ALBAWABA - The death of Matthew Perry has led to the arrest and charging of five individuals, including two physicians and the actor's personal aide, according to authorities.
American lawyer Martin Estrada claimed that physicians "took advantage of Mr. Perry's addiction issues to enrich themselves" by providing the Friends actor with a lethal dose of ketamine before he passed away in October 2023 at his home in Los Angeles.
Perry has been open about his struggles with addiction since he was 54 years old. According to last year's postmortem report by the Los Angeles medical examiner, the actor was using ketamine infusion treatment for his anxiety and depression when he passed away. However, the examiner found significantly more ketamine in the actor's circulation than one would expect from the therapy alone.
In May, the LAPD and the DEA announced that they were collaborating on a criminal investigation into Perry's access to prescription medicine and the reason for the high concentration of the substance in his system.
The New York Times reported on documents filed in a California federal court that accuse five individuals, one of whom is Perry's personal assistant, of conspiring to get ketamine—worth thousands of dollars—and provide it to Perry.
Jasveen Sangha, a doctor known as "Dr. P.," and Salvador Plasencia, known as "the Ketamine Queen" by prosecutors, are among those accused, according to the Times. In addition to conspiring to sell ketamine, the two are also facing charges of distributing ketamine that caused death, possessing methamphetamine with the purpose of distributing it, and fabricating and manipulating documents for a federal investigation.
The Times, citing an individual familiar with the matter, indicted Perry's PA, Kenneth Iwamasa, on charges of conspiring to sell ketamine. The charges also included a doctor named Mark Chavez and an associate of Perry's named Erik Fleming.
Court records revealed that Plasencia had discussed buying ketamine to sell to Perry, the "victim MP," during text conversations with Chavez.
The Times reported that Plasencia wrote, "I wonder how much this moron will pay" and "let's find out" in the chat.
Near the end of 2023, Perry's body was discovered in a hot tub at his home in Los Angeles. The medical examiner's office in Los Angeles ruled that "the acute effects of ketamine" were the cause of death. Buprenorphine's side effects, coronary artery disease, and drowning were cited as causes in the report. Buprenorphine treats opioid use disorder.
His blood ketamine levels were comparable to those used for general anesthesia, according to the autopsy.
The autopsy findings noted that the major consequences that could be fatal would be cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression due to the high amounts of ketamine identified in his postmortem blood sample. The autopsy declared Perry's death an accident, with no indication of foul play.
Perry said that he started abusing substances when he was 14 years old, and that his addiction worsened when he was a cast member on Friends.
