Matthew Perry.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
A new documentary on the death of the Friends fame actor Matthew Perry revealed that the star received 27 shots of ketamine in the three days leading up to his death.
Perry was found dead in his home's swimming pool in October 2023. His autopsy revealed that he died due to acute effects of ketamine leading to accidental drowning.
In the new documentary, 'Matthew Perry: A Hollywood Tragedy,' US Attorney Martin Estrada shared insights on the case, where he revealed that the actor had been administered 27 doses of ketamine by "people who should have known much better."
Ketamine is a short-acting anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties, sometimes prescribed to treat depression and anxiety but also abused by recreational users.
“Dr. Plasencia was very clear in text messages… that he saw this as an opportunity to make a lot of money in a short amount of time, and he allegedly did just that,” Estrada said in the documentary.
"In the past, we used to call these things overdose deaths and do more blaming of the victim. We don’t do that anymore. We blame the drug dealers, the drug sellers, for taking advantage of those addiction issues to cause death or serious injury, and that’s why we bring these cases. The big takeaway from this case is that when people involved in reckless activity, whether that be drug dealing or other activity, cause the death of others, there needs to be accountability," Estrada added.
The actor had publicly acknowledged decades of substance abuse, including during the years he starred as Chandler Bing on the hit 1990s television sitcom "Friends."
Five people have been charged with overdosing the actor, including Perry's live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who admitted to injecting Perry, along with, Dr Salvador Plasencia, Dr Mark Chavez, Jasveen Sangha, who authorities said was an illicit supplier of the drug and was known as the "ketamine queen," and an alleged middleman.
(With Reuters inputs)