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From Matthew Perry’s personal assistant to ‘The Ketamine Queen,’ the 5 people charged in his death investigation

Initially ruled an "accident," the actor's death is now a conspiracy.

Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing
Photo via Getty Images

It has been almost a year since Matthew Perry’s unexpected death and not a day has gone by that his fans haven’t mourned the loss of the beloved actor. That said, the love fans have for him has often been trumped by conspiracy theories and suspicious details circling his sudden passing — details that have become even harder to ignore, as arrests have now been made in a death that was initially ruled as an “accident.”

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Perry was discovered unresponsive in his bathtub and, upon arrival, the first responders declared him dead. An investigation was launched that soon revealed the cause of death was from “acute effects of ketamine” which were further aggravated by additional factors like “drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine.” While the Friends star was receiving ketamine infusion therapy for anxiety and depression, his last treatment was one and a half weeks before his death. The drug has a half-life of three to four hours post-administration, and as such did not explain the high levels found in his body at the time, which were way higher.

Still, despite the hard-to-explain circumstances — the method of consumption of the drug still hasn’t been found — the possibility of any foul play was scratched out and Perry’s death was ruled an accident.

Matthew Perry’s death is now a conspiracy

Multiple outlets have reported that five people have been arrested in the case and, as per ABC News, they were apprehended in the early hours of Aug. 15:

  • Jasveen Sangha aka ‘The Ketamine Queen’ who stored the drugs in a “stash house” in North Hollywood, as per NY Times.
  • Salvador Plasencia aka Dr. P, who worked at an urgent care center, was one of the people responsible for getting ketamine to Perry despite having prior knowledge of the actor’s past drug addiction. He personally injected high doses of the drugs to the actor at his house multiple times.
  • Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, has already pleaded guilty to the charges against him — conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. As per officials, Iwamasa confessed that he repeatedly injected the actor with ketamine, an action he also committed multiple times on the day of Perry’s death. Prosecutors have revealed that he injected more than 20 shots of ketamine over the four days preceding Oct. 28 and that this is what led to the overdose.
  • Dr. Mark Chavez has also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine. He procured ketamine from a wholesale seller by providing details of a former patient and from his former ketamine clinic to sell it to Dr. Plasencia. Text message interactions between Chavez and Plasencia revealed they discussed how much “this moron will pay.”
  • An acquaintance of Perry named Eric Fleming. He has also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. Just four days before the fateful day on Oct. 28, he delivered 25 vials of ketamine to Perry’s assistant after procuring them Sangha.

As per ABC News’ federal source, the two doctors were the ones initially supplying Perry with the drug. However, when the price of ketamine spiked, Perry turned to a new source of supply, Jasveen Sangha aka the “Ketamine Queen of Los Angeles.” The indictment also accuses some of the co-conspirators of attempting to minimize their presence in the actor’s life and erasing evidence from their phones.

Perry’s mother Suzanne Morrison and stepfather Keith Morrison have swiftly responded to the major update, stating that while they are “heartbroken by Matthew’s death,” the fact that “law enforcement has taken his case very seriously” has given them the satisfaction about “justice taking its course.”

This is a developing story.