MATTHEW Perry’s stepdad has issued a stark warning to the drug dealers who supplied the star with the ketamine he took before his death.
The Friends actor was found unresponsive in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home on October 28 last year after he suffered acute effects of ketamine and drowning at age 54.
And now, a year on from the star’s tragic and unexpected passing, his family is speaking out publicly, including a four-word warning issued to those involved and charged in connection with his death.
Touching on the current investigation, Today journalist Savannah Guthrie spoke of how five people have been charged in connection with the actor’s death, with three having pleaded guilty and two not guilty.
Matthew’s stepdad, Keith Morrison, a Canadian broadcast journalist known for his work on Dateline NBC, then weighed in – and he didn’t hold back.
“What I’m hoping, and I think the agencies that got involved in this are hoping, [is] that people who have put themselves in the business of supplying people with the drugs that will kill them are now on notice,” Keith began.
He then added that it “doesn’t matter” what their professional credentials are before warning, “You’re going down, baby.”
Jasveen Sangha and one of the doctors will go on trial next year and could face years behind bars.
“I’m thrilled,” Matthew’s mother Suzanne said of the trial, which has been scheduled for March 2025.
Matthew’s death was ruled an accident, although other factors included drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid use disorder.
Prior to the interview being unveiled today, Savannah shared a clip from her chat with the family where his mother spoke of how she was “worried” following one of her final conversations with her son.
“He went through a period, interestingly enough just before he died, when he was showing me one of his new houses.
Matthew Perry’s ‘killer’ doctor Salvador Plasencia treated me – he creeped me out & it was odd his office had no staff
“He came up to me and he said, ‘I love you so much and I’m so happy to be with you now.’
POSSIBLE PREMONITION
“It was almost as though it was a premonition or something.
“I didn’t think about it at the time but I thought, ‘How long has it been since we’ve had a conversation like that. It’s been years.’”
She added, “I think there was something. There was an inevitability to what was going to happen next to him, and he felt it very strongly.
Five charged in Matthew Perry’s death
On August 15, prosecutors announced a slew of charges stemming from the tragic overdose death of Friends star Matthew Perry.
Here are the five individuals allegedly behind Perry’s ketamine crisis.
- “Ketamine Queen of Los Angeles” Jasveen Sangha – Sangha is a 41-year-old drug dealer who allegedly helped sell the ketamine that killed Perry, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office. In 2019, Sangha sold ketamine to another victim hours before he died, prosecutors say. After hearing of his death, she allegedly searched “can ketamine be listed as a cause of death,” on Google. She faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of all charges.
- “Dr. P” Dr. Salvador Plasencia – Plasencia, 42, allegedly learned that Perry was seeking ketamine, and obtained doses from a dirty doctor. Speaking to the doctor over text, he allegedly said, “I wonder how much this moron will pay.” Plasencia taught unlicensed people associated with Perry how to inject ketamine, and even personally injected it at times, prosecutors say. Perry’s assistant, who was taught by Plasencia, administered the fatal dose on October 28, 2023. Plasencia is facing nine charges stemming from the death.
- Kenneth Iwamasa – Iwamasa, 59, was Perry’s live-in assistant who was allegedly taught how to inject ketamine by Dr. Plasencia, according to prosecutors. He also corresponded with dealers to organize the sale and delivery of the drug. He admitted to injecting Perry multiple times on the day of his death in a guilty plea.
- Eric Fleming – Fleming, 54, is a dealer who helped to coordinate drug sales to Sangha before they ultimately made it to Perry. He corresponded with Iwamasa when ketamine was on its way to their home. Fleming admitted to distributing 50 vials of ketamine to Iwamasa, half of them four days before Perry’s death.
- Dr. Mark Chavez – Chavez admitted to selling ketamine to Dr. Plasencia by writing fraudulent prescriptions. He also coordinated with Iwamasa to get the drugs to Perry. Between September and October 2023, Plasencia, Chavez, and Iwamasa allegedly distributed approximately 20 vials of ketamine to Perry for $55,000 in cash.
“But he said, ‘I’m not frightened anymore.’ And it worried me.”
DISGRACED DOCTOR
Earlier this month, one of the two doctors charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s death pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine, with him facing 10 years behind bars.
Dr. Mark Chavez formally entered his plea in a Los Angeles federal courtroom at the start of October, months after signing an agreement with prosecutors where he agreed to plead guilty.
Chavez, who was one of five people arrested in connection with Perry’s fatal overdose in October 2023, has been free on bond after an initial court appearance on August 29, where a judge ordered him to turn over his passport and surrender his medical license, among other conditions.
His attorney, Matthew Binninger, said in August that Chavez was “incredibly remorseful” and was “trying to do everything in his power to right the wrong that happened here.”
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