Six months after the tragic death of Matthew Perry in Los Angeles, the city police department and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have opened an investigation to ascertain how the actor was able to come into possession of all the ketamine that was found in his body and which, according to the autopsy examination would have caused his death. He makes it known ‘The Hollywood Reporter’.
The interpreter of the popular sitcom Friends he died last October 28 at the age of 54 years old and his body was found submerged in the bathtub of his home in Pacific Palisades. As forensic officials stated at the time, his death was caused by “acute effects of ketamine“, which he would have taken in massive doses.
In addition to verifying how the actor obtained the ketamine found in his system, the investigation will also delve into the dynamics of the drowning, so far indicated as a contributing factor to his death, declared an accident.
It is not clear what stage the investigation is at – which the gossip site first spoke about ‘TMZ’ – nor who was questioned as part of it.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office said in December that “high levels of ketamine were found in the blood sample examined postmortem.”
Deputy Medical Examiner Raffi Djabourian added that other factors contributing to his death were coronary heart disease and the effects of buprenorphine, used to treat opioid use disorder. Due to his unconscious state, Perry drowned in the bathtub. “Coronary artery disease would have contributed to death due to exacerbation of ketamine-induced myocardial effects on the heart,” said Dr. Raffi Djabourian.
At the time of his death, Matthew Perry was receiving medically supervised ketamine treatment for depression and anxiety, although the medical examiners’ report found that the last ketamine treatment prescribed to him was a week and a half before his death. .
At the height of his fame, Perry struggled with addictions to painkillers and alcohol and repeatedly attended rehab clinics. In 2016 she said she couldn’t remember three years of filming “Friends” due to alcohol and drugs. After attempting treatment, he wrote in his memoir that he had remained mostly sober since 2001, “barring about 60 or 70 accidents.”
