On Thursday, news came that five people have been arrested in this case. Death of Matthew Perry Last year, her stepfather, Keith Morrison, and his family said they “hope for justice to take its course.”
“We were and still are saddened by Matthew’s death, but it helps to know that law enforcement took his case very seriously,” the family told Fox News Digital. “We look forward to moving forward on the path to justice and are grateful for the extraordinary work of the many agencies whose agents investigated Matthew’s death. We’re hoping that unscrupulous suppliers of dangerous drugs get the message.”
Perry found dead by drowning He died on October 28, 2023, in a hot tub at his home in Los Angeles, due to the acute effects of ketamine.
The report said other conditions that contributed to his death included “coronary artery disease, buprenorphine effects.” “Prescription medications and open pills” were found at the residence.
Following news on Thursday that five people have been arrested in connection with the death of Matthew Perry last year, his stepfather Keith Morrison (right) and his family said they “expect justice to take its course.” (Michael Buckner/Getty Images; Sylvain Gaboury/FilmMagic)
“Dateline” host Morrison Perry is married to his mother, Suzanne Perry, since 1981, and was seen with investigators outside Perry’s home the night he was found.
Martin Estrada, US Attorney for the Central District of California, announced five defendants, including two doctors. were arrested And many allegations were made against him during the live press conference.
The arrested defendants are: North Hollywood resident Jasveen Sangha, 41, aka “The Ketamine Queen”, Santa Monica resident Dr. Salvador Plascencia, 42, aka “Dr. P”, Hawthorne resident Eric Fleming, 54, Toluca Lake resident Kenneth Iwamasa, 59, and San Diego resident Dr. Mark Chavez, 54.
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Estrada said at one point the defendants delivered “approximately 20 vials of ketamine for approximately $50,000 in cash” to Perry for Kenneth (Kenny) Iwamasa, Perry’s live-in assistant, to distribute ketamine to the actor. During another sale, the dealers took advantage of Mr. Perry by selling him “approximately 50 vials of ketamine for approximately $11,000 in cash.”
Keith Morrison appears before police at Matthew Perry’s Los Angeles home in October 2023. (Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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Iwamasa worked as Perry’s personal assistant before his death. According to court documents, she allegedly conspired with Sangha, Fleming and Plascencia to illegally obtain ketamine and distribute it to the late actor, and Iwamasa admitted to repeatedly injecting Perry with ketamine without any medical training, including multiple injections on the day Perry died.
“We were and still are saddened by Matthew’s death, but it helps to know that law enforcement took his case very seriously.”
Iwamasa pleaded guilty on Aug. 7 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine that caused the death, and has already entered a plea agreement, according to Estrada.
Sangha and Plasencia are each charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, and Sangha is also charged with one count of maintaining a drug-related premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine, and five counts of distribution of ketamine.
Matthew Perry was found dead on October 28, 2023, after drowning in a hot tub at his home in Los Angeles, and his death was attributed to the acute effects of ketamine. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
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Fleming also pleaded guilty on Aug. 8 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distributing ketamine resulting in death, admitting he distributed the ketamine that killed the “Friends” star.
Chavez agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine as part of his plea agreement, and he admitted to selling ketamine to Plasencia.
Morrison spoke about Perry’s struggle with addiction earlier this year.
Matthew Perry played Chandler Bing in the NBC sitcom “Friends,” which first aired in 1994. (John Reigel)
“He felt like he was beating it. But you can never beat it, and he knew that, too,” Morrison told Hoda Kotb on her “Making Space” podcast.
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He added, “He was happy and he said so. And he hadn’t said that in a long time. It’s a relief, but at the same time, you know he didn’t get a chance to do his third act and that’s not fair.”
Fox News Digital’s Tracy Wright contributed to this report.
