Matthew Perry’s death being investigated over acute ketamine effects

Perry died on October 28, 2023, at 54 years old. When authorities arrived at his Los Angeles home at 4 p.m., they found him unconscious in his hot tub.

• Mohnish Singh
• 22 May, 2024

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By: Mohnish Singh

Friends actor Matthew Perry‘s death is under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) more than six months after he was found unresponsive at his residence in October 2023.

According to the authorities, the actor’s death was attributed to acute ketamine effects.

Perry died on October 28, 2023, at 54 years old. When authorities arrived at his Los Angeles home at 4 p.m., they found him unconscious in his hot tub.

Although first responders were called for cardiac arrest, the toxicology report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office later revealed the actor died from “the acute effects of ketamine.”

Investigators are now trying to decipher where Perry got the ketamine and how so much of it got into his system, Variety reported.

Perry had been undergoing ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety before his overdose. The toxicology report continued: “At the high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression.”

Perry’s demise left everyone in shock, especially his Friends family.

Recently, Courteney Cox revealed that she still feels the presence of the late Friends co-star.

Appearing on CBS Sunday Morning, Cox who starred as Monica Geller alongside Perry’s Chandler Bing for 10 seasons on the hit sitcom, opened up about her bond with Perry, New York Post reported.

“I think he’s probably one of the funniest human beings in the world. He’s just so funny,” Cox, 59, said. “He is genuinely a huge heart. Obviously struggled.” I’m so thankful I got to work so closely with him for so many years. He visits me a lot, if we believe in that,” she added.

Cox was then asked to elaborate on her spirituality, revealing that the late actor “guides” her. “I talk to my mom, my dad, Matthew. I feel like there are a lot of people that, I think, guide us. I do sense — I sense Matthew’s around for sure,” she shared.

Perry was Friends droll wingman-turned-leading man ‘Chandler Bing’ for 10 years, delivering a pitch-perfect comedic performance that garnered him an Emmy nomination in 2002.