The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have launched an investigation regarding the death of actor Matthew Perry.
Perry, best known for his role in Friends, was pronounced dead on October 28, 2024 after being found in a hot tub at his home. Further investigation found ketamine in his stomach, leading to cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression. According to the Los Angeles Times, other contributing factors to his death include “drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid-use disorder.”
“At the high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression,” the autopsy reads.
Perry was reportedly undergoing ketamine infusion therapy at the time of his passing. However, the actor’s autopsy concludes “the ketamine in his system at death could not be from that infusion therapy since ketamine’s half-life is three to four hours or less.” Now, members of the LAPD and DEA are looking to uncover why and how Perry came to possess this much ketamine.
