Those who supplied Matthew Perry with the drugs that led to his death have shown a "consciousness of guilt" through text messages, an attorney has stated.
It was announced earlier this month that five people, including two doctors, had been arrested in connection to the Friends star's death. Authorities claimed the defendants all "falsely prescribed, sold or injected the ketamine that caused Matthew Perry's tragic death."
Perry was found dead in a hot tub at his home on October 28, 2023, at the age of 54. In December, it was determined that his death was caused by the "acute effects of ketamine," a dissociative anesthetic used as a treatment for depression and pain management. He subsequently drowned in the hot tub.
Ketamine is often used to treat depression and anxiety. The report noted that the high levels of ketamine in his system led to cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression, ultimately ruling his death an accident.
Preet Bharara, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, addressed the arrests on the latest installment of his podcast, Stay Tuned with Preet, where he was joined by Barb McQuade, who previously served as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan from 2010 to 2017.
"They have to know that this is an incredibly dangerous drug," McQuade said. "If used properly, it can be used to treat depression and anxiety. But that's why you need a prescription, and it needs to be delivered under doctor's care. This was being done at the demand of an addict who needed help, and in an effort to make a lot of money off of them."
On the day that Perry died, the actor received several injections of ketamine from his live-in personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, according to prosecutors. On returning to the actor's home, Iwamasa found Perry dead hours later.
Per U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada, Perry sought the drug after his regular doctors, who were not charged, refused to give him more than his prescribed doses.
"We are not talking about legitimate ketamine treatment," said Estrada in a press conference. "We're talking about two doctors who abused the trust they had, abused their licenses to put another person's life at risk."
As well as Iwamasa, those revealed to have been arrested are Dr. Mark Chavez and Dr. Salvador Plasencia. Erik Fleming, a friend of Perry, and Jasveen Sangha—an alleged drug dealer known as the "Ketamine Queen of Los Angeles," according to authorities—were also arrested.
Plasencia and Chavez allegedly charged Perry $2,000 for a vial of ketamine that would cost Chavez about $12. As his addiction grew, Perry went to the streets for his supply where he ultimately bought the drugs that resulted in his death.
"Plasencia saw this as an opportunity to profit off of Mr. Perry. He wrote in a text message in September 2023, 'I wonder how much this moron will pay,'" officials reported.
Speaking on Stay Tuned with Preet, McQaude said that the text messages are "incredibly important for a couple of reasons" when it comes to pursuing prosecution.
"One is it demonstrates a level of callousness," she explained. "Jurors might feel sympathy that, you know, gosh, these were his friends, he was pleading with them and begging them, and they just did what he asked. I think this really demonstrates that this wasn't about friendship. This was about a profit motive. And so that, I think, has strong jury appeal."
McQuade added that "there are some other messages about deleting [their] text messages and altering medical records and other kinds of things," which demonstrates "consciousness of guilt."
"They know what they were doing. They knew that it was wrong, and they did it anyway," she said. "And so I think both of those factors contribute to a decision to prosecute a case like this."
Later in the conversation, McQuade opined that text messages can provide "incredibly powerful testimony" when it comes to trials.
"When you have a live witness, you know a skillful defense attorney on cross examination can try to demonstrate to the jury that the person is biased in some way, that they've forgotten, that they misunderstood something, that they're lying, whatever it is," she told Bharara.
"But a text message is just devastating, because text messages don't forget, and text messages don't lie, and so I think this is going to be a pretty strong case for the prosecution. I'd be surprised to see a case like this go to trial."
McQuade added that while investigations surrounding the case may seem like prioritizing a celebrity's death over others, she believes it will publicly shine a light on an issue that often doesn't garner headlines.
"Matthew Perry being a very high profile person, some might say that his life is being valued more than others, but I look at it as an opportunity to educate the public and provide deterrence," she said. "Deterrence is one of the reasons we prosecute people criminally, and so this case is going to get a lot of attention, and for that reason, it might help deter other people who are would be dealers, who might kill somebody in the same way."
From September to October 2023, officials say Perry paid the doctors $55,000 in cash in exchange for 20 vials of ketamine which Iwamasa would administer to the actor.
Perry openly spoke about his addiction to alcohol and prescription medication, writing in his memoir that he spent $9 million trying to get sober. In 2018, Perry was given a 2 percent chance of survival after his colon ruptured due to opioid abuse. He recovered, but was in a coma for two weeks and needed to use a colostomy bag for nine months.
A private funeral, which was attended by all five of Perry's Friends co-stars, was held at the Forest Lawn Church of the Hills in Los Angeles on Friday, November 3.
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