Actor Matthew Perry died from an unintentional overdose, and multiple others have been charged in relation to the incident, law enforcement sources told NBC News on Thursday.
On October 28, 2023, Perry, 54, was discovered face down in the heated end of his Pacific Palisades pool. His death was ascribed by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office to the acute effects of ketamine, a hallucinogenic anesthetic.
According to the sources, at least one suspect was taken into custody early on Thursday in Southern California. Later in the day, federal prosecutors are anticipated to unveil an indictment that contains specifics about the accusations made against that person and the others.
Perry’s stepfather, “Dateline” correspondent Keith Morrison, issued a statement in which his family expressed their gratitude for the news of the police intervention.
The family stated, “We are still devastated by Matthew’s passing, but it has been comforting to know that law enforcement is treating his case seriously.” “We hope that justice will be served.”
In May, Los Angeles police announced that they were collaborating with federal agents to look into where Perry got the ketamine.
For many years, ketamine was a common party drug. It has demonstrated potential as a substitute therapy for depression in recent years. It is being infused or injected by an increasing number of clinics to treat a broad range of mental health issues.
Perry was receiving ketamine infusion therapy for anxiety and depression, however, the last session was almost a week before Perry passed away. Given its brief half-life, the medical examiner concluded that the ketamine in Perry’s system “could not be from that infusion therapy.”
The medical examiner stated that the high amounts of ketamine in his bloodstream were comparable to the quantity required for general anesthesia during surgery.
In the end, the coroner declared his death to be an accident. Drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of the opioid use disorder treatment buprenorphine were all contributing factors.
Perry, who is best known for portraying Chandler Bing in the television sitcom “Friends,” had been transparent about his protracted battles with alcoholism and opiate addiction, which he detailed in his memoir “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” published in 2022. However, the medical examiner’s report states that he had been drug-free for 19 months at the time of his death.
Law enforcement frequently looks into and in some cases charges, the persons who supplied the narcotics that resulted in a well-publicized death.
Following Michael Jackson’s demise in 2009, his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for giving the singer a lethal dosage of potent medication. Lately, four men were charged by federal prosecutors in New York for providing actor Michael K. Williams with heroin that was laced with fentanyl and ultimately killed him in 2021.