Matthew Perry's Death by Ketamine: Police Investigating Who Supplied Actor With Deadly Drug
Police are determined to find out who handed Matthew Perry his deadly fate.
Nearly six months after the Friends actor devastatingly died in October 2023, investigators are still searching for the source of the toxic drug found in Perry's system at the time of his passing after an autopsy reported determined his cause of death as the "acute effects of ketamine."
Perry was found with enough ketamine in his body to mirror the amount given as general anesthesia to surgical patients, prompting police to launch an ongoing investigation into who his supplier was, law enforcement sources recently spilled to a news publication.
Local police and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are reportedly both involved in the ongoing probe.
Authorities have already began interviewing individuals in Hollywood, mainly key people who have a history of drug use or abuse — however, no arrests have been made at this time, insiders revealed.
Perry had been receiving ketamine infusion therapy to treat anxiety and depression prior to his death. His latest treatment was recorded as a week-and-a-half before his passing, though the medical examiner noted the ketamine found in his system couldn't have been linked to the infusions, as the drug doesn't remain in the body for that long after initial exposure.
"At the high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression," the autopsy report revealed. "Drowning contributes due to the likelihood of submersion into the pool as he lapsed into unconsciousness."
News broke on October 28, 2023 that Perry was pronounced dead after his assistant found him unresponsive in his backyard hot tub.
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The 17 Again actor's death was quite shocking, as Perry was allegedly sober for more than 19 months before his final fatal moments.
Perry dealt with substance abuse issues throughout the majority of his adult life, and detailed his struggles in his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing — released in November 2022, roughly one year before his tragic passing.
During an interview with The New York Times to promote his book, Perry admitted, "I've probably spent $9 million or something trying to get sober."
In a separate chat with People, the Fools Rush In star opened up about his determination to get clean before writing his memoir.
"I had to wait until I was pretty safely sober — and away from the active disease of alcoholism and addiction — to write it all down. And the main thing was, I was pretty certain that it would help people," he revealed at the time.
TMZ spoke to police insiders about the ketamine probe.