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AUTHORITIES probing Matthew Perry’s ketamine death will look to the death investigations of rapper Mac Miller and Michael Jackson when considering criminal charges, an attorney says.
Matthew Perry was found dead in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home in October 2023, having succumbed to acute effects of ketamine and drowning, an autopsy revealed.
Perry was found unresponsive in his hot tub on October 28, 2023[/caption]
The 54-year-old, who had been receiving ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression, was found to have similar levels of the drug in his system as a hospital patient under general anesthetic.
Perry’s last drug therapy session was more than a week before he was discovered dead. However, ketamine metabolizes in the human body within hours, meaning the treatment had no impact on his death.
A criminal investigation was launched by the LAPD in December to determine how Perry obtained the drugs that would ultimately end his life.
That investigation remains ongoing, though sources close to the probe say it’s nearing a conclusion and “multiple people” could face charges.
Tre Lovell, a veteran entertainment attorney, told The U.S. Sun that Perry’s star power will motivate authorities to prosecute the case to the full extent of the law.
Those targeted by investigators could include doctors who may have written Perry an under-the-table prescription, drug dealers who could’ve sold him the ketamine illegally, and friends or associates who facilitated any illicit transaction.
Lovell likened the Perry probe to the investigations into the drug deaths of Michael Jackson and Mac Miller, and warned there could be significant prison time for anyone found culpable in the actor’s tragic demise.
“The most likely charge is involuntary manslaughter, and that could apply to a physician who may have prescribed him the medication, similar to Michael Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, who was charged and convicted in his death,” said Lovell.
“And depending on the extreme disregard for human life […] second-degree murder charges could also be possible, depending on how egregious the accused’s actions were, which would carry a significant sentence.”
Michael Jackson died in 2009 from cardiac arrest caused by acute propofol intoxication. The manner of his death was ruled a homicide.
Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter having inadvertently overdosed him with the powerful surgical anesthetic, propofol, which was being improperly used as a bedtime sleep agent to treat Jackson’s insomnia.
Murray was sentenced to four years behind bars.
Some of the LAPD detectives working on Perry’s case also investigated the overdose death of Mac Miller, who died after consuming a fentanyl-laced opioid in 2018.
In the Miller probe, three men were indicted for supplying the tainted drugs to the rapper, with two of the accused receiving respective 17-year and 11-year sentences for fentanyl distribution.
“Matthew Perry’s case could end up being very similar to Mac Miller’s and Michael Jackson’s for a number of reasons, depending who is involved,” said Lovell.
“The source, whoever the source is determined to be, will obviously pave the way.
“So if it’s a doctor, was the doctor licensed in California Did they get it for him or was it a prescription? And, if it was a prescription, was there a diagonsis and was the prescription legitimate.
“Or, was it a case of, ‘Doc, I need some more’ and that individual routinely supplying it without a medical follow-up or in-person evaluation.
“Or, if it’s friend or a dealer, did they know he was addicted to it? Did they know he was taking it in an unsafe manner? If so, that would meet the basis of involuntary manslaughter.
“And for the most egregious offenses, it could amount to second-degree murder charges, depending on the relationship they had with Perry and what they knew and if there was a foreseeability of harm.”
FRIENDS TARGETED
The only person so far publicly linked to the Perry investigation is the late actor’s friend, Brooke Mueller.
Over the last few months, Mueller has been the subject of multiple search warrants and the sober living facility where she resides was raised by police in May.
Mueller’s phone and laptop were reportedly seized as part of the search and she’s said to be fully cooperating with the investigation.
A source with knowledge of the matter told InTouch, “She’s hired lawyers and has had multiple meetings with law enforcement since they arrived at her sober living house with a search warrant.
“She’s being tight-lipped about the situation. But the investigators must have known something to get a warrant and turn up like that.
“It’s tough to say or know exactly what her role is [in Perry’s death], but she’s adamant she had nothing to do with that.”
A criminal investigation was launched into Matthew Perry’s overdose death in December[/caption]
Charlie Sheen’s ex-wife Brooke Mueller has reportedly been questioned in connection with Perry’s death[/caption]
Rapper Mac Miller died in 2018 after taking an opioid laced with fentanyl[/caption]
Michael Jackson died in 2009 from cardiac arrest caused by acute propofol intoxication[/caption]
Lovell agreed that for police to have obtained a warrant to search Mueller’s home, there must’ve been strong evidence of a crime potentially having occurred.
“To seize a phone and search a house, you have to get a warrant, and to get a warrant you have to have probable cause,” said Lovell.
“To have probable cause, you have to convince a judge there’s likely a crime going on, and if they’ve been able to get all of that, there’s a strong chance that person is a person of interest.
“We don’t know for sure, but if they’ve gone to those lengths and they have enough evidence to get probable cause for a warrant, then that person is likely suspected of something serious.”
One of Perry’s ex-girlfriends, Kayti Edwards, told The U.S. Sun in June that Mueller and Perry were at one time romantically involved.
Mueller has not publicly been accused of any wrongdoing.
A request for comment has not yet been returned.
In a July statement, an attorney for her ex-husband Charlie Sheen played down Mueller’s connection to the case.
“I believe Ms. Mueller’s past choices may have put her in a position to provide some incidental, anecdotal background to the authorities investigating Mr. Perry’s death. Nothing more,” said attorney Gregory J. Pedrick.
MYSTERY SUSPECT
InTouch reported in July that a second celebrity friend of Perry’s was being eyed by the LAPD for potential involvement in his death.
The second individual has not been named but a source described Perry and the unnamed star as “walking pharmacies” who claimed to be sober and often indulged in late-night chats about addiction.
The source claimed there was photo evidence of Perry and the anonymous star pictured together at the office of a doctor who is known to prescribe ketamine.
The tipster suggested that Perry and the second celebrity may have “aided” one another by referring the other to their respective doctors whenever their supplies of drugs ran low.
“If the feds had either one of their phones — especially [the second celeb’s], because she doesn’t erase her text messages — they would probably find conversations about the drug and ‘how can I get extra’ Like, ‘Oh, come see my doctor if you need more,’” said the source.
“It will not look good for the celebrity,” they added.
Matthew Perry’s rollercoaster love life
LONG time bachelor Matthew Perry revealed just a year before his death that he was desperate to settle down and have kids. In a poignant interview in October 2022, the Friends star revealed he was “not afraid of love anymore”.
Here we look at the past loves in Perry’s life – and a crippling co-star crush.
Tricia Fisher
Perry began dating Fisher – half-sister of late Star Wars legend Carrie – while making his film debut, in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, at 18.
Gwyneth Paltrow
Although they never officially dated, Perry revealed he and Gwynnie had shared a brief “make-out session in a closet” the summer before Friends hit the screens in 1994.
He later worried the revelation would upset her, telling GQ: “Hopefully, she’ll find it to be a cute story,” he said. “It’d be bad if Gwyneth Paltrow hated me; I wouldn’t like that.”
Julia Roberts
With Friends just a year old, in 1995, Perry’s newfound fame led to his first high profile romance, with Julia Roberts.
The pair became friends, ahead of the Pretty Woman star’s cameo in the second series of the show, after sending “hundreds” of messages every day – by fax.
Yasmine Bleeth
Shortly after the split from Roberts, the Friends star moved on to the Baywatch star – named in the sitcom as Chandler’s ideal woman.
The pair were actually dating at the time – although neither has spoken about it and the romance, in 1996, fizzled out after a few months.
Molly Hurwitz
The closest the star got to walking down the aisle was with literary manager Molly Hurwitz, who he first met in 2018.
Perry had recently recovered from a near-fatal incident where his colon burst, through opioid abuse, and he was in a coma for two weeks, with his family being told he had a 2 percent chance of survival.
Hurwitz went public with the romance on Valentine’s Day in 2020, when she posted an Instagram message reading: “Second year being my valentine, but his first as an Instagram influencer. HVD to my favorite.”
Six months after announcing the engagement, the pair went their separate ways.
Perry issued a statement saying: “Sometimes things just don’t work out, and this is one of them. I wish Molly the best.”
Lovell believes law enforcement will cast a net of culpability as wide as possible to begin with, charging as many individuals as they can.
They’ll then likely offer deals to the lesser offenders to encourage them to “flip” and testify against the main player or players.
He shared, “We seem to be getting to the end of this investigation, and what they’re going to do is just try to charge as many people as they can.
“Then, if there’s three or four people involved, you can charge everyone and hand out a couple of deals so they flip for the bigger one.
“They don’t want to charge anyone too prematurely, but they want to get as many people in the net as they can because that’s how they build their case.
“It’s going to be very interesting to find out who is involved in all this.”
‘ANY DAY NOW’
As for when charges will be filed, Lovell is expecting them to come any day now.
He pointed to recent leaks from anonymous law enforcement sources to various outlets sharing intimate details of the probe’s status.
“They’re not going to leak stuff unless they intend on indicting, otherwise they’ll get egg on their face,” said Lovell.
In June, a law enforcement source close to the investigation told People the Perry investigation was “nearing its conclusion” and “multiple people” could be charged.
The US Attorney’s Office has the final say on whether or not charges should be filed, the source said.
Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter having inadvertently overdosed him with propofol[/caption]
Perry’s final Instagram post (above), uploaded on October 23, 2023, showed him relaxing in the same hot tub he’d ultimately be found dead in five days later[/caption]
Perry was best known for his portrayal of Chandler Bing on the legendary sitcom, Friends[/caption]
To impose criminal liability in a circumstance like this, Lovell said the bar is set “very high,” which is why investigators are taking their time to build water-tight cases.
He also believes those charges will face the most severe possible charges, with authorities capitalizing on Perry’s notoriety and the high-profile nature of his death to advance a campaign of deterrence.
Depending on what charges prosecutors pursue – if any – accused parties could face prison sentences of anywhere between four and more than 20 years in prison.
“The reason for this is because there’s a big policy now to attack this kind of drug distribution, with fentanyl at the top of the chain, and these other controlled substances that are floating around, like ketamine,” shared Lovell.
“The government – both at federal and state level – has a mandate to go after drug dealing like this where there are overdoses, so they’re going after the suppliers – and part of the reason for that strategy is deterrence.
“They want to deter future acts, and the best way to prevent someone from distributing drugs is deterring them from getting involved in the first place.
“Where there’s a high profile victim, and the press is monitoring it, it’s the government’s opportunity to show there are severe consequences for supplying people drugs.
“Not only can you be liable for distributing a drug, you can also be liable for homicide.
“And they’ll want to make that clear in this investigation.”
‘THE TERRIBLE THING’
Perry was pictured playing pickleball in the hours preceding his death.
At the time of his passing, Perry’s personal wealth was valued at just over $1.5 million, The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed in July.
That sum was directed to go into a trust already said to be worth more than $120 million, and his will named numerous beneficiaries, including his father John Perry, mother Suzanne Morrison, half-sister Caitlin Morrison, and his ex-girlfriend Rachel Dunn, court documents show.
Perry has always been open about his struggles with drug and alcohol abuse.
He wrote candidly about his health problems and struggles to stay sober in his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
“Addiction, the big terrible thing, is far too powerful for anyone to defeat alone,” wrote Perry.
“But together, one day at a time, we can beat it down.”
Tributes, flowers, and Friends memorabilia were left outside his front gate in the wake of Perry’s shock death[/caption]
