Matthew Perry was very lonely, says mother on first anniversary of death

Actor Matthew Perry’s mother has spoken of how “very lonely” her son had been throughout his life as the first anniversary of his death aged 54 was marked.

Perry, who played Chandler Bing on US hit series Friends, died from the “acute effects of ketamine” on October 28 after he relapsed into addiction.

An investigation revealed a “wide underground criminal network” of people who “exploited” the American-Canadian actor, who set up a sober living facility for men with similar problems.

The first of five people charged in Perry’s death will be sentenced Wednesday.

In an interview to mark the first anniversary of his death, his mother Suzanne Morrison told NBC’s morning talk show Today that she was “delighted” by the allegations surrounding his death.

She also stated that she was aware that he was struggling as a result of the “new medication,” ketamine, which, according to court documents, Perry was initially given to treat his depression.

His stepfather, Dateline NBC journalist Keith Morrison also said, “What I hope, and I think the agencies that got involved in this hope, is that people who have put themselves in the business of supplying people with drugs that are going to kill them, that they now on notice.

“It doesn’t matter what your professional credentials are, you’re going down, honey.”

Morrison also said: “It has to be said that he was very lonely in his soul.”

“I’m a very happy woman, but there was a mistake, there was a problem that I couldn’t… overcome it (his addiction), I couldn’t help him,” she added, breaking down emotionally.

“The one thing I have to learn, (it’s) very hard… is you have to stop blaming yourself because it wears you down.”

While tearful and starting the Canadian charity Matthew Perry Foundation with her other family members, including her daughters, Morrison also said she worries that if overdose deaths don’t stop, “we’re going to lose so many (millions) of people”.

“I have more freedom to (maintain) a relationship (with Matthew) now than I ever did,” she said.

As his wife shook her head and appeared to disagree, Morrison said he “didn’t know how much he was taking,” and had thought he was sober.

He also said he believed it had not “turned into something he couldn’t control”, admitting Perry’s “exterior hid an insecure, often very sad guy”.

The expansion of the foundation, which began last November, sees his sister Caitlin Morrison as chief executive, and their mother sits on the board.

She said they were “always proud” as he “continued to fight” against Perry’s drug addiction.

In the last weeks of his life, Perry turned to street dealer Erik Fleming, who is said to have obtained the ketamine from Jasveen Sangha – dubbed the “ketamine queen” by the authorities.

The ketamine allegedly supplied by Sangha was ultimately the dose that took Perry’s life, a Drug Enforcement Administrator claimed.

On August 8, Fleming pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in death.

Sangha will go on trial on March 4 next year, along with Salvador Plasencia, a doctor who allegedly used Perry’s live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa to distribute ketamine to the actor from September to October last year.

Iwamasa pleaded guilty on August 7 to conspiring to distribute ketamine causing death – admitting he “repeatedly injected Perry with ketamine without medical training” – with his sentence set for November 6.

Meanwhile, another doctor named Mark Chavez became the last defendant to plead guilty to conspiring to distribute the surgical anesthetic ketamine after Perry’s death.

His sentencing hearing was scheduled for April 2, 2025.

Perry had been seeking treatment for depression and anxiety when he became addicted to intravenous ketamine, turning to allegedly “unscrupulous doctors who saw Perry as a way to make a quick buck,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada.

Ketamine is a sedative that can be used as a recreational drug, as well as to treat depression and pain management.