Matthew Perry's stepfather Keith Morrison wants “justice” for the actor's death

Matthew Perry's stepfather Keith Morrison speaks out after federal investigators charged five people in connection with the Friends The actor died in October 2023 at the age of 54.

The Date line The 77-year-old correspondent thanked law enforcement authorities for their investigations and expressed his hope that “justice” would be done.

“We are and continue to be heartbroken by Matthew's death, but we have been helped by knowing that law enforcement took his case very seriously,” Morrison said in a statement to PEOPLE on behalf of the Morrison family. “We look forward to seeing justice take its course, and we are grateful for the extraordinary work of the multiple agencies whose agents investigated Matthew's death.”

Morrison continued: “We hope that the unscrupulous suppliers of dangerous drugs get the message.”

Perry's cause of death was determined to be acute effects of ketamine, according to the autopsy report obtained by PEOPLE in December. The manner of death was determined to be “accidental.”

On Thursday, August 15, multiple charges were filed against Jasveen Sangha, known as the “Ketamine Queen” according to U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada, and Dr. Salvador Plascencia, a licensed physician.

Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry's personal assistant, had previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death. Erik Fleming and Dr. Mark Chavez were also separately charged with conspiracy to distribute ketamine, the Justice Department said.

Authorities allege that the five people knowingly supplied and administered ketamine to Perry, exploited his addiction, and attempted to “cover up” their role after his death. Estrada said Perry relapsed into his addiction in the fall of 2023, shortly before his death.

“These defendants exploited Mr. Perry’s addiction problems to enrich themselves,” Estrada claimed during the press conference.

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After Perry's death in October 2023, Morrison spoke about his grief at Hoda Kotb Make space Podcast and said, “As other people have told me hundreds of times, it doesn't go away. It's with you every day. It's with you all the time, and there's a new aspect of it that's attacking your brain.”

“It's not easy. Especially for his mother,” he added of his wife and the late actor's mother, Suzanne, whom he married in 1981. “Towards the end of his life, they were closer than I've seen them in decades.”

The journalist also reported that the A strange couple The actor had told him before his death that he was “happy,” adding: “He hasn't said that in a long time. So that's a consolation, but he didn't get his third act either, and that's not fair.”

“He felt like he had conquered it,” Morrison said at the time when Perry was struggling with alcohol and drug addiction. “But you never conquer it, and he knew that.”