LOS ANGELES– The arrest of five people in connection with the overdose death of Matthew Perry has revealed key details about the “Friends” star’s final days, most of which were spent in the throes of an addiction to the surgical anesthetic ketamine.
Perry died at age 54 on Oct. 28 after asking his assistant to inject him with “a big dose.” Drawn from unsealed federal court documents and a medical examiner’s investigation, here’s a chronological look at the end of Perry’s life.
September 30 — Perry and his personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, met with Dr. Salvador Plasencia at their home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. Perry had been receiving ketamine treatments for depression — an increasingly common off-label use — from his regular doctor, but he couldn’t get as much as he wanted. Plasencia texted a doctor friend in San Diego, Mark Chavez, who agreed to get him some ketamine.
“I wonder how much this jerk is going to pay,” Plasencia wrote to Chavez. The two men met that same day in Costa Mesa, halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, and exchanged at least four vials of ketamine.
Plasencia returned to Perry’s house, where Iwamasa paid him $4,500 in cash for the vials. Plasencia gave Perry two injections of ketamine and instructed Iwamasa on how to give the actor the injections. Plasencia texted Chavez that the experience “felt like a bad movie.”
October 2 — Iwamasa texted Plasencia that he wanted to not only purchase injection sessions but also receive vials of ketamine, calling him “Dr. Pepper” in the agreed-upon code. Plasencia appeared, gave Perry the injections, and left behind the vials of anesthetic.
October 4 — Iwamasa injected himself with Perry for the first time. He texted the doctor to say he had found the “perfect spot” to stick the needle in his boss, but that after trying different spots on Perry, they ran out and needed more. Plasencia texted Chavez to ask if he could continue to supply the drug so they could become Perry’s “go-to.”
October 6 — Iwamasa told Plasencia that they were short and needed more. Plasencia went to Perry’s and sold him one or more vials.
October 8 — During a late-night meeting at a Santa Monica mall, Plasencia sold Iwamasa four vials of ketamine for $6,000 in cash.
October 10 — Iwamasa drove Perry to a public parking lot in Long Beach, where they met with the doctor. He sold them more ketamine and gave Perry an injection while the actor sat in a car. That same day, Iwamasa sought to obtain even more ketamine from another source, contacting Erik Fleming, an acquaintance of Perry.
October 11 — Fleming messaged Iwamasa saying he could get ketamine from a woman he knows. “It’s not branded but it’s amazing – he takes one and tries it and I have more if he wants,” Fleming wrote. The woman, Jasveen Sangha, was known to her customers as the “Ketamine Queen.” Fleming messaged Iwamasa saying she only sold “high end products and celebrities. If it wasn’t good stuff she would lose her business.”
October 12 — Plasencia went to Perry’s home, where he was given $21,000 in cash, some of which he was owed for previous ketamine purchases. Once there, he gave Perry an injection. The actor immediately froze and his blood pressure skyrocketed. The assistant said the doctor told him, “Let’s not do this anymore.”
October 13 — Perry received a sample of ketamine from Sangha and tried it. He and Iwamasa asked for 25 vials of ketamine, for which he paid $5,500. Fleming dropped them off at Perry’s house a day later.
On or around Oct. 20, Perry received his last legal ketamine treatment from his regular doctor, according to what a woman close to him whose name was redacted in official documents told medical examiner investigators. The woman said his previous doctor had given him treatments every other day, but his new doctor said Perry was doing well, his depression was under control and he no longer needed as much treatment. The woman told investigators she believed Perry had been sober for 19 months and that there had been no relapse.
Around October 24, Perry spoke to the unidentified woman one last time. She told investigators he was in good spirits.
October 25 — Iwamasa asked Fleming for 25 more vials of ketamine. After collecting $6,000 from Perry, Fleming collected the ketamine from Sangha, who told him that his own source was known as “Master Chef.” During this time, Iwamasa gave Perry at least six injections of ketamine.
October 26 — Iwamasa again gave Perry at least six injections of ketamine.
October 27 — The assistant again administered at least six injections of ketamine to the actor. With the supply coming from Fleming and Sangha, Perry and Iwamasa had not had contact with Plasencia in about two weeks. Plasencia texted Iwamasa to say he had more to offer: “I know you mentioned you wanted to take a break. I’ve stocked up.”
At approximately 8:30 a.m. — Acting on Perry’s orders, using syringes from Plasencia and ketamine from Sangha, Iwamasa injected Perry.
Around 11 a.m. — Perry was playing pickleball, Iwamasa told medical examiner’s investigators later that day, though many elements of that initial story changed in his subsequent interviews with prosecutors.
Around 12:45 p.m. — Iwamasa gave Perry his second injection of the day, and the actor began watching a movie.
Shortly before 1:30 p.m., Iwamasa gave Perry his third and final injection of the day while he sat in his backyard hot tub. “Give me a big shot,” Iwamasa recalled Perry telling him. The assistant then left to run errands.
Around 4 p.m., Iwamasa returned home to find Perry face down in the hot tub. He jumped into the water, pulled Perry to the steps, and called 911. Paramedics arrived minutes later and pronounced Perry dead. Coroner’s investigators said ketamine was the primary cause of death, with drowning a secondary cause.
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Iwamasa pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine. Fleming pleaded guilty to distribution of ketamine resulting in death. Both are cooperating with prosecutors.
Chavez has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute the drugs. Plasencia and Sangha, the two main targets of the investigation, have pleaded not guilty to several counts.
Plasencia’s attorney, Stefan Sacks, said Thursday that everything his client did was in Perry’s medical best interests. Sangha’s attorney declined to comment.
Lawyers for the other three men did not respond to multiple messages seeking comment from The Associated Press.
