Arrest made in Matthew Perry overdose case – NBC4 Washington

A prosecutor said five people have been charged in connection with Matthew Perry's ketamine overdose death last year, including the actor's assistant and two doctors.

US Attorney Martin Estrada announced the charges on Thursday. He said doctors gave Perry a large amount of ketamine and even asked in a text message how much the former “Friends” star would be willing to pay.

“These defendants exploited Mr. Perry's addiction problems to enrich themselves. They knew what they were doing was wrong,” Estrada said.

Federal agents have executed multiple arrest warrants across Southern California in connection with Perry's accidental death last year, law enforcement sources told NBC4's I-Team.

Perry was 54 when he was found unconscious in the swimming pool of his Pacific Palisades-area home and was pronounced dead by paramedics.

The Los Angeles County Coroner concluded that Perry's death on October 28, 2023, was due to the acute effects of the drug ketamine, citing drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid use disorder, as contributing factors.

Matthew Perry's stepfather Keith Morrison reflects on the tragic death of the “Friends” star.

LAPD detectives, as well as agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, are investigating the source of the ketamine.

Perry had been undergoing ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression and anxiety, yet his last session with his treating doctors took place more than a week before his death.

The medical examiner found that the ketamine in Perry's body “could not have come from this infusion therapy since the half-life of ketamine is three to four hours or less.”

This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.