Police make five arrests in connection with Matthew Perry’s death

Police have charged five people including two doctors and the “ketamine queen of LA” in relation to the Friends star’s hot tub death.

In a huge development in the investigation into Friends star Matthew Perry’s death, five people have been charged including two doctors, his personal assistant and a suspect known as the “ketamine queen”.

Prosecutors in California produced allegedly damning communications between the suspects including one email which referred to Perry as a “moron” and pondered how much money could be made from him.

Perry died on October 28 last year in the hot tub of his home in Los Angeles. He was 54.

Prosecutors alleged Perry was “taken advantage of” when he slipped back into addiction a month before his death and those who supplied him with the drug ketamine knew what they were doing was “wrong”.

Ketamine, a strong anaesthetic, is used as a party drug but can also be used to treat depression. Perry was indeed using ketamine legally, under the supervision of a doctor, but prosecutors allege the ketamine in his system was from drug dealers.

US federal authorities said five people had been charged in connection with Perry’s death. These included Dr Salvador Plasencia, Dr Mark Chavez and alleged drug dealer Jasveen Sangha who US lawyer for the Central District of California Martin Estrada said was known as the “ketamine queen of Los Angeles”.

It’s alleged Ms Sangha sold the vial of ketamine that killed Perry.

Matthew Perry died last year. (Photo by Chris Delmas / AFP)

‘How much will this moron pay?’

Perry’s assistant Kenneth Iwamasa and another person, Erik Fleming, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death and serious bodily injury and were facing lesser sentences due to their co-operation, according to entertainment website TMZ.

Prosecutors allege all five suspects knew Perry, best known for his portrayal of Chandler Bing in Friends, was spiralling from drug addiction from September 2023 to the next month when he died.

But they allegedly wanted to make money off of Perry’s woes.

At a press conference, Mr Estrada showed one email which asked “I wonder how much this moron will pay [for the ketamine],” in reference to Perry.

The answer was: a lot.

It’s alleged Perry paid vastly inflated sums for ketamine, in some cases $3020 for a $18 vial of the drug. Prosectors have said Perry bought 50 vials of ketamine from Ms Sangha.

Iwamasa allegedly administrated 20 shots of ketamine to Perry in the last four days of his life.

“These defendants took advantage of Mr Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves. They knew what they were doing was wrong,” Mr Estrada said.

Drug Enforcement Administration head Anne Milgram claimed Ms Sangha knew the drugs she was supplying to Perry could lead to death.

The prosecutors said the suspects allegedly use code names like “Dr Pepper” to refer to ketamine in communications.

It’s alleged after Perry’s death Ms Sangha sent a text message telling the others to “delete all our messages” while Dr Plasencia falsified medical records.

David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Mathew Perry, Courteney Cox Arquette, Jennifer Aniston, and Matt Leblanc, pose for photographers at the 54th Annual Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. (Photo by LEE CELANO / AFP)

The LA County Medical Examiner’s Office has stated the star’s death was an accident. Factors included the “acute effects of ketamine”, coronary artery disease, the opioid treatment drug buprenorphine and drowning.

The actor was found to have huge levels of ketamine in his system, similar to that of a patient under general anaesthetic.

TMZ reported the ketamine found in Perry’s system was not prescribed by a doctor and his last session where he was legitimately given the drug was a week and half previously.

The medical examiner stated the ketamine in Perry’s system “could not be from that infusion therapy” given the timescale.

Perry had, for years, been honest about his struggles with addiction, including opioids, and had been open about receiving ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression.

Perry’s live-in assistant discovered him drowned in the hot tub of his swimming pool at his home in the Pacific Palisades, near Santa Monica in LA.

The autopsy report detailed Perry’s final hours, which included an 11am pickleball session.

His assistant last reported seeing the actor at around 1.37pm on October 28, 2023.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) launched a criminal investigation in December to determine how Perry obtained the drugs that would ultimately claim his life.

Actor Matthew Perry was open about his mental health struggles. (Photo by Gabriel BOUYS / AFP)

Over the past nine months, the LAPD worked alongside the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the US Postal Inspection Service to re-trace the line of supply.

Some of the detectives working on the case also investigated the overdose death of rapper Mac Miller, who died after consuming a fentanyl-laced opioid in 2018.

Days after his tragic passing, the Friends cast - including Cox, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matt Leblanc and Lisa Kudrow - shared a statement expressing their grief over the news.

“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just castmates. We are a family,” they wrote.

“For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”