Investigations into the death of Matthew Perry lead to several suspects

Matthew Perry

(Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for “Nora (A Doll’s House), Part 2”)

The investigation into the death of Matthew Perry is nearing its conclusion and, according to a news report published this week, several people are linked to the late actor’s acquisition of the fatal amount of the dissociative anesthetic ketamine that was found in his blood.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday that two law enforcement sources confirmed that the end of the investigation is near and that prosecutors will soon decide whether to bring charges against those involved in the Friends Star obtained ketamine. The newspaper reports that it spoke to a law enforcement source who was not authorized to speak about the investigation, who said several people were connected to Perry’s procurement of the drug.

The investigation, which began in May, involves investigators from the Los Angeles Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Service. Investigators are tracking the actor’s acquisition of the illegal drug, which has been used recreationally for decades but has recently been shown to be useful in treating depression.

Perry’s body was found by an assistant after he drowned in the hot tub of his swimming pool at his Pacific Palisades home on Oct. 28 after the lethal dose of ketamine caused him to develop cardiovascular hyperstimulation and respiratory depression, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. The amount of ketamine found in his blood was about the same as that used in general anesthesia, the coroner said. The office cites the acute effects of the drug as the primary cause of his death, adding drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid use, as contributing factors.

Although friends confirmed that Perry was undergoing ketamine therapy, the actor’s last session had taken place a week and a half before his death, according to the medical examiner’s report. This does not explain the high levels of the drug in his body at the time of his death, as ketamine breaks down within a few hours. No other drugs were found in Perry’s body and no paraphernalia was discovered in his home, officials said.

According to the coroner’s report, a psychiatrist and an anesthesiologist, who was also Perry’s primary care physician, were the only known medical professionals who treated Perry in October.