Investigation Launched Into Circumstances Surrounding Matthew Perry’s Death

The world was stunned in October of last year when the former Friends star Matthew Perry was found dead in his hot tub at the age of 54. Afterwards, it was revealed that he died from the acute effects of the anesthetic ketamine.

Now, a federal investigation has been launched into how Perry got the ketamine that ultimately killed him.

Investigation Into Perry’s Death

Law enforcement sources told TMZ that local police and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents have been interviewing “key people in Hollywood” who have been known to use drugs.

While those being interviewed are “‘necessarily the actual source of ketamine,” officials believe they may have “information leading to the source.” At the time of this writing, no arrests have been made.

Daily Mail reported that Perry was found dead in his hot tub on October 28, 2023. The autopsy report stated that he drowned in “the heated end of his pool,” but this was only a secondary factor in his death. The autopsy report does not state when or how Perry consumed ketamine, but traces of it were found in his stomach.

Friends of Perry told police that he was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy. This is known to be an experimental treatment used to treat anxiety and depression. However, the most recent infusion that he was known to have had was more than a week before his death.

At the time of Perry’s death, there was no alcohol in his system. There were also no drugs like cocaine, heroin or fentanyl. Find out more about the investigation into Perry’s death in the video below.

Related: Courteney Cox Reveals ‘Friends’ Co-Star Matthew Perry ‘Visits’ Her Months After His Death

Perry’s Addiction Stuggles

Perry had long been open about his addiction to drugs like ketamine. In his memoir “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” Perry wrote that he was using ketamine daily at one point to combat his addiction struggles.

“Has my name written all over it – they might as well have called it ‘Matty,” he wrote, referring to ketamine. “Taking K is like being hit in the head with a giant happy shovel. But the hangover was rough and outweighed the shovel.”

Prior to his death, Perry claimed to have been sober for many years.

“I have mostly been sober since 2001,” he wrote in his memoir, “save for about sixty or seventy little mishaps over the years.”

Find out more about this in the video below.

Related: Jennifer Aniston Says She Texted Matthew Perry On The Day He Died: ‘He Wasn’t Struggling’

Perry Was ‘Never’ Clean

A source close to Perry, however, claimed after his death that the actor was “never” clean.

“He lied to everyone about being clean. He never was,” the insider said. “It is very sad. You know, the biggest lie he told was probably to himself.”

“He could be quite a manipulative person when it came to his struggles with using, but it was such a struggle, such a battle, and he battled every day to the end,” the source added.

Find out more about this in the video below.

Perry is best known for playing Chandler Bing on the sitcom Friends from 1994 until 2004. Twenty years after it went off the air, the sitcom is still beloved, and Perry will always live on through it.

Here’s hoping that this investigation is a success, and that whoever supplied Perry with the ketamine that killed him is apprehended.