2024-10-02 22:13:24
Los Angeles doctor Mark Chavez suspected of connection to series star Matthew Perry’s ketamine overdose death Friendspleaded guilty Wednesday, Oct. 2, in a California court. The man, 54, admitted illegally helping to supply ketamine to the actor, who played Chandler in the cult series. This professional, who has been banned from practicing medicine, thus avoids a trial and risks up to ten years in prison, according to the federal prosecutor’s office. His sentence will be pronounced on April 2, 2025. According to American justice, Dr. Chavez is only one of five suspects involved in the actor’s death.
The death of Matthew Perry, found unconscious in his hot tub in October 2023, shocked fans of Friends and prompted numerous tributes in Hollywood. The actor had spoken publicly about his addiction problems and was taking ketamine under supervision as part of therapy sessions for depression. But this legal anesthetic is sometimes used for stimulant or euphoric purposes, and Matthew Perry relapsed into addiction in the fall of 2023, according to federal prosecutors. This relapse then pushed him into the clutches of doctors “unscrupulous”according to the authorities.
According to the investigation, another doctor, Salvador Plasencia, played a much larger role in fueling Mr. Perry’s addiction. He was the one who organized it “exploitation” of the sick actor, according to Anne Milgram, of the DEA, the federal anti-drug agency.
“Who knows how much this idiot will pay”wrote Dr. Plasencia in September 2023, in a text message brought to light by the investigations. After the death of the actor, he “falsified medical records” to try to legitimize his action, according to the indictment. Mr. Plasencia is due to stand trial in March and has pleaded not guilty. He risks up to one hundred and twenty years in prison.
Long-standing addictions
The vials of ketamine cost the doctors involved around 12 dollars (10.85 euros), but were resold «2 000 dollars» to the actor. The other defendant at the center of the case is Jasveen Sangha, a drug dealer known in Hollywood as the “Queen of Ketamine”. This 41-year-old British-American sold the bottle of ketamine that killed the actor and faces life in prison. She is also scheduled to go to trial in March and has pleaded not guilty. The investigation revealed that one of his clients had already died from a ketamine overdose in 2019. Matthew Perry’s personal assistant and an intermediary are also on trial.
A true cultural phenomenon, the series Friendsbroadcast between 1994 and 2004, it left its mark on an entire generation of viewers, telling the adventures of a group of happy friends in New York. But behind the scenes, Matthew Perry hid his discomfort for a long time behind Chandler’s jovial character. He has long struggled with his drug and alcohol addiction. In his memoirs published in 2022, he confided that he had followed 65 abstinence sessions, spending more than 9 million dollars.
He had also undergone several surgeries related to his drug addiction problems, including a seven-hour colon operation in 2018, going so far as to say: “I should be dead.” »
During a television appearance shortly before his death, the actor surprised the public by admitting that he had suffered from severe anxiety “every evening” during the filming of Friends.
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