"Friends" star Matthew Perry was found dead in 2023 with a large amount of an anaesthetic in his blood. The trail led to doctors and middlemen. A doctor now admits his guilt.
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- Following the arrest of five people in connection with the death of "Friends" star Matthew Perry, one of two accused doctors has admitted his guilt in court.
- The 54-year-old doctor from San Diego pleaded guilty in Los Angeles to procuring the anesthetic ketamine for Perry.
- Sentencing is to be announced in April.
- Perry was found dead in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home last October.
- Prior to this, the actor had repeatedly spoken publicly about his fight against addiction problems.
Following the arrest of five people in connection with the death of "Friends" star Matthew Perry, one of two accused doctors has admitted his guilt in court. The 54-year-old doctor from San Diego pleaded guilty in Los Angeles to procuring the anesthetic ketamine for Perry, according to US media reports. The sentence is to be announced in April.
The judge responsible had previously banned him from continuing to work as a doctor. The man has been released on bail. He faces a prison sentence of up to ten years.
His client is incredibly remorseful, said the doctor's lawyer recently. He wanted to do the right thing and cooperate with the public prosecutor's office. According to the indictment, the San Diego doctor allegedly sold a colleague in Los Angeles a large quantity of ketamine for Perry using a forged prescription, among other things.
Allegations against doctors and dealers
In mid-August, police and prosecutors brought serious charges against five people arrested, including doctors, dealers and one of the actor's assistants. The manhunt focused on the question of how the actor had obtained the anesthetic ketamine, which he had in his blood in unusually high quantities at the time of his death. The investigation had "uncovered a widely ramified criminal underground network", said public prosecutor Martin Estrada. The defendants had exploited Perry's addiction problems to enrich themselves.
The main defendants are a Los Angeles doctor and a drug supplier known as the "Ketamine Queen" who allegedly provided Perry with large amounts of ketamine on the black market last fall. Both have pleaded not guilty. The trial against them is scheduled for 2025.
One of the actor's assistants has already admitted his guilt of procuring ketamine for Perry and injecting him with the drug without medical knowledge. He faces up to 15 years in prison. The sentence is to be imposed in November.
Perry's tragic death
Perry (54) was found dead in the hot tub of his home in Los Angeles last October. Prior to this, the actor had repeatedly spoken publicly about his battle with addiction. According to reports, he had been undergoing ketamine therapy under medical supervision for depression and anxiety. He is also said to have obtained the drug on the black market.
Ketamine has been a proven anesthetic for decades. Some partygoers also use it as an illegal club drug. People with treatment-resistant depression can also be treated with ketamine under certain conditions.
dpa