It has been revealed what Matthew Perry said to his assistant before he died of a ketamine overdose.
Perry was discovered unconscious in the hot tub at his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2017. His autopsy showed that he had fatally overdosed on ketamine and drowned.
Legal documents obtained by NBC News show that the 54-year-old star of “Friends” asked his live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa to “shoot him up with a big one,” which sounded like he had already taken ketamine.
Experts think this was his last dose, given not long before he was discovered dead.
Perry asked his assistant to give him his first shot of the day around 8:30 in the morning on October 28, according to court documents.
Iwamasa gave him another dose of the drug while he was watching a movie in his fancy LA mansion four hours later, according to PageSix.
Later, the star told his assistant to “set up his jacuzzi” and then asked him to take the third shot of the day.
Assuming that the dose was Perry’s last, Iswama left his boss at the mansion to run some errands. When he came back, he found his boss dead.
Recently, five people, including Iwamasa, were charged with the famous star’s death by drug overdose on Thursday.
Others accused in the federal indictment were Perry’s doctors, Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez, the broker Mark Fleming, and the drug dealer Jasveen Sangha.
According to the plea deal, Iswama admitted that he had been giving Perry ketamine for about a month before the fatal overdose.
Medical professionals use the dissociative drug ketamine to put patients to sleep during painful procedures.
That fall of 2023, Perry was getting ketamine infusion therapy to help with his depression and anxiety.
According to Drug Enforcement Agency administrator Anne Milgram, Perry became addicted to ketamine during this time.
Additionally, they said that the suspects “took advantage of Perry’s addiction to enrich themselves,” with doctors Mark Chavez and Salvador Plasencia charging the actor $2,000 for a vial of ketamine that only cost them $12.
Additionally, Plasencia, Chavez, and Sangha gave Perry about 70 vials of ketamine between September and October 2023.
US Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada said Thursday, “The defendants in this case knew what they were doing was wrong.”
“They believed what they were doing put Mr. Perry in great danger, but they did it anyway.”
“In the end, these defendants were more interested in profiting off Mr Perry than caring for his well-being.”
Ninety-six days have passed since Perry died from an overdose of ketamine.
He had ketamine in his system when his live-in assistant found him floating face down in the hot tub of his swimming pool at his Palisades home, according to the autopsy.
Within the autopsy report, Perry’s last moments were described in detail, including his pickleball game at 11 a.m.
According to his live-in assistant, the last time they saw the actor was at 1:37 p.m. on October 28, 2023.
When Perry’s assistant got home, he found him floating face down in his hot tub.
Quickly jumping in, the assistant pulled Perry’s head out of the water and then called the police.
When the ambulance arrived, they pulled Perry out of the water and pronounced him dead.
Officers in Los Angeles began a criminal investigation into Perry’s death after learning that the ketamine that killed the actor had not been prescribed by a doctor.
In the medical examiner’s report, the amount of ketamine in Perry’s body was compared to the amount needed for general anesthesia during surgery.
Ultimately, it was determined that he died in an accident, with other factors such as drowning, overstimulation of the cardiovascular system, and ketamine-induced respiratory depression all playing a role.
It was shocking news in the entertainment industry, and his Friends co-stars took the time to publicly mourn his death.
Individually, the Friends cast remembered Perry by writing heartbreaking tributes on their social media accounts after weeks of silence.
Friends co-star Matt LeBlanc, who played Perry’s character’s best friend Joey Tribbiani, wrote, “It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye.”
“The times we spent together are some of my favorite memories. Sharing the stage with you and calling you my friend was an honor.
“You make me happy every time I think of you, and I will never forget you.” In no time. Now that you’re free, brother, spread your wings and fly. A lot of love.”
