Doctor in Matthew Perry Death Called Him a 'Moron'

Matthew Perry on Nov. 12, 2012. Photo courtesy of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Public domain.

After months of speculation and piecing together a tangled chain of text messages, court documents, and pharmaceutical orders, one of the doctors linked to Matthew Perry’s fatal overdose has agreed to plead guilty.

A High-Profile Tragedy

When actor Matthew Perry was found unresponsive in his jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home on Oct. 28, 2023, fans mourned the loss of the “Friends” star. An autopsy revealed Perry died from acute ketamine toxicity, alongside contributing conditions like coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine. He was 54.

The ketamine in his system did not come from a legal prescription at the time of his death, prompting authorities to dig deeper. What followed was a months-long investigation that led to federal charges against five people - including Perry’s personal assistant, a second physician, an alleged drug dealer, and a woman federal prosecutors have called “The Ketamine Queen.”

Who Is Dr. Salvador Plasencia?

Among those charged was Dr. Salvador Plasencia, a licensed physician who operated an urgent care clinic in Malibu. Known to some as “Dr. P,” Plasencia is now expected to formally plead guilty to four counts of ketamine distribution, according to a plea agreement filed in federal court on June 16, 2025.

The plea deal includes the admission that Plasencia supplied Perry with 20 vials of ketamine, lozenges, and syringes between Sept. 30 and Oct. 12, 2023. Some of these were administered personally by Plasencia, including one occasion in a Long Beach parking lot - a setting so alarming that even his fellow physician, Dr. Mark Chavez, chastised him via text for injecting patients in public places where children were present.

The Money and the Motives

According to prosecutors, Plasencia wasn’t acting out of medical concern. In text messages included in court filings, Plasencia degraded Perry and discussed exploiting him for money. “I wonder how much this moron will pay,” he wrote in one exchange, according to NPR.

The plea agreement also states that Plasencia was introduced to Perry by a mutual patient, who described the actor as “high profile” and willing to pay “cash and lots of thousands,” according to ABC News.

Perry reportedly paid $4,500 for one at-home treatment and was allegedly promised more “supplies” during times when Plasencia would be out of town, according to ABC News.

Although Plasencia didn’t provide the specific batch of ketamine that killed Perry, his involvement directly contributed to the environment that enabled the actor’s continued use of the powerful anesthetic outside medical norms.

A Web of Defendants

Plasencia is one of four people who have pleaded guilty in the case. The others include Dr. Chavez, who provided the ketamine; Erik Fleming, an alleged middleman; and Perry’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who admitted to administering the drug on the day Perry died.

The only defendant who has not pleaded guilty is Jasveen Sangha - the so-called “Ketamine Queen” - who faces multiple drug distribution charges and is scheduled to go on trial in August. Prosecutors allege she supplied the batch that ultimately killed Perry.

What Comes Next?

If accepted, Plasencia’s plea could spare him a lengthier trial, but it doesn’t guarantee leniency. He faces a statutory maximum of 40 years in federal prison. None of the five individuals charged in the case have been sentenced as of June 2025.

Perry had long been open about his battles with addiction. His death brought renewed attention to the blurred lines between legal and illegal drug use - particularly when it comes to off-label treatments like ketamine for depression.

References: Doctor Charged in Matthew Perry’s Death Agrees to Plead Guilty to Distributing Fatal Ketamine Dose | Doctor in Matthew Perry ketamine overdose case agrees to plead guilty: DOJ | Doctor who supplied ketamine to Matthew Perry will plead guilty | Doctor who supplied ketamine to Matthew Perry will plead guilty