Matthew Perry’s last days: Actor given fatal ketamine dose by assistant, court docs shows

Court documents are shedding light on the death of “Friends” actor Matthew Perry, including his final days alive.

The documents detail the final chapter in the beloved actor’s highly publicized struggle with addiction, including an eventual 2023 relapse that resulted in his death from “the acute effects of ketamine” in October of last year. Earlier this week, California prosecutors announced five people had been charged in connection to Perry’s death during a news conference on Thursday for “distributing ketamine to Perry during the final weeks of the actor’s life.”

Among the five charged was Perry’s personal live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, who referred to himself as “Batman’s butler,” according to court docs. Iwamasa, 59, pleaded guilty on Aug. 7 to one count of “conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death and serious bodily injury” and he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Investigators allege Iwamasa conspired alongside others to purchase at least $55,000 worth of ketamine on behalf of Perry to inject the actor with the drug without proper medical licensure. Ketamine is an anesthetic drug, and a party drug, that has psychedelic contents.
At the time of his death, Perry was receiving ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety. The medication has hallucinogenic effects that alter the perception of sight and sound and cause users to feel devoid from pain and out of control of their surroundings. As an FDA-approved anesthetic, ketamine has been recognized as a fast-acting antidepressant drug for decades.

Physician Salvador Plasencia, 42, and Jasveen Sangha, 41, whom the DOJ’s press release referred to as the “The Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood, were charged with 18 counts for their role in Perry’s death.  Three other co-conspirators were also charged: Dr. Mark Chavez and Erik Fleming, both 54, as well as Iwamasa. But it’s Iwamasa’s plea agreement that illustrates Perry’s final days — and his private battle with ketamine addiction, leading up to the moment he was found face down by Iwamasa in a hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home in Los Angeles.

On Sept. 30, Iwamasa learned how to inject ketamine after Dr. Plasencia, who was nicknamed “Dr. P,” administered two shots of ketamine” to Perry and then taught the personal assistant how to make injections and left behind a vial for him. For days, Iwamasa also used coded language to communicate with co-conspirators to obtain more ketamine.
But two weeks before his death, on Oct. 12, investigators say Plasencia administered “a large dose of ketamine” to Perry, which caused “an adverse medical reaction” that led to a blood pressure spike which caused Perry to “freeze up” where he “could not speak or move.”

According to the plea agreement, Plasencia allegedly told Iwamasa “let’s not do that again.”