Trigger warning: substance abuse, overdose, death
Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) launched a new criminal investigation into the death of Matthew Perry, who was officially found to have died from acute effects of the prescription drug ketamine after he was found lifeless on October 28, 2023, in a hot tub.
Half a year after the death of the Friends star, the LAPD, paired with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Postal Service, are now investigating how Matthew acquired the same quantity of ketamine as would be used during general anesthesia.
Robbery-Homicide Division Captain Scot Williams told The Los Angeles Times on Tuesday (May 21) that traces of ketamine found in the late actor’s blood by the Los Angeles County medical examiner were the subject of the probe.
After being found in the hot tub of his swimming pool at his Pacific Palisades home in California, a toxicology report found that the 54-year-old actor died from an overdose of ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic used medically for induction and maintenance of anesthesia, which in recent years has also become a popular party drug.
The LAPD, in collaboration with the DEA and the U.S. Postal Service, launched a criminal investigation into Matthew Perry’s death
The ketamine in the American-Canadian talent’s system caused cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression, the LA medical examiner reported at the time, as per The Times.
Other contributing factors in Matthew’s death reportedly included drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid-use disorder.
According to the medical examiner, the Massachusetts native was undergoing 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 Times reported.
The investigation will focus on the acquisition of the significant quantity of ketamine
The medical examiner reportedly said the ketamine found in Matthew’s system at the time of his death could not have been from that earlier infusion, as it typically disappears in detectable amounts three to four hours after intake.
According to his autopsy report, the actor had been playing pickleball at about 11 a.m. that morning, and his live-in assistant last saw him at 1:37 p.m.
Upon returning to the Emmy Award winner’s home on Blue Sail Drive, the assistant found him floating face-down. The assistant jumped in, pulled Matthew’s head out of the water, and called 911, as per The Times.
Paramedics reportedly arrived and moved the actor onto the grass, where he was pronounced dead.
The autopsy report noted that the actor had no other drugs in his system and had been 19 months sober at the time of his death. There was no evidence of illicit drugs or paraphernalia in his home, according to The Times.
The medical examiner also noted that the producer had diabetes and suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which refers to a group of diseases that cause airflow blockage and breathing-related problems, The Times reported.
The investigation follows Matthew’s tragic demise from a ketamine overdose in October 2023
The 17 Again actor spoke candidly about his decades-long battle with addiction.
In his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, the late actor explained he was prescribed opiates after his colon exploded in 2018. As the medication proved insufficient in alleviating his pain, Matthew turned to street dealers for potentially fentanyl-laced OxyContin.
The actor wrote: “The street pills were something like $75 per pill, so I was giving the guy $3,000 at a time, many times a week.”
Those who were close to Matthew have maintained that he was clean and sober at the time of his passing.
