The sudden death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry at the age of 54 last October caused shock and grief in Hollywood and around the world. Now five people, including doctors, dealers and an assistant to the actor, are being held responsible.
Police and prosecutors in Los Angeles are making serious allegations against those arrested. The investigation has uncovered “a widespread criminal underground network that is responsible for distributing large quantities of ketamine to Mr. Perry and others,” said prosecutor Martin Estrada at a press conference. For months, the manhunt has focused on the question of how the actor came into possession of the anesthetic ketamine, which he had an unusually high amount of in his blood at the time of his death.
“The defendants took advantage of Mr Perry’s addiction problems”
This network included an assistant to Perry, various middlemen, two doctors and an important drug source known as the “ketamine queen,” Estrada continued. “The defendants exploited Mr. Perry’s addiction problems to enrich themselves. They knew that what they were doing was wrong. They knew that they were putting Mr. Perry in great danger – but they did it anyway.” They played Russian roulette with his life. The charges are serious and could result in long prison sentences for the defendants.
A profit-hungry doctor sold Perry around 25 vials of ketamine for $55,000 in cash in September and October, Estrada said. “I wonder how much this idiot will pay,” the doctor wrote in a text message to a middleman. A drug supplier known as the “Ketamine Queen” sold Perry around 50 doses of ketamine in the weeks before his death. When Perry’s death became known, the 41-year-old asked her middlemen to delete all text messages about the deals.
Prosecutor Martin Estrada during the press conference in Los Angeles. Photo: AFP
The actor’s assistant confesses
An assistant to the actor has already admitted his guilt of procuring ketamine for Perry, prosecutors said. He injected the drug without any medical knowledge, including several times on October 28, the day Perry was found dead. The 59-year-old assistant faces up to 15 years in prison.
Perry was found dead in the hot tub in his Los Angeles home last October with a large amount of the anesthetic ketamine in his body. The actor had previously spoken publicly several times about his battle with addiction, including to alcohol and drugs, and also wrote about it in his autobiography “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing,” which was published last year.
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Matthew Perry died from ketamine effects
An investigation by the Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office in December found that Perry had died from the effects of ketamine. Other factors included drowning, heart disease and the effects of a drug used to treat opioid addiction, it said.
Perry had reportedly undergone ketamine therapy for depression and anxiety, but the last session before his death had been a week and a half ago, so the ketamine in his system at the time of death could not have come from this infusion therapy, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Ketamine: anesthetic and illegal party drug
Ketamine has been a proven anesthetic for decades. Some partygoers also use the drug as an illegal club drug. In addition, people with treatment-resistant depression can be treated with ketamine under certain conditions. The substance is administered either under the skin, intravenously or as a nasal spray (then as esketamine). The advantage is that the effect occurs quickly. The administration results in patients being virtually disconnected from their environment for a while. Possible side effects of ketamine include rising blood pressure and a higher heart rate.
Perry became world famous as Chandler Bing in the cult series “Friends”. The cult TV series about six young friends in New York was produced in the USA from 1994 to 2004. Perry, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer played the main roles. All six main actors came together again in 2021 for the special broadcast “Friends: The Reunion”. Perry’s death sparked shock and sadness around the world, with his “Friends” co-stars speaking of an “unbelievable loss”.
