Five individuals have been charged in connection with the overdose death of ‘Friends’ actor Matthew Perry, who was allegedly fed ketamine by someone hoping to benefit from his drug addiction, US officials announced on Thursday.
Last year, the actor passed away at his opulent Los Angeles home, causing fans all across the world to express their sorrow.
“These defendants took advantage of Mr Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves. They knew what they were doing was wrong. They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr Perry, but they did it anyway,” said federal prosecutor Martin Estrada.
“These defendants were more interested in profiting off Mr Perry than caring for his well-being,” said Estrada, the US attorney for the central district of California.
Two doctors, a broker, Perry’s live-in helper, and a dealer from North Hollywood dubbed “the Ketamine Queen,” who is connected to another man’s overdose death, were all charged.
In October, Perry, who portrayed Chandler Bing in the popular television sitcom from 1994 to 2004, was discovered unconscious in his swimming pool. 54 was his age.
“The acute effects of ketamine,” a regulated substance the recovering addict was receiving as part of supervised therapy, were determined to be the cause of his death by an autopsy.
