Multiple people have been arrested over the death of Friends actor Matthew Perry, reports revealed on Thursday, August 15.
The 54-year-old Hollywood star was found dead in a hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home in Los Angeles on October 28, 2023. Early reports suggested that he’d passed away due to the acute effects of ketamine.
While NBC first broke the news on Thursday that an arrest was made in Southern California after the Los Angeles police department said it was doing its best to figure out how the actor had obtained the anaesthetic with psychedelic properties, TMZ soon expanded that many people, including at least one doctor and several drug dealers, had been taken into custody.
More on Matthew Perry’s overdose death
Officials told the outlet that multiple law enforcement agencies had “executed search warrants and seized computers, phones, and other electronic equipment” during their investigation to uncover who supplied Perry with the prescription medication that ultimately led to his demise in October.
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The 17 Again actor had been receiving ketamine infusion therapy for anxiety and depression. His last treatment was reportedly scheduled for a week and a half before he passed away, implying that the ketamine Perry ingested at the time of his death was not legally prescribed.
The outlet also informed that Perry’s system consisted of the same level of the drug that is used for general anaesthesia in surgery.
TMZ’s sources further revealed that the search warrant outed numerous text messages mentioning Perry and the ketamine he’d reportedly asked for. The text chains also highlighted what these individuals were doing to get the drug to him and the price the Hollywood star would pay for it.
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Authorities also seemed to have found other celebrities tied to the Hollywood drug scene during their investigation. While they reportedly got a search warrant for Brooke Muller, Charlie Sheen’s ex, she doesn’t appear connected to the recent arrests. Muller had been in a treatment centre with the Friends actor.
At the time of Perry’s death – ruled an accident, an autopsy report stated, “At the high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression.”
The LAPD and Drug Enforcement Administration said in May that they had joined forces on the criminal investigation to dig deeper into the causes of the drug overdose.
Perry had openly discussed his issues with addiction, which reportedly began at age 14. He also claimed his substance abuse problem was exacerbated during his time as Chandler Bing on the NBC hit series. However, the actor is said to have been 19 months sober at the time of his death. The medical examiner also claimed no illicit drugs were discovered at his house.
