An arrest has been made in connection with the overdose death of actor Matthew Perry, according to US media reports.
ADVERTISEMENTAuthorities have arrested at least one person in connection with Matthew Perry’s death from an accidental ketamine overdose last year, according to a law enforcement official.
US outlet NBC News reported that a person was arrested in southern California today, after the Los Angeles police department said in Junethat they were working with the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the US Postal Inspection Service to ascertain why the 54-year-old had so much of the surgical anesthetic in his system.
Authorities have scheduled a news conference in Los Angeles to announce details in the case later today.
An assistant found the Friends actor face down in his hot tub on 28 October 2023.
His autopsy found that the amount of ketamine in his blood was in the range used for general anesthesia during surgery.
The drug has seen a huge surge in use in recent years as a treatment for depression, anxiety and pain.
People close to Perry told coroner’s investigators that he was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy. However, the medical examiner said Perry’s last treatment 1 1/2 weeks earlier wouldn’t explain the levels of ketamine in his blood.
At least two doctors were treating Perry, a psychiatrist and an anesthesiologist who served as his primary care physician, the medical examiner’s report said. No illicit drugs or paraphernalia were found at his house.
Ketamine was listed as the primary cause of death, which was ruled an accident with no foul play suspected, the report said. Drowning and other medical issues were contributing factors, the coroner said.
Perry had struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on Friends, when he became one of the biggest television stars of his generation as Chandler Bing alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer.
The sitcom lasted for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004.
