In the United States, a California court on Wednesday sentenced Jasveen Sangha to 15 years in prison in the case of the death of Matthew Perry, the actor from the series Friends, who died in October 2023. Dubbed the “Queen of Ketamine,” this 42-year-old American-British woman pleaded guilty to distributing the drug that led to the death.
This admission of guilt allowed her to avoid a trial by jury and led prosecutors to drop other charges. She faced up to 65 years in prison. Arrested since August 2024, she was accused of providing “dozens of doses” of ketamine to the actor, who was found unconscious in his jacuzzi.
Investigations revealed that Matthew Perry was undergoing supervised ketamine treatments for his depression, but had relapsed into addiction in the fall of 2023. During a search of Jasveen Sangha’s home, investigators seized 80 vials of ketamine, as well as methamphetamine and cocaine.
According to the case file, the trafficker claimed she could “fulfill any order” through her contacts, described as a “head chef” and a “scientist”. Four other people pleaded guilty, including the actor’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, and an intermediary, Erik Fleming, whose sentencing is expected by the end of April.
Two other doctors were also convicted. Dr. Salvador Plasencia, sentenced to 30 months in prison, had sold the actor about twenty vials in the weeks leading up to his death. Dr. Mark Chavez, who supplied him, received eight months of house arrest and 300 hours of community service. An SMS message in the record illustrates these practices: “I wonder how much this idiot will pay”.
All our articles on Matthew PerryMatthew Perry, a figure from Friends which aired between 1994 and 2004, had publicly discussed his addictions. In his memoirs published in 2022, he stated: “I should be dead” and confessed to experiencing anxiety attacks “every night” during the filming of the series.
