened Up About Perry’s Death Back in March
Meanwhile, this isn’t the first time Morrison, who married Perry’s mother, Suzanne, in 1981, has addressed the passing of his stepson.
In March, Morrison shared with Hoda Kotb on her Making Space podcast that Perry “was happy” prior to his passing.
“He said so,” the Dateline correspondent insisted. “And he hadn’t said that for a long time.” Morrison added that Perry “didn’t get to have his third act, and that’s not fair.”