California Doctor Mark Chavez pleads guilty in connection to Matthew Perry's ketamine overdose death

Dr Mark Chavez entered his guilty plea in US District Court in Los Angeles on Wednesday (October 2) where he faces up to 10 years in prison at sentencing, according to Reuters.

Perry reportedly died in October 2023 at the age of 54 from the "acute effects" of ketamine and other factors, leading to unconsciousness and his eventual drowning in his hot tub. Perry, who publicly battled substance abuse for decades, was best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the 1990s sitcom Friends.

Dr Chavez admitted to distributing ketamine to another physician, Dr Salvador Plasencia, who is accused of administering the drug to Perry. According to court documents, Plasencia provided vials of the drug that were injected by Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa. Text messages revealed Plasencia discussing the price to charge Perry for the drug, with one message reading: "I wonder how much this moron will pay."

Dr Plasencia, along with co-defendant Jasveen Sangha, who allegedly supplied the drug and was known as the "ketamine queen," have both pleaded not guilty and are set to go on trial in March. Iwamasa, who admitted to injecting Perry, and another defendant involved as an alleged middleman, have already pleaded guilty to the charges against them.

The defendants allegedly used coded language to conceal their activities, referring to ketamine as "Dr. Pepper," "cans," and "bots." Following Perry's death, Sangha reportedly sent a message to Fleming urging him to "delete all our messages" in an apparent attempt to cover their tracks.

While Perry had been undergoing ketamine infusion therapy for anxietyand depression, the last treatment session occurred a week and a half before his death. However, the ketamine present in his system at the time of his death was not prescribed by a doctor, TMZ reported.

The amount found was reportedly equivalent to the level used for general anaesthesia in surgery. Search warrants reportedly uncovered text messages discussing Perry's desire for ketamine, the efforts to obtain it, and the price he was willing to pay.