Chandigarh: Five people have been charged in connection with Matthew Perry's death. The prosecutors called it a “broad underground criminal network” dedicated to getting the “Friends” star the powerful surgical anesthetic that killed him.
Jasveen Sangha, one of the accused in the case - who the prosecutors described as a drug dealer known to customers as the “Ketamine Queen”. Sangha has been accused of selling 50 vials of ketamine to Perry over two weeks. She allegedly earned $11,000 through the transactions, according to US Attorney Martin Estrada.
The indictment alleges that Sangha was well aware of the dangers of ketamine overdose. According to ABC News, in August 2019, she sold ketamine to Cody McLaury, who died of an overdose. After learning about McLaury’s death, Sangha apparently did a Google search for “can ketamine be listed as a cause of death.”
Ketamine supplied by Sangha caused Perry's death, authorities said. Sangha pleaded not guilty and was denied bond. She had first been arrested in the case, charged with possession of ketamine with intent to distribute and released on bond in March, with authorities keeping Perry's involvement quiet.
But a new indictment unsealed alleges a direct connection to the actor's death, and the judge ruled she should remain in custody due to her concern over prosecutors' contentions that she destroyed evidence and has used money from drug sales to fund a lavish lifestyle.
She wrote: “Delete all our messages,” according to a screenshot obtained by TMZ. Sangha could get life in prison.
The prosecutor said the defendants exchanged messages soon after Perry's death referencing ketamine as the cause of death. Estrada said they deleted messages and falsified medical records in an attempt to cover up their involvement.
The assistant received the ketamine from Erik Fleming, who has pleaded guilty to obtaining the drug from Sangha and delivering them to Iwamasa. In all, he delivered 50 vials of ketamine for Perry's use, including 25 handed over four days before the actor's death.
Perry's autopsy, released in December, found that the amount of ketamine in his blood was in the range used for general anesthesia during surgery.
The doctors preyed on Perry's history of addiction in the final months of his life last year to provide him with ketamine in amounts they knew were dangerous. “They knew what they were doing was wrong,” Estrada said.
