Another Hollywood saga: Five arrested in connection with ‘Friends’ actor Matthew Perry’s death

In a familiar Hollywood tale that follows the death of a celebrity; five people have been charged in connection with the demise of Friends star Matthew Perry.

According to reports, two doctors, a live-in-personal assistant, an acquaintance and a drug dealer known as the “ketamine queen” — conspired to provide Perry with the ketamine that caused his accidental overdose death last year, federal authorities announced Thursday.

The 54-year-old actor was found face down dead in a pool at his Pacific Palisades home in October last year.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office attributed his death to the acute effects of ketamine, an anaesthetic with psychedelic properties.

“They knew what they were doing was wrong. They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr Perry,” said attorney Martin Estrada at a press conference.

“But they did it anyways. In the end, these defendants were more interested in profiting off of Mr Perry than caring for his well-being.”

Perry’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute ketamine – causing death. Two other people, Eric Fleming and Dr Mark Chavez, also pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute drugs unlawfully.

Dr Salvador Plasencia, accused of supplying ketamine to Perry, is charged with falsifying records.

Alleged dealer Jasveen Sangha faces nine counts, including conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in death.

Both pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday.

ALSO READ: ‘Friends’ actor Matthew Perry’s cause of death finally revealed

‘Accidental deaths’ in Hollywood

Prince: Accidental synthetic opioid overdose

Perry’s case isn’t the first of its kind. There have been several publicised accidental deaths or deaths due to medical negligence in the past.

US singer Prince died of an accidental synthetic opioid overdose in April 2016 at his Paisley Park home in Chanhassen, Minnesota.

The results found on the toxicology report as a part of the autopsy identified an exceedingly high amount of fentanyl in Prince’s system. A blood test confirmed that synthetic opioid was found in the stomach, liver and blood which likely killed him.

Prince had taken numerous medications including fentanyl to treat chronic pain. However, the medication is considered to be “50 times more powerful than heroin” and at the level found in his bloodstream was absolutely deadly.

Elvis Presley: Opiates in the singer’s body

Elvis Presley died on 16 August 1977 and his body was discovered by his girlfriend who in describing the singer’s corpse said “his entire body had completely frozen in a seated position while using the commode and then had fallen forward, in that fixed position, directly in front of it.”

Some weeks after Presley’s passing, toxicology reports revealed that there were significant opiates in the singer’s body including Percodan, Demerol, Dilaudid, Quaaludes, and codeine.

Other evidence found that Elvis was suffering from chronic and severe constipation, glaucoma and diabetes. Investigators found that Elvis was a long-time abuser of drugs, especially opiates, which can exacerbate constipation. There are indications that he abused laxatives, sleeping pills, barbiturates, Valium and other medications.

Bernie Mac: An injection for a cold

US comedian and actor Bernie Mac died on what is South Africa’s Women’s Day, on August 9 following medical health complications involving pneumonia.

After Mac’s passing, his widow filed a lawsuit against Bernie’s dermatologist for not recognising the obvious symptoms associated with the respiratory distress in the weeks before his death.

His wife claimed that the dermatologists kept Mac at the clinic for hours instead of transferring them to the hospital for admittance even after he showed signs of respiratory failure.

The dermatologists advised Bernie to go to the hospital only after Mac had stated he got an injection for a cold that morning.

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