A criminal investigation into the death of Matthew Perry from the acute effects of the prescription drug ketamine is coming to a close, and prosecutors will finally decide whether those with ties to how the actor obtained the drug will face charges, two law enforcement sources told The Times.
Perry was found dead in his pool hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home on October 28. Traces of ketamine, which is sometimes used to treat depression, were found in Perry's stomach, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner. But the level found in his blood was about the same as would be used during general anesthesia, his autopsy showed.
Investigators from the Los Angeles Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Service have linked several people to the purchase of ketamine, according to a law enforcement source who was not authorized to speak about the investigation.
Ultimately, it will be up to federal and possibly local prosecutors to decide whether criminal charges are filed. Authorities have not publicly identified anyone connected to the investigation.
The ketamine in Perry's system caused cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression, the medical examiner reported. Other factors that contributed to her death included drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder.
The actor was best known for playing the sarcastic and witty Chandler Bing on NBC’s “Friends” for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. In his 2022 memoir, Perry said he began abusing substances at the age of 14 and landed the role on “Friends” a decade later. Fame increased his dependence on alcohol and drugs. At one point, he said in his book, he took nearly five dozen pills a day.
According to the medical examiner, Perry was receiving ketamine infusion therapy every other day for a period of time, but had reduced that intake, and his last known infusion was a week and a half before his death. The ketamine found in Perry's system at the time of her death could not have been from that earlier infusion, as the drug typically disappears in detectable amounts three to four hours after ingestion, the coroner said.
According to the autopsy report, Perry had been playing pickleball around 11 a.m. the day he died, and was last seen by his assistant at 1:37 p.m.
Upon returning to Perry's home on Blue Sail Drive, the deputy found him floating face down. The attendant jumped in, pulled Perry's head out of the water and called 911.
Paramedics arrived and took him to the grass, where he was pronounced dead.
Ketamine, a legal medication commonly used as an anesthetic, is increasingly offered “off-label” in private clinics to treat depression and other mental health disorders, according to Dr. David Goodman-Meza, a specialist in addiction medicine and UCLA Infectious Diseases.
Some people also snort or inject ketamine recreationally to experience euphoric or “dissociative” effects that make someone feel detached from their own body, Goodman-Meza told The Times in December. At very high doses, it can make people feel immobilized and trigger hallucinations, an experience called the “K-hole.”
The drug can make breathing difficult and increase the demand on the heart. If someone already has coronary artery disease and is taking high doses of ketamine, “that could speed up your heart, create more demand, but then your arteries don't have the capacity to meet that demand,” the doctor explained.
The autopsy report noted that Perry had no other drugs in his system and had been sober for 19 months at the time of his death. There was no evidence of illicit drugs or paraphernalia in his home.
The medical examiner also noted that Perry, 54, had diabetes and suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which refers to a group of diseases that cause airflow obstruction and related breathing problems. There was a time when she smoked two packs of cigarettes a day.
A forensic investigator interviewed a person close to Perry, who described him as being in “good spirits” and said he had quit smoking two weeks before his death and was weaning himself off ketamine.
In 2006, the National Institute of Mental Health concluded that an intravenous dose of ketamine had rapid antidepressant effects. There have been around 300 clinical trials and overall it has been found that ketamine acts extremely quickly compared to traditional antidepressants and can relieve depression for a period that can last days or weeks.
Times staff writer Emily Alpert Reyes contributed to this report.
