The of Matthew Perry has revealed key details about the final days of the 㽶ƵֱFriends㽶Ƶֱ star, most of them spent in the throes of an addiction to the .
Perry would on Oct. 28 after telling his assistant to shoot him up 㽶Ƶֱwith a big one.㽶Ƶֱ Drawn from unsealed federal court documents and a medical examiner㽶Ƶֱs investigation, here㽶Ƶֱs a chronological look at the end of Perry㽶Ƶֱs life.
The final month
September 30 㽶Ƶֱ Perry and his met at their home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles with Dr. Salvador Plasencia. Perry had been receiving ketamine treatments for depression 㽶Ƶֱ an increasingly common off-label use 㽶Ƶֱ from his regular doctor, but wasn㽶Ƶֱt able to get as much as he wanted. Plasencia texted a doctor friend in San Diego, Mark Chavez, who agreed to obtain ketamine for him.
㽶ƵֱI wonder how much this moron will pay,㽶Ƶֱ Plasencia texted Chavez. The two met up the same day in Costa Mesa, halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego and exchanged at least four vials of ketamine.
Plasencia returned to Perry㽶Ƶֱs 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 injections to the actor. Plasencia texted Chavez that the experience 㽶Ƶֱfelt like a bad movie.㽶Ƶֱ
October 2 㽶Ƶֱ Iwamasa texted Plasencia saying he wanted to buy not just injection sessions, but to be left with more vials of ketamine, referring to it in agreed-upon code as 㽶Ƶֱdr pepper.㽶Ƶֱ Plasencia appeared, gave Perry the injections, and left behind the vials of the anesthetic.
October 4 㽶Ƶֱ Iwamasa injected Perry himself for the first time. He texted the doctor that he had found 㽶Ƶֱthe sweet spot㽶Ƶֱ to put the needle into his boss, but that trying different spots on Perry had led to them running out, and they needed more. Plasencia texted Chavez asking if he could keep supplying the drug so they could become Perry㽶Ƶֱs 㽶Ƶֱgo-to.㽶Ƶֱ
October 6 㽶Ƶֱ Iwamasa told Plasencia they were running low, and needed more. Plasencia went to Perry㽶Ƶֱs house and sold him one or more vials.
October 8 㽶Ƶֱ In a late night meetup at a Santa Monica shopping plaza, Plasencia sold Iwamasa four vials of ketamine for $6,000 in cash.
October 10 㽶Ƶֱ Iwamasa drove Perry to a public parking lot in Long Beach, where they met up with the doctor. He sold them more ketamine, and gave an injection to Perry while the actor sat in a car. On the same day, Iwamasa sought even more of the drug from an additional source of ketamine, reaching out to Erik Fleming, an acquaintance of Perry.
October 11 㽶Ƶֱ Fleming messaged Iwamasa that he can get ketamine from a woman he knows. 㽶ƵֱIt㽶Ƶֱs unmarked but it㽶Ƶֱs amazing 㽶Ƶֱ he take one and try it and I have more if he likes,㽶Ƶֱ Fleming wrote. The woman, Jasveen Sangha, was known to her customers as the 㽶ƵֱKetamine Queen.㽶Ƶֱ Fleming texted Iwamasa that she only deals 㽶Ƶֱwith high end and celebs. If it were not great stuff she㽶Ƶֱd lose her business.㽶Ƶֱ
October 12 㽶Ƶֱ Plasencia went to Perry㽶Ƶֱs house, where he was paid $21,000 in cash, some of it owed to him for previous ketamine buys. While there he injected Perry. The actor immediately froze up and his blood pressure spiked. The assistant said the doctor told him, 㽶Ƶֱlet㽶Ƶֱs not do that again.㽶Ƶֱ
October 13 㽶Ƶֱ Perry got a sample of Sangha㽶Ƶֱs ketamine and tried it. He and Iwamasa would ask for 25 vials of it, for which he would pay $5,500. Fleming dropped it off at Perry㽶Ƶֱs house a day later.
On or around Oct. 20 㽶Ƶֱ Perry received his last legal ketamine treatment from his regular physician, according to what a woman close to him whose name was redacted in official documents told medical examiner㽶Ƶֱs 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 managed, and he no longer needed so many treatments. The woman would tell investigators that she had believed Perry had been sober for 19 months and there had been no relapse.
The final week
Around October 24 㽶Ƶֱ Perry talked to the unidentified woman for the last time. She told investigators he had been in good spirits.
October 25 㽶Ƶֱ Iwamasa asked Fleming for another 25 vials of ketamine. After picking up $6,000 from Perry, Fleming picked up the ketamine from Sangha, who told him her own source is known as 㽶ƵֱMaster Chef.㽶Ƶֱ Meanwhile, Iwamasa gave Perry at least six shots of ketamine.
October 26 㽶Ƶֱ Iwamasa again gave Perry at least six shots of ketamine.
October 27 㽶Ƶֱ The assistant again gave the actor at least six shots of ketamine. With the supply coming from Fleming and Sangha, Perry and Iwamasa had been out of touch with Plasencia for about two weeks. Plasencia would text Iwamasa saying he had more to offer: 㽶ƵֱI know you mentioned taking a break. I have been stocking up.㽶Ƶֱ
The final day
About 8:30 a.m. 㽶Ƶֱ Acting at Perry㽶Ƶֱs direction, using syringes from Plasencia and ketamine from Sangha, Iwamasa gave Perry an injection.
About 11 a.m. 㽶Ƶֱ Perry played pickleball, according to what Iwamasa told medical examiner㽶Ƶֱs investigators later in the day, though many elements of that initial story changed in his later talks to prosecutors.
About 12:45 p.m. 㽶Ƶֱ Iwamasa gave Perry his second shot of the day, and the actor began watching a movie.
Shortly before 1:30 p.m. 㽶Ƶֱ Iwamasa gave Perry his third and final injection of the day while Perry sat at his backyard jacuzzi. 㽶ƵֱShoot me up with a big one,㽶Ƶֱ Iwamasa remembered Perry telling him. The assistant then left to run errands.
About 4 p.m. 㽶Ƶֱ Iwamasa returned home to find Perry face down in the jacuzzi. He jumped in, pulled Perry to the steps and called 911. Paramedics arrived minutes later and declared Perry dead. Coroner㽶Ƶֱs investigators would say ketamine was the primary cause of his death, with drowning a secondary cause.
The defendants now
Iwamasa has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute Ketamine. Fleming has pleaded guilty to distributing ketamine resulting in death. Both are cooperating with prosecutors.
Chavez has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute the drug. Plasencia and Sangha, the two main targets of the investigation, have pleaded not guilty to multiple felony counts.
Plasencia㽶Ƶֱs lawyer Stefan Sacks said Thursday that everything his client did was in Perry㽶Ƶֱs best medical interest. Sangha㽶Ƶֱs attorney declined comment.
Attorneys for the other three men did not respond to multiple messages seeking comment from The Associated Press.
Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press