Investigation into Matthew Perry’s death: What we know is that two doctors and the ‘Ketamine Queen’ are charged in the actor’s fatal overdose

Two doctors and a dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen” are among the five people charged with the death of Friends Actor Matthew Perry, who died at the end of October last year at the age of 54.

This came after a seven-month investigation into the role of ketamine in his death. According to the Los Angeles County Coroner, traces of the controlled substance were found in his stomach. The drug is sometimes used to treat depression.

Since his death, authorities have been trying to determine how Perry got hold of the drug. It is legal and is usually used as a narcotic, but can be abused when used recreationally.

This is what we know so far:

Matthew Perry’s death

The investigation revealed that Perry’s ketamine use spiraled out of control in the weeks before his death.

He injected the drug six to eight times a day and paid $55,000 for it in the month before his death, prosecutors said in court documents this week.

Although Perry received ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression and anxiety, it was not the therapy that led to his death. According to NBC News, prosecutors say the actor used the drug uncontrollably and his addiction spiraled “out of control.”

On October 28, 2023, Perry received his first shot around 8:30 a.m. from Iwamasa, his live-in assistant. The second shot came four hours later and another was administered about 40 minutes after that, Iwamasa said, according to a plea agreement.

“Give me a big shot,” Perry is said to have told the assistant before asking him to prepare his hot tub.

After running some errands, Iwamasa returned home and found Perry face down in the water.

The investigation

The Los Angeles County coroner said in December that Perry died from the “acute effects” of ketamine. The autopsy report said the amount of ketamine found in his blood was about the same as that found during general anesthesia.

After doctors refused to increase his dosage, Perry found other ways to get the drug, court documents show. There were several occasions when the actor experienced negative effects from the drugs, such as when Perry became unconscious after taking a high dose and lost his ability to speak, according to The New York Times.

The charges were filed after a seven-month investigation. Prosecutors accuse several defendants of taking advantage of Perry’s addiction despite knowing about his problems and his attempts to quit.

US Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada said Thursday that the defendants were “more interested in profiting from Mr. Perry than in caring about his well-being.”

Law enforcement executed search warrants and seized computers, phones and other electronic devices to determine who was responsible for supplying the drug that caused the actor’s overdose.

After a coroner ruled his death an accident last year, Perry’s death was considered closed.

But almost seven months later, a federal and local investigation was launched to find out who Friends Actor with the ketamine that caused his death.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) were involved in the investigation into how Perry got so much ketamine in his system, the LAPD confirmed in May.

Sources close to the actor said he had been undergoing ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression and anxiety, but his last infusion therapy occurred a week and a half before his death. The medical examiner determined that the ketamine in Perry’s body “could not have come from that infusion therapy because the half-life of ketamine is three to four hours or less.”

Who was charged?

According to the files, Dr. Salvador Plasencia is accused of giving the actor the drug and Perry’s assistant Kenneth Iwamasa injected it into him on the day of his death.

Dr. Mark Chavez, owner of a ketamine clinic in San Diego, is charged in the death. Erik Fleming, a friend of a friend of Perry’s, is alleged to have supplied the drug along with Jasveen Sangha, a saleswoman dubbed the “ketamine queen.”

Iwamasa and two other defendants agreed to plead guilty. Sangha and Plasencia pleaded not guilty. Their trials are scheduled for October.

Plasencia allegedly taught Iwamasa how to inject Perry with ketamine, prosecutors said. On one occasion, the doctor gave Perry the injection in the back seat of his car during a meeting in Long Beach.

Plasencia saw Perry as a gold mine, the indictment alleges, citing text messages he sent to Chavez about a month before the actor’s death. “I wonder how much this idiot will pay,” he wrote in one. “Let’s find out,” he wrote in another.

In a third text message to Chavez, Plasencia described the meeting with Perry as “like a bad movie.”

As Perry was looking for more sources of the drug, he was put in touch with Fleming. The two had a mutual friend, and Fleming told Perry he had a source, Sangha. Fleming, who agreed to cooperate with authorities, at one point sent Iwamasa a picture of a ketamine vial with a horse on the packaging, as the drug is used as a tranquilizer for animals.

Court records show that Iwamasa wrote to Fleming that Perry was “only interested in the unmarked copies, not the version with the horse.”

“I’ve been making some calls about the Mexican stuff and people are OK with it, too,” Fleming said.

Sangha is accused of supplying Perry with the ketamine doses that ultimately led to his death, Estrada said.

On October 12 of last year, according to the indictment, Plasencia injected Perry with “a large dose of ketamine,” which caused the actor to unexpectedly “freeze” and spike his blood pressure, which unsettled the doctor. When Plasencia had supply problems, Perry’s agents turned to Sangha, who said she had a “master chef” who prepared ketamine for her. And since Perry bought a lot of her product, Sangha supplied him with ketamine lollipops as a “supplement,” the indictment says.

In the days before Perry’s death, Iwamasa administered at least 15 ketamine injections, all supplied by Sangha, the indictment says. It alleges Iwamasa administered the last three doses of ketamine he purchased from Sangha to Perry using needles from Plasencia on Oct. 28, 2023, the day the actor was found dead in his hot tub.

Later that day, according to the indictment, 41-year-old Sangha Fleming sent a message on Signal that read: “Delete all our messages.”

She is charged with conspiracy to distribute ketamine, operating a drug-trafficking premises, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of ketamine with intent to distribute, and five counts of distribution of ketamine.

Before her arrest, Sangha appeared to have enjoyed luxurious vacations and club hopping in LA with friends.

Photos shared on her Instagram account appear to show her on a trip to Japan on November 8 – less than two weeks after Perry’s death.

In the posts, which she titled “Japan 23,” she is seen in a traditional Japanese kimono, sipping cocktails and enjoying the view from a skyscraper with friends.

Another vacation posted in the highlights section of her social media profile shows her enjoying a getaway to Mexico in February of this year.

Sangha posted pictures of herself sunbathing by a luxurious pool, overlooking the beach and sipping cocktails.

She has also posed for a series of glamorous photo shoots, one of which saw her holding a gun that fires counterfeit dollar bills.

“Play money but don’t play with my money,” she wrote in the caption.

But according to prosecutors, Sangha is linked to another tragic drug-related death besides Perry.

In August 2019, Sangha allegedly sold ketamine to 38-year-old Cody McLaury in the hours before he died of an overdose.

After his death, McLaury’s family members texted Sangha saying her ketamine killed him, prosecutors said.

After receiving the news, Sangha searched Google for “Can ketamine be listed as the cause of death?” prosecutors said.

According to the indictment, Sangha continued to sell ketamine from her stash after McLaury’s death.

Estrada described Sangha’s North Hollywood home as a “drug trafficking center” and called it the “Sangha Stash House” in the indictment, where she allegedly packaged and distributed drugs for her “high-profile” and celebrity clients.

What penalties do they face?

Iwamasa faces up to 15 years in prison, Fleming up to 25 years and Chavez up to 10 years. The New York Times reported.