Matthew Perry's Family Opens Up About the Star's 'Painful' Death Investigation: 'It Makes You Angry' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Matthew Perry.Photo:Jeff Lipsky/CPi Syndication; David M. Benett/Getty

Jeff Lipsky/CPi Syndication; David M. Benett/Getty

Perry’s stepfatherKeith Morrison, who marriedPerry’s mom Suzanne Morrisonin 1981, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue that coping with the information that has come to light amid the investigation is “painful.”

“It makes you angry,” Morrison, 77, says.

Matthew Perry.Jeff Lipsky/CPi Syndication

Jeff Lipsky/CPi Syndication

While he “can’t say anything” specifically about the investigation, Keith believes that his stepson’s status as a public figure played a role in the charges that have been brought against five people, includingthe star’s personal live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, two doctors, Dr. Mark Chavez and Dr. Salvador Plasencia,Jasveen Sangha, who is known as “The Ketamine Queen,” and an acquaintance, Erik Fleming, who coordinated the sale of ketamine between Sangha and the actor.

“I can only say I suspect it, that authorities, agencies got together to investigate and to lay charges against these people because Matthew is so famous or well known, it would get around,” theDatelinehost says.

“People would be aware of this investigation, they’d be aware of the charges, and it would be made public and it would serve notice to anybody who was in a position to be an enabler: you better not do it. Because the price, if you do, may be very high indeed.”

Matthew Perry with his family.Courtesy The Morrison Family

Courtesy The Morrison Family

In a sit-down interview withSavannah Guthriefor theTodayshow on Oct. 28,Perry’s mom Suzanne said she’s “thrilled” there has been some accountabilityfor the people who were involved in the ketamine Perry had in his system on the day of his death.

Keith similarly told Guthrie that he’s “hoping” the actor’s death will act as a warning for “people who have put themselves in the business of supplying people with the drugs that will kill them.”

Morrison tells PEOPLE that his stepson “believed somehow that this particular drug that he was taking wasn’t addictive, that it wouldn’t kill him. And of course it did.”

“But he said to us — I think he said it publicly several times, ‘If I die suddenly you may be shocked, but you probably won’t be surprised.'”

Given his history of addiction, though, Morrison says that their family — which also includes his daughters with Suzanne,Caitlin, Emily, Madeline— were always on edge about the possibility of losing Perry.

Matthew Perry with his family.Courtesy Keith Morrison

Courtesy Keith Morrison

“He had been close to it, oh gosh, lots of times over the years. I can’t tell you how many, but there were several times when the doctor would come to us and say, ‘He’s not going to survive the night, not going to survive the week.’ Or, ‘He’s close to death, get ready for that possibility,'” Morrison recalls.

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After Chavez’s arraignment on Aug. 30, his attorney Matthew Binniger told reporters that he is “incredibly remorseful” and is “doing everything in his power to cooperate and help with this situation.”

Matthew Perry’s family (clockwise from bottom left): Keith Morrison, Suzanne Morrison, Caitlin Morrison, Madeline Morrison and Emily Morrison. Photo: TODAYshow/X.TODAYshow/X

TODAYshow/X

A trial has been set for March 4 for Sangha and Dr. Plasencia, both of whom pleaded not guilty.

To read more about Matthew Perry, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on stands Friday.

In Keith’s interview, he explained that Perry’s “dying wish” was to be remembered “for helping other people, more than his famousness forFriends.”

“That has now become our mission in life is to carry that wish on,” says Keith.

There’s also aU.S.-basedMatthew Perry Foundation, established just after his death, which makes grants to grassroots organizations “looking to fill the gaps in people’s recovery journey,” Doug Chapin, the board president and Matthew’s former manager, tells PEOPLE.

Matthew wanted his fans to understand that addiction “is not a moral failing,” Keith says. “It’s a disease that affects vast numbers of people, way more now than ever before. And it’s a real crisis for the whole society. It has to be addressed. So that’s what we’re determined to do.”

For more information and to donate, visit theMatthew Perry Foundationand theMatthew Perry Foundation of Canada.

source: people.com