The legal side of Matthew Perry’s overdose death is moving forward. A Los Angeles doctor suspected of being linked to the Friends star’s death pleaded guilty Wednesday in a California court.
Mark Chavez, 54, admitted to illegally helping to supply ketamine to the actor, who played Chandler on the cult series. The professional, who has been banned from practicing medicine, thus avoids a trial and risks up to 10 years in prison. His sentencing will take place on April 2, 2025.
“Unscrupulous” doctors
However, he is only one of five suspects implicated in the death of the actor, who was found unconscious in his hot tub in October 2023. Matthew Perry, who had spoken publicly about his addiction problems, took ketamine in a supervised manner as part of therapy sessions for depression. But this legal anesthetic is sometimes diverted for stimulant or euphoric purposes, and he fell back into addiction in the fall of 2023, according to the federal prosecutor's office. A relapse that pushed him into the clutches of "unscrupulous" doctors, according to the authorities.
According to the investigation, another doctor, Salvador Plasencia, played a particularly important role in feeding this addiction. He is the one who allegedly organized the “exploitation” of the sick actor, according to Anne Milgram of the DEA, the federal anti-drug agency. “I wonder how much this moron is going to pay,” he wrote in September 2023, in a text message exhumed by the investigation. After Matthew Perry’s death, he “falsified medical records” to try to legitimize his actions, according to the prosecution.
This doctor is due to be tried in March and has pleaded not guilty. He faces up to 120 years in prison. The vials of ketamine cost the doctors involved around $12, but were resold for “$2,000” to the actor.
The ‘Ketamine Queen’ among the suspects
The other accused at the center of the case is Jasveen Sangha, a dealer known in Hollywood as the “Ketamine Queen.” The 41-year-old British-American sold the vial of ketamine that killed the actor, and faces life in prison. She is also due to be tried in March and has pleaded not guilty. The investigation revealed that one of her clients had already died of a ketamine overdose, in 2019.
Matthew Perry Wasn't In The 2024 Emmys In Memoriam And Here's Why
Matthew Perry's absence from the In Memoriam segment of the 2024 Emmy Awards did not go unnoticed. Many Friends fans were upset on social media about not seeing the actor, who passed away in October 2023, in the tribute to the deceased. But there is a very good explanation for this.
In fact, Matthew Perry had already been honored at the 2023 Emmy Awards ceremony, which was held in January 2024 due to the strikes in the United States by actors and writers. At that ceremony, the iconic Friends theme, I'll Be There For You, was played during the In Memoriam segment, while a photo of the actor appeared on screen.
Inconsolable
The Emmy Awards producers had considered bringing the cast of Friends together for the tribute before deciding against it, saying the grief was still too fresh.
“It’s still very fresh for them,” Emmy executive producer Jeannae Rouzan-Clay told The Hollywood Reporter.
Jesse Collins, another executive producer, added, “We all have to respect the fact that they were a family. It was probably a little too soon.”
It’s an understandable decision that shows that, even months after the tragedy, the shock of losing Matthew Perry is still fresh in the hearts of fans.