Five individuals have been charged in connection with the death of actor Matthew Perry, who was found dead in his Los Angeles home last October.
An autopsy found that the cause of death was the “acute effects of ketamine”, with “drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine” — a medication used to treat opioid addiction — listed as contributing factors.
Source: FRIENDS (TV Show) on Facebook
Among those charged are Perry’s personal live-in assistant, an acquaintance, two doctors, and a ketamine supplier.
According to United States (US) authorities, the investigation into Perry’s death has uncovered a “broad criminal network”.
Ketamine, originally an anaesthetic used by medical practitioners, has in recent years been prescribed for depression, anxiety, and pain.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that on the day of his death, Perry received several ketamine injections from his assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa.
Source: Teresa Crawford/AP via NPR, for illustration purposes only
Iwamasa had obtained 50 vials of ketamine from Erik Fleming, an acquaintance of Perry, with 25 of these vials acquired within four days of the latter’s death.
Fleming, in turn, sourced the ketamine from Jasveen Sangha, a drug dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen”.
Iwamasa and Fleming have both pleaded guilty to drug charges, while Sangha has pleaded not guilty in her initial court appearance.
Perry had been receiving ketamine prescriptions in non-lethal doses from his regular doctors.
However, when they refused to prescribe him more, he turned to Dr Salvador Plasencia, a 42-year-old physician.
According to BBC reports, the indictment describes Dr Plasencia’s prescriptions as unaligned with professional practice and lacking legitimate medical purpose.
Dr Plasencia obtained the ketamine from Dr Mark Chavez, who, in turn, sourced it from Sangha.
Source: Jojo Korsh/BFA.com/Shutterstock via The Daily Beast
In the weeks leading up to Perry’s death, the two doctors, along with the actor’s assistant, provided him with over US$50,000 (S$66,000) worth of ketamine.
Dr Plasencia allegedly texted:
I wonder how much this moron will pay.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Dr Chavez, on the other hand, has pleaded guilty.
The famed ‘Friends’ star had long struggled with addictions to alcohol and drugs.
In a 2016 interview with BBC Radio 2, Perry revealed that his substance abuse had cost him three years’ worth of memories from filming ‘Friends’.
He later chronicled his battle with addiction in his memoir, ‘Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing’.
Also read: Opinion: Matthew Perry Showed That ‘Friends’ Charm Belied Deeper Issues Funny Men Like Him Face
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Featured image adapted from Getty Images via Rolling Stone.
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