According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, five individuals have been charged in connection with the death of actor Matthew Perry in 2023. The charges were announced during a press conference in Los Angeles on Thursday.
The defendants—including two doctors, a personal assistant who lived with Perry, and a person referred to by authorities as the "Ketamine Queen"—are accused of "distributing ketamine to Perry in the weeks leading up to the actor's death," according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada stated that the defendants "exploited Mr. Perry's addiction issues." “They knew what they were doing was wrong,” Estrada said.
The beloved actor, known for his role as Chandler Bing on "Friends," passed away in October 2023 at the age of 54. Perry was found face down in the pool at his home in Pacific Palisades. According to the autopsy report from the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office, the actor died from "acute ketamine effects" and drowning.
In May, Captain Scot Williams of the Los Angeles Police Department told CNN that the investigation into Perry's death was still ongoing and criminal in nature. “Hypothetically, a crime could occur depending on the investigation's findings, but at this point, we have not reached that conclusion,” he said at the time.
Williams stated that authorities are investigating how Perry obtained the drugs and who may have supplied them. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are also involved in the investigation.
**Struggling with Addiction**
When announcing the charges on Thursday, Estrada mentioned that investigators believe Perry "relapsed" in the fall of 2023.
Perry detailed his decades-long struggle with substance addiction in his 2022 memoir, "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing." He wrote that he began abusing prescription drugs after a jet ski accident on the set of "Fools Rush In" in 1997, which led to him being prescribed Vicodin.
According to his book, Perry eventually escalated to taking up to 55 pills a day, resulting in significant weight loss during his time on "Friends." He noted how difficult it was to witness the physical changes he underwent while on the show.
Perry wrote, “I was incredibly thin and this disease had taken a toll on me.”
Ketamine has seen a rise in usage in recent years as a treatment for depression, anxiety, and pain. Those close to Perry told police investigators that he had undergone ketamine infusion therapy before his death and was being treated by at least two doctors, according to The Associated Press.
Perry's death was shocking, as he was beloved for his role on "Friends," which aired from 1994 to 2004 alongside Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, and Lisa Kudrow.
They released a joint statement after Perry's passing, writing, "We are all devastated by the loss of Matthew. We are not just castmates. We are a family."
“There is so much to say, but right now we are going to take a moment to mourn and process this incomprehensible loss,” the statement, issued by their representatives, added. “In time, we will say more, when we can. For now, we send our love and condolences to Matty's family, his friends, and all his fans around the world.”
