Nearly 10 months after the sudden passing of Friends star Matthew Perry, five people have been charged in connection with his death. The charges were announced Thursday morning at a press conference in Los Angeles by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The defendants, who include doctors who treated the actor and a personal assistant, were allegedly involved in supplying Perry with ketamine in the final weeks of his life.
On Thursday’s show, Megyn was joined by Maureen Callahan, author of Ask Not, to discuss the charges and how Perry’s fame led to accountability in this case.
Perry’s Death
Perry was found dead in October 2023 at the age of 54. He was discovered floating face down in the pool of his Southern California home. The autopsy report from the Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office determined he died as a result of the “acute effects of ketamine” and subsequent drowning.
The Associated Press reported that people close to Perry told investigators he was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy before his death and was under the care of at least two doctors. The anesthetic has been used off label in recent years as a psychedelic therapy to treat depression, anxiety and pain.
The actor detailed his decades-long struggles with drug addiction in his 2022 memoir and admitted to taking up to 55 pills per day at the height of his fame. He had struggled to stay clean, and, when announcing the charges on Thursday, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said investigators believe Perry “fell back into addiction” in the fall of 2023.
The Charges
A press release from the Department of Justice confirmed five defendants have been charged “in connection with the death of actor Matthew Perry, who suffered a fatal ketamine overdose in October 2023.”
They include licensed physician Salvador Plasencia, MD, of Santa Monica and alleged San Fernando Valley drug dealer Jasveen Sangha (a.k.a. “The Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood). Both face charges related to conspiracy to distribute ketamine among other things and are expected to be arraigned later today.
“These defendants cared more about profiting off of Mr. Perry than caring for his well-being,” Estrada said. “Drug dealers selling dangerous substances are gambling with other people’s lives over greed. This case, along with our many other prosecutions of drug-dealers who cause death, send a clear message that we will hold drug-dealers accountable for the deaths they cause.”
The three others charged in the case include Perry’s live-in personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, San Diego physician Mark Chavez, MD, and Eric Fleming. Fleming pleaded guilty on August 8 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. He admitted to obtaining the ketamine from Sangha and distributing 50 vials of it to Iwamasa around the time of his death.
Iwamasa pleaded guilty on August 7 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death and, according to the press release, copped to repeatedly injecting Perry with ketamine despite not having any medical training. He also admitted to administering multiple injections on the actor on the day he died.
Chavez, meanwhile, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. He confessed to selling ketamine to Plasencia and obtaining the drug by making false claims to a wholesale distributor.
Questions of Accountability
If the allegations in the indictment hold up in court, Megyn said they show an “utter, callous, reckless disregard” for human life by medical professionals and people close to the actor. And while she is “so glad” to see the charges brought because the accusations are “disgusting and irresponsible,” she admitted it was likely Perry’s fame that got this case pursued.
“Now, how about the others? How about people who are not rich, not famous, and not beloved by millions of Americans because they played a nice character on TV,” she asked. “Where are the arrests of the people who ruined their lives because they are just as much an addict as Matthew Perry? Their deaths will be ignored. There will not be indictments of those around them who fostered their untimely deaths.”
Callahan agreed with the many who say that justice is only being served because of Perry’s stature. “You can’t imagine the LAPD marshaling resources for someone who didn’t have the means, or the fame, or whose death didn’t come as such a tectonic shock, even though we all knew it was a long time coming,” she explained.
Even so, she believes there is a bright spot for the public at large. “This is clearly a major drug ring at work that they have busted,” Callahan concluded. “And that is a good thing.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Callahan by tuning in to episode 863 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.