Matthew Perry and his live-in assistant Kenny Iwamasa spent a staggering $55,000 on 55 vials of ketamine and related injections in the 29 days leading up to fatal overdose of the actor, 54, on October 28, 2023, according to a report.
Authorities from the Department of Justice said that Iwamasa had sent a series of text messages requesting more of the anesthetic from his suppliers, including one illegal transaction, US Weekly reported. Iwamasa, who was one of five people arrested earlier last week in connection with Perry’s death, was documented in legal records meeting the actor and Dr. Salvador Plasencia in a parking lot, where Perry received a ketamine injection.
Killer Ketamine
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According to legal documents, Iwamasa and Plasencia had “exchanged thousands of dollars in cash for bottles” of ketamine, with Plasencia injecting the drug to Perry multiple times at his home.
On one occasion, Plasencia injected the Williamstown, Massachusetts native, who played the role of Chandler Bing on the NBC series, “within hours” of Perry having already received a ketamine injection.
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According to legal documents, the double dose caused Perry’s systolic blood pressure to spike to hazardous levels, leaving him “unable to speak or move” due to the injections.
Iwamasa illegally spent $6,000 on 25 bottles of ketamine, as noted in the documents, just nine days after another illegal purchase of 25 vials.
During this period, Iwamasa injected Perry six times in a single day and 18 more times over the following three days, according to the legal records.
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On the day of his death, Perry received three ketamine injections from Iwamasa, who reportedly followed Perry’s request to “shoot me up with a big one,” as detailed in court documents.
Newly unsealed federal court records and a medical examiner’s report provide a timeline of the final days of Perry’s life.
On September 30, Perry and Iwamasa met with Plasencia at their home in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles.
Perry had been receiving ketamine treatments for depression from his regular doctor but was unable to get the amount he desired. Plasencia then contacted his friend, Dr. Mark Chavez in San Diego, who agreed to help acquire the ketamine.
Plasencia texted Chavez, “I wonder how much this idiot will pay.” They met later that day in Costa Mesa, California, which is midway between Los Angeles and San Diego, and exchanged at least four vials of ketamine.
His Final Days
Plasencia returned to Perry’s home, where Iwamasa paid him $4,500 in cash for the ketamine vials. Plasencia administered two ketamine injections to Perry and also provided instructions to Iwamasa on how to administer the injections himself.
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Plasencia later texted Chavez, describing the situation as “feeling like a bad movie.”
On October 2, Iwamasa contacted Plasencia, requesting not only more injection sessions but also additional vials of ketamine, referring to it in their coded language as “dr pepper.”
Plasencia delivered the injections and left the vials of ketamine behind. On October 4, Iwamasa administered ketamine to Perry for the first time. He told the doctor that he had found ‘the sweet spot’ for the injections, but after experimenting with different places on Perry, they had used up their supply and needed more.
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Plasencia asked Chavez if he could continue supplying the drug, aiming to become Perry’s main provider.
On October 6, Iwamasa told Plasencia that they were running low and needed more ketamine. Plasencia visited Perry’s home and sold him additional vials.
On October 8, during a late-night meeting at a shopping plaza in Santa Monica, California, Plasencia sold Iwamasa four vials of ketamine for $6,000 in cash.
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On October 10, Iwamasa drove Perry to a public parking lot in Long Beach, California, where they met with Plasencia. Plasencia sold them more ketamine and administered an injection to Perry while he sat in the car. That same day, Iwamasa sought more ketamine from another source, reaching out to Erik Fleming, an acquaintance of Perry.
Around October 20, Perry received his final legal ketamine treatment from his regular doctor, as told by a woman close to him, whose name was redacted in official documents, to medical examiner’s investigators.
On October 28, around 8:30 a.m., following Perry’s instructions, Iwamasa used syringes from Plasencia and ketamine from Sangha to give Perry an injection. According to Iwamasa’s account to medical examiner’s investigators, Perry played pickleball around 11 a.m., though details of this account changed in subsequent discussions with prosecutors.
Around 12:45 p.m., Iwamasa administered a second ketamine injection to Perry, who then began watching a movie. Just before 1:30 p.m., Iwamasa gave Perry his third and final injection of the day while Perry was sitting in his backyard jacuzzi.
“Shoot me up with a big one,” Iwamasa remembered Perry telling him. The assistant then left to run errands.
Around 4 p.m., Iwamasa returned home to find Perry face down in the jacuzzi. He immediately jumped in, pulled Perry to the steps, and called 911. Paramedics arrived shortly afterward and pronounced Perry dead. Coroner’s investigators later determined that ketamine was the primary cause of death, with drowning being a secondary factor.
