Following Matthew Perry’s tragic death, law enforcement believe ‘multiple people’ should be charged.
When the Friends star died at the age of 54 last year and the autopsy was later released, the LAPD began an investigation into the circumstances of his overdose.
In a report by People published on Tuesday, an investigative source from law enforcement said that Matthew Perry’s tragic death investigation is now ‘nearing its conclusion.’
The source did not clarify who the ‘multiple people’ potentially facing charges are, adding that any future action will ultimately be determined by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The actor died from an overdose on October 28, 2023 in his hot tub at his home, according to a previous report by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner.
His manner of death was ruled to be accidental, and the autopsy report released in May showed the actor died from acute effects of ketamine.
Contributing factors to Matthew Perry’s tragic death were given as drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, a prescription drug often used to treat those with opioid addiction.
It was later reported that at the time of his death, Perry was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy.
In December last year, a medical expert speculated to Page Six the actor had ‘likely’ obtained ketamine illegally for ‘recreational use,’ however.
Even though Perry was undergoing ketamine treatment for anxiety and depression at the time of his passing, his autopsy report noted ‘the ketamine in his system at death could not be from that infusion therapy.’
In collaboration with the DEA and the U.S. Postal Inspector, LAPD then started investigating where the ketamine came from that ‘ended up playing a part’ in the actor’s death.
At the time, TMZ reported that an ongoing investigation was looking to deduce where the actor — who spent years battling alcoholism and drug addiction — got the ketamine.
‘Law enforcement sources tell us there is an ongoing investigation into where Matthew got the ketamine that ended up playing a part in his death — and the main questions are who provided the drug, and under the circumstances,’ the outlet reported.
Sources also told the outlet that ‘both local police and the DEA have been looking into this matter for months, but it’s unclear where exactly investigators are in the probe.’
It was also revealed that they had already talked to ‘some key people in
Hollywood,’ who are ‘known to have a history of drug use or abuse,’ as they ‘could have information leading to the source,’ per the report.
A year prior to his death, he opened up about his struggles with addiction and detailed his sobriety journey in his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
In the tell-all released in 2022, he claimed that he was finally sober after multiple failed attempts to get clean and at a personal cost of $9 million.
Later, sources told DailyMail that the ‘reclusive’ star would have younger hook-ups from the dating app Raya to deliver drugs to his house even while he was under the 24/7 care of a nursing team.
Despite having a nursing team at his $6 million Pacific Palisades home as well as a live-in sober companion, Perry managed to have casual hook-ups sneak him illicit drugs without detection, sources explained in December 2023.
‘He would meet girls on dating apps and have them come over,’ insiders claimed.
‘There was a slew of 21 to 25-year-olds that he would meet on Raya. They would bring drugs with them. It was mostly Oxycontin [a powerful opioid pain killer]. He would also get illicit drugs from old girlfriends, there was a kind of network,’ a source said.
The source added: ‘I think with [his memoir], Matthew thought it would help him to get to the place that he was describing.
‘He was writing about what he was hoping to be the situation as if he was already there. He was writing the script that he wanted.’
As for the ketamine that killed Perry, sources say he become hooked on the drug after being prescribed it for therapeutic use to treat depression.
The coroner’s report, released earlier this month, found that the ketamine in Perry’s system could not have been from his most recent therapy — and that the amount in his system was similar to levels used in hospital to anesthetize patients.
‘Ketamine was given to him as a therapy by people trying to help him,’ a source said. ‘It is really effective for some people but not for everybody.
Matthew wanted to be taken away from the pain of reality and fell in love with its dissociative effects.’
‘His memoir is a really valuable story about the true nature of addiction,’ the source added. ‘He was a human being who was desperately trying to get clean, who could not get clean, and met the horrible future that comes to many addicts.’