By Carolyn Manrique
Aug 15, 2024, 3:36 PM EDT
On Thursday, federal prosecutor Martin Estrada charged five people with the death of actor Matthew Perry, who was found dead in his mansion in Los Angeles, California, on October 28 of last year.
Among the five people arrested is Kenneth Iwamasa, who was the actor’s personal assistant. Also arrested are doctors Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez, and a drug dealer named Jasveen Sangh, known as ‘The Ketamine Queen’. It should be noted that a couple of months after Perry’s death, it was reported that the cause of death was a ketamine overdose.
Anne Milgram, head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), told reporters Thursday: “Plasencia and Chavez violated their oaths as doctors to care for their patients. They caused a lot of damage just to make money.”
Milgram also said that the doctors sold the actor ketamine for $2,000, which was much higher than the $12 they paid for the anesthetic. Meanwhile, federal prosecutor Martin Estrada said Perry paid about $55,000 for 20 vials.
The actor developed a dependence on ketamine after being diagnosed with depression and anxiety. When his treatment expired, Perry stopped receiving the drug through pharmacies and had to turn to dealers.
Authorities were also able to learn that there were two related drug dealers, the aforementioned ‘Queen of Ketamine’ and Erik Fleming. But it is known that the dose that ended up killing the actor was provided by the woman, who had a warehouse in North Hollywood.