According to court documents, actor spent $55,000 on ketamine addiction
Two doctors among the five accused in Matthew Perry’s death
The California Department of Justice filed charges against five people, including two doctors, in connection with the death of Matthew Perry.
Court documents shed light on the death of “Friends” actor Matthew Perry, including his final days.
The documents detail the final chapter of the popular actor’s much-publicized battle with addiction, including a relapse in 2023 that led to his death from “the acute effects of ketamine” in October last year.
Earlier this week, California prosecutors announced during a press conference on Thursday that five people had been charged in connection with Perry’s death for “distributing ketamine to Perry during the final weeks of his life.”
Among the five defendants was Perry’s personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, who called himself “Batman’s butler,” according to court documents. Iwamasa, 59, pleaded guilty on August 7 to one count of “conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death and great bodily harm” and faces up to 15 years in prison.
Investigators allege that Iwamasa and others purchased at least $55,000 worth of ketamine on Perry’s behalf to inject into the actor without proper medical approval. Ketamine is an anesthetic and party drug with psychedelic ingredients.
At the time of his death, Perry was receiving ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety. The drug has hallucinogenic effects that alter the perception of sight and hearing, causing users to feel as though they are not in pain and are no longer in control of their surroundings. An FDA-approved anesthetic, ketamine has been considered a fast-acting antidepressant for decades.
Doctor Salvador Plasencia, 42, and Jasveen Sangha, 41, who the Justice Department’s press release called the “Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood, were charged with 18 counts for their role in Perry’s death.
Three other co-conspirators were also charged: Dr. Mark Chavez and Erik Fleming, both 54, and Iwamasa. But it is Iwamasa’s confession that illustrates Perry’s final days – and his private battle with ketamine addiction that led to the moment Iwamasa found him facedown in a hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home in Los Angeles.
5 people charged in Matthew Perry case Death, including doctor and assistant of the “Friends” actor
Matthew Perry froze two weeks before his death from “a large dose of ketamine”
On September 30, Iwamasa learned how to inject ketamine after Dr. Plasencia, nicknamed “Dr. P,” administered two ketamine shots to Perry, then taught the personal assistant how to inject and left him a vial. For days, Iwamasa also used coded language to communicate with his co-conspirators and obtain more ketamine.
But two weeks before his death, on October 12, according to investigators, Plasencia administered Perry “a large dose of ketamine,” which triggered an “adverse medical reaction” that caused his blood pressure to rise, which “froze” Perry and left him “unable to speak or move.”
According to the agreement, Plasencia is said to have told Iwamasa: “We won’t do that again.”
The court documents also seem to indicate that Iwamasa and Perry wanted to take a break from ketamine use, as Plasencia, who is listed as “Co-Conspirator 1” in the court documents, texted Iwamasa: “Hi. I know you mentioned a break. I’ve been stocking up on it in the meantime. Not sure when you guys plan on starting back up, but I left supplies with one of my nurses in case I’m out of town this weekend.”
But investigators say Iwamasa should not have given Perry an injection at all.
‘Give me a big shot’: Investigators say Matthew Perry died after fatal third ketamine dose within five hours
On October 28, 2023, the day Perry died, Iwamasa allegedly injected him with a ketamine shot at 8:30 a.m. and again that afternoon at 12:45 p.m. while Perry was watching a movie. Then, about 40 minutes later, Perry asked his personal assistant to prepare his hot tub and “give him a big shot,” referring to another ketamine shot.
Iwamasa later injected Perry with a third shot of ketamine, administering it to him “in or near the hot tub.” According to authorities’ timeline, Perry received three ketamine shots within a five-hour period.
“Acute effects of ketamine” associated with Matthew Perry’s death: What you should know about drugs
According to the plea agreement, Iwamasa left Perry’s home unattended to run errands and upon returning found Perry dead face down in the pool. The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to Perry’s Pacific Palisades home at 4:07 p.m. and found “an adult male unconscious in a freestanding hot tub.” Arriving officers pronounced him dead at 4:17 p.m.
“A quick medical examination unfortunately determined that the man was already deceased prior to emergency responders’ arrival,” Nicholas Prange, a spokesman for the LAFD, told USA TODAY on Oct. 30 of last year. In December, more than a month after Perry’s death, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office released Perry’s autopsy report, which was obtained by USA TODAY. His death was ruled an accident, with the cause of death being “the acute effects of ketamine.”
Just days before Perry’s final day, he posted a photo on Instagram of himself in a hot tub wearing oversized headphones. He captioned it: “Oh, warm swirling water makes you feel good? I’m Mattman.”
Perry described his battle against addiction in book: “I never gave up”
The final chapter, “Batman,” of Perry’s New York Times bestseller “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing” is the culmination of his decades-long struggle with sobriety, alcoholism and drug addiction. The memoir’s final pages are about the peace he found at home, sober, high above the sea overlooking his home on the California coast.
“Addiction – this big, horrible thing – is far too powerful for anyone to beat alone. But together, one day at a time, we can beat it,” Perry wrote. “The one thing I did right was never give up.”
Then the final words of the book: “One day you too may be called upon to do something important. So be prepared, and whatever happens, just think, ‘What would Batman do?’ and do it.”
Featuring: KiMi Robinson, Taijuan Moorman, Anthony Robledo, Jenna Ryu
