Matthew Perry's family is addressing those accused of killing an actor a year later

A year after his death, Matthew Perry’s family has opened up about the loss — and what they think of those accused of the actor’s death.

Perry, who played Chandler Bing in “Friends,” was found unresponsive in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home on Oct. 28, 2023. The medical examiner later ruled that he died due to “acute effects of ketamine,” which he was taking through his regular doctor. But when that doctor wouldn’t prescribe a higher dose, the actor began obtaining it through other people, and now five suspects have been charged in connection with his death.

In an interview with “Today” which aired Monday, Perry’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, said she was “excited” about the five charges. And Perry’s stepfather, “Dateline NBC” correspondent Keith Morrison, said they are sending a message to others involved in the drug trade that accountability is coming.

“What I hope – and I think the agencies involved in this hope – (is) that people who have put themselves in the business of providing people with the drugs that will kill them, that they are now aware, that it doesn’t matter what your professional credentials are, you’re going to die, baby,” Morrison told “Today” host Savannah Guthrie.

Dr. Mark Chavez is one of three people who have pleaded guilty in connection with Perry’s fatal overdose. He was charged with conspiracy to distribute ketamine and agreed to cooperate while the U.S. Attorney’s Office pursues more serious charges against Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who has pleaded not guilty to charges related to prosecutors who allege he given medicine.

The other three charged in the case include Jasveen Sangha – who authorities say is known as “the ketamine queen” and was the source of the supply, although she has pleaded not guilty – Perry’s assistant Kenneth Iwamasa and an acquaintance of the actor, both of whom have pleaded guilty. . Iwamasa was accused of injecting Perry with ketamine, and Fleming was accused of distributing the drug.

Perry had been open about his decades-long battle with alcohol and drug abuse and his hopes to help others with their struggles, especially in his 2022 memoir after he got sober. Speaking to ‘Today’, the actor’s parents and three sisters all agreed that they believe he had not even released the fact that he had suffered a relapse at the time of his death.

Morrison said it too People that Perry “somehow believed that this particular drug he was taking was not addictive, that it would not kill him.” And of course it did.”

But now the family hopes they can make Perry’s “dying wish” come true, which Morrison told People would be remembered “for helping other people.”

“That has now become our mission in life: to continue that desire,” he told the publication.

That mission resides in the Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada, which is run by Suzanne and Perry’s half-sister Caitlin. There’s also the US-based Matthew Perry Foundation, which says in its mission statement on its website that it is “the realization of Matthew’s enduring commitment to helping others struggling with the disease of addiction.”