MUMBAI : About Matthew Perry's ketamine overdose death from the previous year, two doctors and the actor's assistant have been charged, according to the prosecutor. In a text message, US Attorney Martin Estrada asked how much the former "Friends" actor would be ready to pay, claiming that the doctors gave Perry an excessive dosage of ketamine.
“These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves. They knew what they were doing was wrong,” Estrada said.
Perry's overdose death in October was caused by ketamine, which he received many injections of from his live-in personal assistant on the day of his death. Later that day, Kenneth Iwamasa, the assistant, found Perry dead.
According to Estrada, two of the individuals including one of the accused doctors have been taken into custody. Iwamasa is one of the two suspects who already filed guilty pleas to the allegations, and a third defendant has also decided to make a guilty plea. Iwamasa's lawyers did not respond to a message requesting comment right away.
The prosecution said that shortly after Perry passed away, the defendants exchanged messages mentioning ketamine as the cause of death. According to Estrada, they made an effort to hide their role in giving Perry ketamine, a potent anesthetic that is occasionally used to treat depression and chronic pain.
Los Angeles police said in May that they were working with the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the US Postal Inspection Service with a probe into why the 54-year-old had so much of the surgical anesthetic in his system.
Iwamasa found the actor face down in his hot tub on Oct. 28, and paramedics who were called immediately declared him dead.
His autopsy, released in December, found that the amount of ketamine in his blood was in the range used for general anesthesia during surgery.
The decades-old drug has seen a huge surge in use in recent years as a treatment for depression, anxiety and pain. People close to Perry told coroner’s investigators that he was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy.
Perry's last treatment was 1 1/2 weeks prior, the medical examiner stated, could not explain the level of ketamine in his blood. Typically, the medication is metabolised in a few hours.
According to the medical examiner's report, Perry was being treated by at least two medical professionals: an anaesthesiologist who functioned as his primary care physician and a psychiatrist. At his home, no illegal substances or paraphernalia were discovered.
According to the report, ketamine was identified as the main cause of death, which was ruled an accident with no suspicion of foul play. According to the coroner, drowning and other health problems were contributory factors.
Perry's battle with addiction began years before over his tenure on the hit sitcom "Friends," where he co-starred with Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer for ten seasons from 1994 to 2004 and rose to prominence as one of the biggest TV stars of his generation.
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Credits – The Indian Express
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