Who is the ‘ketamine queen’ Jasveen Sangha accused of Matthew Perry’s murder? – National
Five people were charge related to Matthew Perry deaths from ketamine overdoses last year, including the actor’s assistant and two doctors.
But there is one person in particular, thanks in part to the media nickname prosecutors have given her, who has captured most of the attention. Prosecutors say she is the one provided the medicines which were injected into Perry’s system on the day he died.
Jasveen Sangha, a joint U.S.-British citizen who lives in North Hollywood, allegedly sold ketamine and other illegal drugs for years, leading federal prosecutors in the Perry case to dub her the “Queen of Ketamine.”
The 41-year-old man, according to court documentswas the distribution point for the ketamine that killed Perry. The indictment alleges that Sangha sold the drug on Oct. 24, 2023, just days before Perry was found drowned in the heated end of a pool at the Southern California home.
Sangha now faces nine charges, including conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in death.
She pleaded not guilty on Thursday, but an investigating judge said she should remain in custody.
His house, called the “Sangha’s Hidden House” in the Indictmentwas where she allegedly packaged and distributed drugs.
She “only deals with high-end clients and celebrities,” her co-defendant Erik Fleming, an acquaintance of Perry, said in the indictment.
After Perry’s death, federal agents and detectives searched Sangha’s home and found about 79 vials of ketamine, three pounds of orange pills containing methamphetamine, magic mushrooms and cocaine.
A photo from the indictment showing alleged evidence discovered in what authorities called the “Sangha Stash House.”
http://www.justice.gov
While Sangha’s Instagram account is now private, The Independent reports that she “seems to have enjoyed taking lavish vacations and clubbing in Los Angeles with friends,” and that photos posted to the social media account showed her traveling in Japan on Nov. 8, 2023, less than two weeks after Perry’s death.
Jasveen Sangha “only deals with high-end clients and celebrities,” his co-defendant Erik Fleming said in the indictment.
She was also allegedly linked to another drug-related death in 2019, prosecutors in Perry’s case said, when she allegedly sold ketamine to Cody McLaury, 38, several hours before he died of an overdose.
After his death, the indictment says, McLaury’s family texted him to say he had died of a ketamine overdose, and after receiving the message, they did a Google search asking, “Can ketamine be listed as a cause of death?”
Of course, there is Four other people were also charged Thursday in the Perry caseEach of them is accused of “taking advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction problems to enrich themselves,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in announcing the charges at a news conference.
“They knew what they were doing was wrong,” Estrada continued.
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Perry was undergoing ketamine therapy for depression and had last been treated more than a week before his death, according to the autopsy report, meaning he had been receive additional illicit ketamine injections when he died.
At the time of his death, the actor had approximately 3.54 micrograms per milliliter of ketamine in his blood, nearly three times the amount normally prescribed.
Prosecutors say Sangha began supplying Perry with ketamine after his co-defendant, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, learned that the actor was interested in the drug. Plasencia obtained the ketamine from Dr. Mark Chavez, another defendant in the case who had previously run a ketamine clinic.
“I wonder how much this jerk is going to pay,” Plasencia said in a message to Chavez, according to the indictment. “Let’s see.”
Prosecutors say it was Plasencia who taught Perry’s assistant, co-defendant Kenneth Iwamasa, how to administer the illicit ketamine injections to Perry.
U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada speaks during a news conference on August 15, 2024, announcing arrests in the death of “Friends” actor Matthew Perry in Los Angeles.
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
From September until Perry’s death in late October, doctors provided Iwamasa with about 20 vials of ketamine at a cost of $55,000 (more than $75,000 Cdn) in cash, federal prosecutors said.
But in mid-October, Iwasama looked for another source of ketamine, the indictment says. He contacted Fleming, who had ties to Sangha and allegedly coordinated sales between her and Iwamasa.
On October 28, Iwamasa injected Perry with at least three doses of ketamine using syringes provided by Plasencia, according to the indictment.
“These defendants were more concerned about profiting from Mr. Perry than they were about his well-being,” Estrada told reporters.
Plascencia and Sangha both pleaded not guilty to the charges against them Thursday. Iwamasa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death, Chavez agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and Fleming pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death.
“Matthew Perry’s journey began with unscrupulous doctors who abused their positions of trust because they viewed him as a businessman,” Drug Enforcement Administration Director Anne Millgram said at Thursday’s press conference. “And it ended with street dealers who sold him ketamine in unmarked vials.”
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