Actor Matthew Perry died from drug overdose, and a doctor who was charged with his death has entered a guilty plea. In a Los Angeles court, Dr. Mark Chavez entered a guilty plea to a charge of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, a surgical anaesthetic. A ketamine clinic operator, Chavez, 54, sold ketamine lozenges to Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who then gave them to Perry, the star of the NBC show Friends.
Chavez is among the five individuals accused in Perry’s demise. The 54-year-old actor’s body was found dead in his own jacuzzi in southern California in October of 2023. Ketamine was identified in high quantity in his blood during a post-mortem test, which concluded that the drug’s “acute effects” were what killed him. Ketamine is used to treat pain, anxiety, and depression.
Chavez acknowledged in his plea deal that he used a fake prescription to get ketamine from a wholesale distributor as well as from his previous clinic. Perry’s aide, Kenneth Iwamasa, allegedly collaborated with the two doctors to give the actor about $50,000 (£38,000) worth of ketamine in the final weeks of his life, according to the prosecution. In the charges, it states that the two doctors texted each other about how much they might bill Perry for medicine vials. One of the texts said, “I wonder how much this moron will pay.”
Chavez may still spend up to 10 years in jail, but the plea enables him to enter a guilty plea to a charge that is less serious in exchange for his cooperation with the investigation. “He has accepted responsibility.” His lawyer informed the court that “he is cooperating.”
Along with handing over his passport, Chavez promised to give up his medical license right away. Until his sentence on April 2, 2025, he remains free on parole.