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Authorities are providing information about the alleged role that Matthew Perry's personal assistant had in his demise. On October 29, the day Perry was discovered dead in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home, Kenneth Iwamasa acknowledged, without any prior medical training, injecting the Friends alum with many doses of ketamine, a controlled narcotic known for its dissociative effects.
In the course of the inquiry into Perry's death, Iwamasa, 59, entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death, according to a news release issued by the prosecution on August 15.
He is one of the five persons prosecuted in relation to Perry's death, which was originally attributed to "the acute effects of ketamine" in a drug-related mishap involving drowning.
According to the DoJ, Jasveen Sangha, a 41-year-old known to the authorities as "The Ketamine Queen," is charged with five counts of ketamine distribution, one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, one count of maintaining drug-involved premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine.
In the meantime, 42-year-old Dr. Salvador Plasencia is accused of two charges of falsifying and manipulating federal investigation-related documents or records, seven counts of distributing ketamine, and one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.
Other people charged in relation to Perry's death include Dr. Mark Chavez, a San Diego-based physician who prosecutors claim admitted in a plea deal to selling ketamine to Plasencia, and 54-year-old Erik Fleming, who the DoJ said pleaded guilty to two ketamine-related charges after admitting to authorities that he distributed the ketamine that killed the actor.
The Department of Justice reports that Chavez, 54, has consented to enter a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Anne Milgram said in a statement, "We allege each of the defendants played a key role in his death by falsely prescribing, selling, or injecting the ketamine that caused Matthew Perry's tragic death." "Matthew Perry's journey started with dishonest medical professionals who took advantage of their trust because they saw him as a payday, to street dealers who gave him ketamine in unmarked vials."
