Matthew Perry’s ketamine use was spiraling out of control in the weeks before his death, an investigation has revealed.
He was injecting the drug between six and eight times a day, and paid $55,000 for it in the month before he died, prosecutors revealed in court filings this week. Five people have been charged with a conspiracy to distribute ketamine in the death of the Friends actor in October 2023.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said in December that Perry had passed away from “acute effects” of ketamine, with the autopsy report stating that the amount of ketamine found in his blood was about the same level as for general anesthesia.
Dr Salvador Plasencia is accused of having provided the drug to the actor, and Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, injected him on the day of his death, filings stated.
Dr Mark Chavez, owner of a San Diego ketamine clinic, is charged in the death. Erik Fleming, a friend of a friend of Perry, allegedly provided the drug, along with Jasveen Sangha, a seller referred to as the “ketamine queen.”
A plea agreement was reached by Iwamasa and two other defendants. Sangha and Plasencia have pleaded not guilty. Their trials are set for October.
While Perry had been in ketamine infusion therapy as a treatment for depression and anxiety, it wasn’t the therapy that led to his death. Prosecutors say that the actor had been taking unsupervised doses of the drug and that his addiction was “out of control,” according to NBC News.
On October 28, 2023, Perry received his first shot at about 8.30am from Iwamasa, his live-in assistant. The second shot came four hours later and another was injected about 40 minutes after that, Iwamasa stated, according to a plea agreement.
“Shoot me up with a big one,” Perry reportedly told the assistant, before asking him to prepare his hot tub.
After running some errands, Iwamasa returned to the home and found Perry facedown in the water. He was 54.
After doctors refused to boost his dosage, Perry had found other means of getting access to the drug, court papers reveal. There were several occasions when the actor experienced negative effects from the drugs, such as when Perry became unconscious and lost his ability to speak following a large dose, according to The New York Times.
The indictment came after an investigation lasting seven months. Prosecutors have accused several of the defendants of taking advantage of Perry’s addiction despite being aware of his struggles and attempts to get sober.
The US attorney for the Central District of California, Martin Estrada, said on Thursday that the defendants “were more interested in profiting off Mr Perry than caring for his well-being.”
Plasencia allegedly taught Iwamasa how to inject Perry with the ketamine, according to prosecutors. At one point, the doctor injected Perry in the backseat of his car during a meeting in Long Beach.
“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia had also texted Chavez.
As Perry looked for further sources of the drug, he was put in touch with Fleming. The pair had a mutual friend, and Fleming told Perry he had a source, Sangha. Fleming, who agreed to cooperate with authorities, at one point sent Iwamasa a picture of a ketamine vial with a horse on the packaging, as the drug is used as an animal tranquilizer.
Court papers state that Iwamasa wrote to Fleming that Perry was “only interested in the unmarked ones, not the horsey version.”
“I did some calling around about the Mexican stuff and it’s fine for people too,” Fleming said.
Iwamasa faces up to 15 years in prison, Fleming as much as 25 years, and Chavez as much as 10 years behind bars, The New York Times reported.