5 people charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s death – National
Five people have been charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s death from a ketamine overdose last year, including the actor’s assistant and two doctors, a prosecutor confirmed Thursday.
Two of the accused, including one of the doctors, have been arrested. Two of the accused, including Perry’s assistant, have already pleaded guilty. A third person has agreed to plead guilty.
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada announced the charges Thursday, according to the Associated Press, saying: Doctors provided Perry with a large amount of ketamine and I even asked myself in a text message how much the old one Friends The star would be willing to pay.
“These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction problems to enrich themselves. They knew what they were doing was wrong,” Estrada said.
Two of the defendants allegedly exchanged messages shortly after Perry’s death, mentioning ketamine as the cause of death. Estrada said they tried to cover up their involvement in supplying Perry with the drug.
Perry died of acute effects of the anesthetic ketamine last October at the age of 54. He was found drowned in the heated end of a swimming pool at his Southern California home on October 28, 2023.
In May, Los Angeles police said they were working with federal authorities to determine the source of the ketamine, an anesthetic with psychedelic properties, that Perry had taken.
His death was considered an accident without suspicion of criminal activity.
Perry’s relatives told investigators that he was undergoing infusion therapy with ketamine, an experimental treatment used to treat depression and anxiety. But the medical examiner said the levels of ketamine in Perry’s body were in the range used for general anesthesia during surgery, and that his last treatment a week and a half earlier did not explain the levels. The drug is typically metabolized within hours.
The report said coronary heart disease and buprenorphine, used to treat opioid use disorder, also contributed.
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The actor had used drugs in the past, but had been “apparently clean for 19 months,” the report said.
The cast of “Friends” (left to right): Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc in 2000.
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Perry had been playing pickleball earlier in the day, the report said, and his assistant, who lives with him, I found him face down in the pool after returning from shopping.
The assistant told investigators that Perry had not been sick, had not made any health complaints and had shown no evidence of recent alcohol or drug use.
Ketamine, a drug that has been used for decades and is commonly used in surgery, has been widely used in recent years as a treatment for anxiety, depression and pain.
Perry’s 10 Seasons Friends made him one of Hollywood’s most recognizable actors, starring alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer as a group of friends in New York City. He has spoken openly about his struggled with addiction during the sitcom’s filming years.
As Chandler, he plays a sarcastic but neurotic and insecure roommate of Joey and Ross, played by LeBlanc and Schwimmer respectively. By the end of the series, Chandler is married to Monica, played by Cox, and they have a family, mirroring the main cast’s journey from New York singles to those who are married and starting families.
The series was one of television’s biggest hits and has gained new life – and found surprising popularity with younger fans – in recent years on streaming services.
— with files from the Associated Press
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
