Downloaded from YTS.MX
[POLICE SIREN WAILS]
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[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
MALE REPORTER: We begin tonight with breaking news,
Matthew Perry, best known for starring in the hit sitcom
Friends, has died at the age of 54.
Perry was found dead in his Los Angeles home,
just after 4 p.m., California time.
FORRESTER: I got a phone call,
Matthew Perry had been found dead.
He'd drowned in his jacuzzi.
This could not be true.
How could this possibly be true?
He was in a really good place,
which is why this seems so unfair.
I was just in utter shock.
He was such a heartwarming, kind, uplifting person,
that I feel like everyone could just turn on the TV
and feel immediately comforted by him.
FAIRCHILD: I flash back on that young man
who would come bounding over on the set
like a big puppy dog.
That's always how I remember him.
WILKER: He's one of very few people in Hollywood
to have ever reached that level of success and acclaim.
FORRESTER: But I genuinely don't think a lot of people
realize what fame really is.
DAVID: One of the most dangerous parts of fame
is all of your worst instincts are going to be catered to,
and that is a really dangerous place to be.
Tragically Mr. Perry fell back into addiction issues.
Mr. Perry was getting his ketamine illegally.
How'd he get it, who was giving it to him?
Following Mr. Perry's death, law enforcement, my office,
began an in-depth, wide ranging investigation.
There was just such a degree of almost disdain for Mr. Perry.
KADING: And these are doctors.
It's sickening actually.
When people cause the death of others,
there needs to be accountability.
We're talking about ketamine,
we're talking about drug rings in L.A.,
and obviously it spiraled out of control.
Someone who's seen him nearly die,
and then gone back and preyed on him for money.
[SLOW DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
[BIRDS CAW]
MALE REPORTER: An investigation into exactly how Matthew Perry died
is still ongoing, and it may be weeks
before we know an official cause of death.
FEMALE VOICE: He sent his assistant out to do some errands,
and when they came back,
they found Matthew unconscious
where they immediately called 911.
FORRESTER: I got a phone call. I got in the car,
drove up Pacific Coast Highway,
it's quite far up the house.
I think it was 9, 10:00 at night
by the time I got up there.
And we were met with the road cordoned off,
a lot of police activity.
It honestly was a bit of a circus.
FEMALE REPORTER: Reports say his death comes
after some physical activity this morning,
two hours of pickleball, and that his assistant
discovered his body in the hot tub.
ESTRADA: I heard about Matthew Perry's death.
This is something that was very tragic.
It was very sad for our community.
ESTRADA: So initially the Los Angeles Police Department,
they investigated,
preserved the scene to make sure they could follow every lead.
The first people to get there are your patrol units.
He was determined to be dead on arrival.
It could be an accident, could be intentional,
could be an overdose, could be a suicide.
So there's all these different variables
detectives need to take into consideration.
To determine whether or not that there's any foul play.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS] [DOG BARKS]
WILKER: When I had first read that Matthew Perry
had this book coming out I was like,
"Oh, that sounds like it's gonna be really interesting."
In the book,Friends, Lovers, And the Big Terrible Thing,
The Big Terrible Thing part was his addiction.
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
You start with a thunderclap.
"Hi, my name is Matthew,
although you may know me by another name.
My friends call me Matty. and I should be dead."
Yep, that's definitely true.
WILKER: With the Diane Sawyer interview,
I remember the picture you get is,
of a man who's leading
an extraordinarily solitary life.
PERRY: I have had all that the outside had to offer.
Julia Roberts as my girlfriend.
It doesn't matter, you have to drink.
I just bought my dream house.
It looks across the whole city.
Can't enjoy that without a drink.
I'm making a million dollars a week.
I win, right?
Would you like to have a drink?
Why, yes I would, thank you very much.
I'm the luckiest man on the planet,
and boy, did I have fun.
They just weren't the answer.
WILKER: You just had no idea
what this person had been through.
It is interesting, uh, where he picks out
certain events that happened in his early childhood,
and how they relate all through his life
and haunted him.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC STOPS]
[SOLEMN MUSIC PLAYS]
WILKER: Matthew Perry was born in 1969.
And he was raised in Ottawa, Canada.
His father was a singer.
His mom became a Press Secretary
for the Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau.
His parents were just too young.
In his book, he talks about his mom
becoming pregnant when she was 20,
and by the time he was about 1,
they were done.
He describes it as they were not meant to be together.
One of the most dramatic parts of the story
is really very early on.
He talks about being put on a plane by his mom
when he was 5 years old.
He could not understand,
you know, why isn't there anybody here with me?
PERRY: I was sent on a plane from Montreal, Canada,
where I lived with my mom,
to Los Angeles, California, where I would visit my dad.
I was what is called "an unaccompanied minor."
For maybe a millisecond
I thought it would be an exciting adventure,
and then realized I was too young to be alone
and this was all completely terrifying.
This is where a lot of this started,
this feeling very alone.
WILKER: Matthew Perry talks about being 14 years old
the first time he experienced alcohol.
POWER: The first time you had a drink, you write about.
PERRY: Yeah. POWER: You were 14.
I was with my best friends, the Murray brothers,
and they got some beers and I got a bottle of wine,
and I drank the entire bottle,
and lay in the ground and looked at the skies,
and just felt better
than I ever had in my entire life,
and I thought to myself, this is probably
what normal people feel like all the time.
WILKER: Matthew points out in the book
that his dad went on to have an acting career.
PERRY: Though he was what they sometimes call a journeyman,
he was working pretty steadily
and would eventually become the Old Spice guy.
JOHN BENNETT PERRY: So even if you love only one woman,
you'll love old spice.
The man's scent so many women love.
He was on your television set all day.
PERRY: I saw his face more often on TV or in magazines
than I did in reality.
Perhaps that's why I became an actor.
[DRAMATIC STRING MUSIC PLAYS]
In 1987, Matthew Perry was cast in a movie
opposite River Phoenix.
It was called A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon.
I've still got 20 minutes, right?
Fifteen.
The film was not exactly a massive success,
but he said it had a really huge impact on him.
Matthew was the first friend I made in Los Angeles.
When I moved there I was 21, he was 16.
We did a pilot together called Morning Maggie,
that never saw the light of day,
but Matthew and I became really good friends.
And we were really more like brothers for a long time.
As the '80s went on, turns into the '90s,
he's working as a pretty good guest star on television.
Enjoy Los Angeles.
By the way, Griffith Park has the best picnic areas.
[DRAMATIC STRING MUSIC STOPS]
And eventually he was cast in Friends,obviously.
["I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU" STARTS PLAYING]
Excuse me.
[CROWD LAUGHS]
Is your name Chandler?
Hi. Hey.
Chandler, Chandler is my name.
Chandler Bing.
Do you know me or...?
Friendswas such a global phenomenon
you know, it was such a huge hit
all around the world.
WILKER: The character of Chandler Bing
seemed to be custom made for Matthew Perry.
Please, could she be more out of my league.
Could I be more sorry?
Could we be more white trash?
[CROWD LAUGHS]
And it was about six young people in their 20s
living in Manhattan, figuring out life.
They developed really great characters,
and the actors, you know, play them well,
so it's really fun
and we have a really good time doing it,
so I think that comes across.
All right, well, be good. I love you.
[SMACKS]
My name is Morgan Fairchild
and I've been an actor since I was 10 years old
Hey, hey, hey, she's on.
[CROWD CLAPS AND WHISTLES]
Ah, Nora Bing!
[CROWD LAUGHS]
FAIRCHILD: When they offered me the part I thought,
Mrs. Bing sounded like a hoot to play.
What is this about you being arrested in London?
What is that all about?
Your mom was arrested?
Shh! I'm busy beaming with pride.
PHOEBE: Okay, well...
Working with Matthew
and becoming his mother was an interesting process.
I'm leaving for New York tomorrow,
which I hate,
but I get to see my son, who I love.
FAIRCHILD: You know, Chandler wanting a normal mother,
and Nora Bing never being able to execute,
being a normal mother because she is who she is,
and she's a little eccentric,
and she's a little oversexed and she's a little hyper,
but she loves him.
[SOLEMN MUSIC PLAYS]
WILKER: By the end of the first season, they knew,
you know, this is it. This is gonna be a juggernaut.
FEMALE REPORTER: You're looking wonderful.
Thank you very much.
MALE REPORTER: Matthew, right back here!
FEMALE REPORTER: Who's the funniest person in the cast?
Matthew Perry. Lisa Kudrow.
REPORTER: Matthew! Matthew!
And at one point, they were being paid
more than $1.1 million an episode.
REPORTERS: Matthew! Matthew!
FEMALE REPORTER: Matthew! Your left.
MALE VOICE: Matthew! Matthew!
We think as outsiders looking in,
if I had millions of dollars, all my troubles would go away.
REPORTERS: Matthew! Matthew!
FEMALE REPORTER: Matthew, one second here...
WILKER: But there's a thing going on inside
that can't be cured,
money can't cure it, fame can't cure it.
[SOLEMN MUSIC STOPS PLAYING]
WILKER: With the Diane Sawyer interview,
I remember I felt a little bit relieved, like,
"Oh, thank God, you know, he seems like he's okay."
You say, "addiction, the big terrible thing
is far too powerful for anyone to defeat alone,
but together, one day at a time,
we can beat it down."
Yeah, your disease is just outside
just doing one-arm pushups,
just waiting, just waiting for you.
Waiting to get you alone.
Because alone, you lose to the disease.
And now I finally feel okay
and feel like I've got some strength.
FORRESTER: I'd reported on him for so many years,
and seeing what he looked like on TV,
and speaking to her,
it seemed like he was doing so well.
Everyone thought he was clean and sober.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
ESTRADA: An autopsy was conducted.
That autopsy showed that he had died
as a result of the acute effects of ketamine.
FEMALE REPORTER: There was ketamine found in Matthew Perry's system
and it was reported that he had been receiving
ketamine-infusion therapy
to treat depression and anxiety.
FORRESTER: When the toxicology report came back,
that's when we knew that,
you know, there's way more to this story.
That began to open the door to the possibilities of,
you know, ketamine abuse
and if so, how'd he get it, who was giving it to him.
It became incumbent upon us as investigators
to determine how he obtained that ketamine.
ESTRADA: We began working the various leads.
And we learned that there were
allegedly multiple sources of supply for the ketamine.
Those sources were people
who should have known much better.
You just don't wanna believe it,
that it could be something that sinister.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC ENDS] [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS]
FEMALE REPORTER: The question now?
Where did Matthew Perry get the ketamine?
These defendants took advantage
of Mr. Perry's addiction issues
to enrich themselves.
These are the parts of the story
that then become even more disturbing.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC ENDS]
[POLICE SIREN WAILS]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
FEMALE REPORTER: A criminal investigation is underway tonight
into the death ofFriends star Matthew Perry.
MALE REPORTER: The investigators focusing on the amount of ketamine
found in the actor's body
and they want to know where it came from.
ESTRADA: Following Mr. Perry's death in October of last year,
law enforcement, my office,
and our partners represented on this stage
began an in depth, wide ranging investigation.
That investigation has revealed
a broad underground criminal network
responsible for distributing
large quantities of ketamine to Mr. Perry and others.
KADING: In the indictment, there are five people
who are involved in an ongoing conspiracy
to provide Mr. Perry with ketamine.
ESTRADA: These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry's addiction issues
to enrich themselves.
This network included a live-in assistant,
Kenneth Iwamasa.
FORRESTER: Matthew Perry's personal assistant,
Kenneth Iwamasa
arrested and charged,
which I think was quite a shock,
because he'd been with Matthew Perry
for many, many years.
FEMALE REPORTER: New details are coming to light
about Matthew Perry's longtime assistant
and his involvement in his death.
According to law enforcement, Kenneth "Kenny" Iwamasa
administered the dose of ketamine
that killed the belovedFriends star.
ESTRADA: On the last day of Matthew Perry's life,
Mr. Iwamasa injects Mr. Perry several times.
And one last injection, he leaves him,
goes to run some errands, comes back,
and we find Mr. Perry passed away.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC STOPS AND SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS]
O'NEILL: As far as being an assistant goes,
it can be super glamorous,
but it's very hard work, as well.
They have to meet so many criteria
and I think trust is the number one criteria
for a celebrity.
Ken was living with him,
he was working with him 24/7.
When you have a personal relationship,
the lines get blurred.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC ENDS]
FORRESTER: It's a very tough subject
talking about being a celebrity's assistant
because if you've been in Hollywood long enough,
you know how hard that job is.
[SLOW DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
O'NEILL: I felt bad that he was in that position,
and I thank God that I was never in that position.
Your boss asks you to do something
and you may not feel comfortable doing it,
but this is your livelihood on the line,
and if you say no,
they'll just find somebody else who will say yes.
I think it's easy for people to judge Ken
and say that he, you know, never should have done that.
O'NEILL: I mean, I don't know him personally,
but if I were in his shoes,
I would be horrified at the situation.
[SOLEMN MUSIC PLAYS]
In 1996, Matthew Perry was making a movie
with Salma Hayek, Fools Rush In,
and out near their shooting location,
he saw a bunch of jet skis out on the lake,
and he wanted to do it.
And there was an incident, and he hurt himself,
and he was given opiates for his pain.
And thus began a new addiction.
At that point, he was aware of his own problems
with alcohol, but it was a new level with painkillers.
PERRY: You can track the trajectory of my addiction
if you gauge my weight from season to season.
You know what?
I'm not gonna end up like this.
PERRY: When I'm carrying weight, it's alcohol.
I can't believe I ruined this.
PERRY: When I'm skinny, it's pills.
Oh, my God!
PERRY: When I have a goatee, it's lots of pills.
He talks very vividly
about his weight gains and weight losses.
[SOLEMN MUSIC PLAYS]
You wanted it to be a surprise.
He has a very vivid description
of the scenes
when he's proposing to Monica.
I thought...
Wait, I can do this!
When they come back the next season,
there's such a marked difference in his weight.
Monica and I are engaged.
Oh, my God!
Come on.
[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]
Congratulations.
What doesn't Matthew know?
That he's all right.
We didn't know.
We, you know, we weren't equipped,
we weren't-- To deal with it.
You know? Nobody had ever dealt with that.
I tried to reach out a little bit
and let him know I was there for him
FAIRCHILD: because I have had other people in my life
who've had trouble with alcohol or drugs,
and I'm here to talk if you would like to.
His life was overtaken by addictions
that in each phase that he writes about,
he finds a new way
to try and handle and never can.
He talks about spending more than $9 million,
going to detox more than at least 12 times.
PERRY: I have lived half my life in one form or another
off a treatment center or a sober living house.
Which is fine when you're 24 years old,
less fine when you're 42 years old.
Now I was 49,
still struggling to get this monkey off my back.
He talks about going to yet another detox program,
yet another place, this time in Switzerland,
and this was the first time he was introduced to ketamine
and you can tell by the way he writes
that it made an impression on him.
PERRY: I was also doing ketamine infusions every day.
Ketamine was a very popular street drug in the '80's.
There is a synthetic form of it now
and it's used for two reasons:
to ease pain, and help with depression.
It has my name written all over it.
They might as well have called it Matty.
Ketamine felt like a giant exhale.
Like being hit in the head with a giant happy shovel.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
Matthew Perry described
his first treatment with ketamine
as being hit over the head with a happy shovel,
it doesn't surprise me at all.
FEIFEL: What Matthew Perry experienced
was this lifting of this depression.
And what's profound about ketamine
is it does it almost instantaneously.
FEIFEL: Typically, the patients that come here
are patients that have tried conventional treatments
for things like depression, anxiety, PTSD,
and they just found that
they were really not making any progress.
So they come in saying, "I need something different."
Hi, Annie. Hi, Dr. Feifel.
Great to see you. It's good to see you too.
So it's been about three weeks, I think,
since your last treatment, right?
Yup.
Ketamine is actually a very old drug, if you will.
I mean, it's a drug that was developed
in the 1960s as an anesthetic.
At lower doses,
this drug seems to have remarkable properties
for treating mental illness.
And the idea behind that
is it kind of kick starts the brain changes
and the psychological changes
that can have that therapeutic effect.
Treating patients in a medically observed environment
is critical,
because ketamine can result
in a person losing consciousness.
We're always continuously monitoring
patients' blood pressure,
their heart rate, and their oxygenation status.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC STOPS]
[KNOCKS]
Hi, Annie... ANNIE: Hello.
How are you feeling?
I'm doing good. Good.
[SLOW DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
I really hope that this becomes a more accessible treatment.
Because I know so many people
who are stuck feeling like they have to depend
on SSRIs or pills and stuff and they don't always work.
FEIFEL: The majority of our patients
report for the days and weeks afterwards,
they just feel like they have more normal emotions,
they're free of the depression, the anxiety, the PTSD.
The speed at which it can improve things
is unprecedented.
FEMALE REPORTER: According to the autopsy report,
he had high levels of ketamine in his blood.
With Perry reported to be receiving
ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety.
However, an investigation concluded
the ketamine did not come from the infusion therapy,
as his last treatment
was a week and a half before his death,
and the drug clears the system in a few hours.
Ketamine is a controlled substance.
It is a substance that can have legitimate purposes,
but it has to be administered
by trained professionals.
Unfortunately, it is a drug that is also abused.
Mr. Perry fell back into addiction.
And he began searching
for additional sources of ketamine.
DAVID: If you're an addict,
anything that can be abused can sort of wake that beast up.
WILKER: Hollywood is full of enablers,
and I don't think that's unique to Hollywood.
I think any industry
where there's a lot of money to be made,
you're always gonna find enablers.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS]
There's a whole plethora of criminal activity.
They supplied Matthew Perry with large amounts of ketamine,
in exchange for large sums of money.
That really hit me. Out of anything.
That they'd really preyed on somebody vulnerable.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC ENDS]
[SLOW DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS] [POLICE SIREN WAILS]
FEIFEL: One could describe the current state of ketamine
access and treatment as a Wild West.
Because there's a great demand for ketamine,
there's a lot of physicians
making decisions to provide ketamine because they can.
So we see a lot of physicians
suddenly open up these clinics.
I think the main thing that can make ketamine dangerous
is its unsupervised use.
That's where we have a dangerous situation.
FEMALE REPORTER: This morning new details on potential charges
in the death of actor, Matthew Perry.
A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation
into how he obtained the ketamine
that contributed to his death,
tellingNBC News several people
who supplied Perry with the drug
could face federal charges.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
KADING: Once a responsible doctor realizes
a person is abusing drugs, he'll no longer prescribe it.
So then they have to go find another more friendly doctor
until they find somebody
with no consideration or concern
about responsibilities.
ESTRADA: Kenneth Iwamasa allegedly began obtaining ketamine
from these two medical doctors,
Dr. Salvador Plasencia and Dr. Mark Chavez.
Ketamine is a Schedule 3 narcotic,
under the Controlled Substance Act.
And a Schedule 3 narcotic has to be prescribed,
for it to be legally distributed.
KADING: According to the indictment,
Dr. Chavez creates prescriptions for the ketamine,
and he's distributing down to Dr. Plasencia.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC STOPS PLAYING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS]
When you read some of the communications
that law enforcement was able to get its hands on,
it's sickening actually.
ESTRADA: Dr. Plasencia was very clear in text messages
and other messages
in saying that he saw this as an opportunity
to make a lot of money in a short amount of time,
and he allegedly did just that.
He sets the prices, which were exorbitant.
And the indictment contains evidence
that he sold over about a month,
20 vials of ketamine to Mr. Perry
in exchange for $55,000.
They supplied Matthew Perry with large amounts of ketamine,
in exchange for large sums of money,
charging Perry $2000
for a vial that cost Dr. Chavez approximately $12.
ESTRADA: They even talked about the fact
that this wasn't the right way to administer ketamine,
yet this was
a golden opportunity to make money.
And at one point, Dr. Plasencia writes to Dr. Chavez
quote, "I wonder how much this moron will pay."
There was just such a degree
of almost disdain for Mr. Perry.
And these are medical doctors.
FORRESTER: The text messages,
I think that really hit me out of anything.
You know, that they'd really preyed on somebody vulnerable.
DAVID: The demeaning way they talked about him,
it's sort of hard to believe
these are human beings walking among us.
KADING: According to the indictment,
these individuals were using the app called Signal,
which is an encrypted app.
Oftentimes people think
that because it's an encrypted app
that law enforcement can't access it,
but it's not the case.
Oftentimes law enforcement's ahead of the game.
Within the indictment,
there's a whole plethora of criminal activity.
Dr. Plasencia even teaches Mr. Iwamasa
how to do the injections.
Allegedly, you have Dr. Plasencia
providing ketamine to a live-in assistant,
who has no medical training whatsoever.
And that live-in assistant
is administering ketamine to a person
whose risk factors are through the roof.
KADING: So you've got doctor, doctor, assistant.
But when it reached a point where Mr. Perry's request
or demand for more ketamine became so great
that Dr. Plasencia and Dr. Chavez
could not provide that amount,
they then reached out to an intermediary
who was this Mr. Fleming.
ESTRADA: Erik Fleming had no medical training,
so the risk factors are through the roof.
It sounds murkier
with the assistant and the doctors,
and now a go-between person.
KADING: Mr. Fleming in turn went to reach out
to an individual named Jasveen Sangha,
known as the Ketamine Queen.
ESTRADA: We searched her house.
She was a massive source of drugs.
DAVID: This was something bigger
than people ever expected it to be.
And when I heard the details,
I was, like everybody else, horrified.
[OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
FORRESTER: There's nothing like Hollywood.
Fame is hugely important
to a lot of people that come here.
But a lot of people come here to make it.
But I genuinely don't think a lot of people realize
what fame really is.
DAVID: I do think people seek fame and celebrity
to fill a hole that that's never going to fill.
WOMAN: Matthew! MAN: Matthew! How are you?
[PEOPLE CLAMORING]
Matthew Perry writes very vividly
about seeking fame.
But wanting fame to stop his own issues.
Fame, fame, fame, that's all we wanted.
It was all we cared about because, at least for me,
I figured being famous would fill the great hole
that was endlessly growing inside of me.
I think one of the most dangerous parts of success,
whether that's wealth or fame or both,
is that all of your worst instincts
are going to be catered to,
and that is a really dangerous place to be.
O'NEILL: I think that people feel that stars can do no wrong,
and they love to build them up
as much they love to tear them down.
It's an impossible place to be.
I remember when Matthew was first starting to go public
about some of the issues,
and yeah, I was terribly proud of him.
It's hard, especially in this town
to admit you've got any problem,
that there's anything wrong,
and I thought it was very brave of him
and I was very, very proud of him.
He did seem to really want
to help other people that were also struggling.
You were in treatment for something--
Yeah. Substance abuse?
Well, it actually happened during this movie,
while we were shooting this movie,
it's been pretty well-documented
that I had some problems with alcoholism and addiction,
and before this movie was over, I left the film to go get help.
You know, and it's kind of--
LETTERMAN: How are you doing now?
I'm doing great.
I'm doing really great. Thanks.
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
My true message is that, you know,
if you face this, then sobriety is possible,
and I've never been happier in my life.
LETTERMAN: Good for you, that's a lovely thing.
[CROWD CLAMORING]
MAN: Matthew! Suprise! Up top!
FAIRCHILD: He was trying to help people even when he was struggling,
even in the midst of his own pain,
he tried to reach out to other people.
MAN: Matthew, right here please.
All the way over here. there you go. Thank you.
And that smile, Mat.
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
The night I went into AA, Matthew brought me in.
Um, the whole first year I was sober
we went to meetings together,
and he was such a great...
I got to tell him this, he was just, as a sober person,
um, he was so caring and giving and wise
and he totally helped me, um, get sober.
[SAD MUSIC PLAYING]
I hadn't been there for anyone for so long,
my addiction being my best friend
and my evil friend and my punisher
and my lover, all in one.
My big terrible thing.
I sensed an awakening,
that I was here for more than this big terrible thing.
That I could help people, love them,
because of how far down the scale I had gone,
I had a story to tell,
a story that can really help people.
And helping others had become the answer for me.
He got a lot of personal satisfaction,
pleasure, almost, from helping other people,
loved helping people,
loved the feeling that it brought him.
It's lovely to have you.
I've been looking forward to this.
Congratulations on the book. I really enjoyed it.
How's the process been of just talking about it?
PERRY: It's been, you know,
what it's all about is helping people,
and I've heard already five stories of people
that read the book and checked into treatment.
[CROWD CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
FORRESTER: I first started reporting on Matthew Perry
around the time of the Friendsreunion,
rumors were circulating.
Everyone was very excited.
KUDROW: Matty! Hi. PERRY: Hi.
KUDROW: Could you be any later?
FORRESTER: Matthew Perry is a little more low-key
and he was more removed from the rest of the cast.
PERRY: How are you, buddy? Good.
Look at all of us. LEBLANC: Isn't it crazy?
WILKER: He may not have looked great.
He may have seemed a little off,
but the fact that he was there,
and he was with all those guys.
The cast of Friends, everybody!
[CHEERING AND APPLAUDING]
WILKER: It was like when your favorite rock band
gets back together, "Oh, thank God."
You know, that's that feeling
that all these people are together.
To me, I felt like I was gonna die
if they didn't laugh.
And it's not healthy, for sure.
But I would sometimes say a line and they wouldn't laugh
and I would sweat,
and just, like, go into convulsions.
He'd not been seen on screen in many years.
He was obviously somebody vulnerable.
DAVID: They say that no matter how long you're stopped,
your disease is doing push-ups.
You can have 30 years
of having done everything right
and if one day it occurs to you
that this would be okay to do,
and you do it, it can kill you.
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
ESTRADA: Allegedly, Dr. Plasencia would arrange with Mr. Perry
different locations to meet to provide the ketamine.
On one occasion, they meet in a parking lot in Long Beach,
and he administers in the back of a car, ketamine.
Doctors are not supposed to inject people
in the back of parking lots.
A trained doctor like Dr. Plasencia
knew much better.
One of the overall themes of our indictment
is that all these defendants should've known better.
They were taking advantage of an individual
and letting their greed
drive them to endanger Mr. Perry's life.
FEIFEL: What should've happened at that point was,
first of all, been monitoring his vitals,
but more importantly, they should've made sure
that he was not near anything that could cause him harm.
When you're not in control of your body,
you're at risk of doing harm to yourself.
FORRESTER: These are the parts of the story
that then become even more disturbing.
Someone who's seen him nearly die
and then gone back and preyed on him for money.
Dr. Plasencia had numerous red flags
that were flashing in front of him.
The allegations show
he's providing the ketamine,
he's injecting Mr. Perry in parking lots.
He's seeing Mr. Perry freeze up.
At one point, he tells another patient
that Mr. Perry is quote,
"spiraling out of control,"
but he does nothing about this.
He allegedly continues to provide ketamine
to Mr. Perry's live-in assistant,
which is then going to be administered to Mr. Perry.
KADING: According to the indictment, it reached a point where
Mr. Perry's request or demand
for the ketamine became so great
Dr. Plasencia could not provide that amount,
and then they go beyond that scope
to another distributor.
That's when they encountered Erik Fleming,
and the Ketamine Queen, Jasveen Sangha.
FEMALE REPORTER: Jasveen Sangha aka The Ketamine Queen
is accused of providing the doses of the drug
that actually killed Perry.
According to the indictment,
Sangha was an illegal narcotics dealer
in the North Hollywood area.
And she was distributing a variety of different drugs,
one of them being ketamine.
The evidence showed she sold about 50 vials of ketamine
over two weeks for about $11,000 to Mr. Perry.
Well, you may have heard the nickname Ketamine Queen
in association with the overdose death
of actor Matthew Perry.
Now another family is coming forward.
They say that she sold the drugs that killed their loved one.
ESTRADA: This case involved not just one, but two victims.
Certainly, the well-known victim of Matthew Perry
but also Cody McClury who we can't forget.
In 2019, Jasveen Sangha
allegedly sold ketamine to Cody McClury,
who died as a result.
Then, one of Cody's family members
sent a message to Ms. Sangha telling her
her brother had died as a result of ketamine.
KADING: Law enforcement now sees that there's this history.
In fact, they discover that after the other death,
is where Jasveen had Googled
whether or not ketamine could cause somebody's death.
So it goes to show this kind of consciousness of guilt.
[POLICE SIREN BLARING]
We searched her house. It wasn't just ketamine.
We found cocaine, we found bottles of Xanax,
thousands of methamphetamine pills.
We found drug ledgers, scales.
The evidence showed she was a massive source of drugs.
MALE REPORTER: When she was growing up in the posh L.A. suburb
of Calabasas, California, home of the Kardashians,
she went to one of the UC colleges,
she went to grad school in England,
came back with an MBA.
But she kind of went astray.
MALE REPORTER 2: Her high-end lifestyle also included private jets,
vacations at oceanfront resorts
and posing with celebrities.
KADING: When you're dealing drugs at the level
that Jasveen supposedly was,
it's very lucrative,
and so you've got this rather luxurious lifestyle.
MALE REPORTER 3: Sangha, who earned the reputation in Los Angeles
as the Ketamine Queen
could get life in prison.
Authorities say she ran a narcotics operation
from her North Hollywood apartment,
and had a reputation as a celebrity drug dealer,
boasting of relationships with celebrities
and lavish vacations across the globe.
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
[PEOPLE CLAMORING]
KADING: Mr. Perry brought this whole thing
to the forefront
because of his celebrity status.
If Mr. Perry had not been who he was,
this may not have gotten the attention it needed
in order to expose those people.
[SEAGULL CRYING]
[OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
Something was not quite right,
and the telltale signs were there.
We did hear that he liked to get high in the jacuzzi.
He loved to call himself Mattman.
He was a huge fan of Batman,
and he nicknamed himself Mattman.
He felt powerful, he felt invincible,
and when he was high,
those are the sort of things he would say.
People who've been following Matthew Perry for years,
they probably sensed that this was strange.
So as we get to those final days,
he's seeking more ketamine.
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
Obviously it spiraled out of control.
Kenneth admitted
Matthew had asked him to shoot him up with a big one
and then he went off to run errands.
He was the one that delivered the fatal dose.
[STRANGE MUSIC PLAYING]
He just seemed like that funny friend
that everybody has when he played Chandler,
so I guess I did kind of know him just a little bit,
it felt like, so yeah.
You don't know him,
but you feel like you do know him.
[CHUCKLING] Because it's... It was really heartbreaking.
It's weird. We're strangers,
so to be so sad about someone you don't really know,
you know, in person,
that's how much of an impact...
You know, I feel like... I wish...
I wonder if he knew
that he meant that much to so many people.
FEIFEL: My understanding was he ended up drowning.
If anyone was present,
they should not have let him
be anywhere near a tub or a pool nearby.
He just lived to laugh, and every night he would...
He was like a genius. He would weave...
He would start to weave comedy threads together.
Most nights you spent with Matt,
you were crying laughing by the end.
Um, I really loved him.
A lot of us who were close to him
felt like we lost him to drugs and alcohol,
um, a long time ago.
It's one of the terrible things about this disease,
it just takes away the person you love.
[OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
After Mr. Perry died, you have Jasveen Sangha
allegedly telling Mr. Fleming, "Delete all our messages."
They knew that what they did was wrong,
but they did it anyways
and recklessly caused Mr. Perry's death.
Clearly, there's a consciousness of guilt taking place.
That's very powerful,
because if you're working legitimately,
you don't need to go back and cover your tracks.
You know, you can just see there in the indictment,
these people were like, "Holy shit, we're caught."
And so the house of cards came crumbling down.
We all knew that arrests were coming.
Obviously the police had been investigating for a long time.
We knew people were being questioned,
that it seemed like a drug ring.
Um, we just didn't know
who exactly was going to be arrested.
The two lead defendants in this case
are defendants Salvador Plasencia
and defendant Jasveen Sangha.
First, I'll talk about defendant Plasencia.
Defendant Plasencia was a medical doctor.
He worked with another medical doctor,
defendant Mark Chavez, to obtain ketamine.
He then worked
with Mr. Perry's live-in assistant,
defendant Kenneth Iwamasa,
to distribute that ketamine to Mr. Perry.
I am not going to have very many comments for you today.
Main reason is because there are
other defendants in this case.
But he's incredibly remorseful that, at the end of the day,
someone who was trying to seek treatment died.
ESTRADA: The defendants have all been charged.
Three of them have pled guilty
and will be cooperating.
They wanna mitigate the amount of years
that they're likely to do
by cooperating with the government.
Two remain, the two main defendants,
Dr. Plasencia and Ms. Jasveen Sangha.
My client never met Matthew Perry,
has nothing to do with Matthew Perry
and all the supposed rumors otherwise
are just that, urban legends.
This theory, that the so-called fatal dose
is somehow linked to my client, is absolute garbage.
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
Dr. Plasencia was trying to help Mr. Perry
and provide medical care that would ease his problems,
and Dr. Plasencia wasn't aware
that Mr. Perry was obtaining the ketamine
from other individuals initially,
and when it became apparent
that there might be something else going on,
he wasn't providing any ketamine to Mr. Perry at that point.
It's very important for us to bring charges
in those instances.
We brought charges not just involving Mr. Perry
but also Mr. McClury's death as well.
This case was very important to us,
to bring justice to the family,
it's important they be given closure.
In the past, we used to call these things overdose deaths
and do more blaming of the victim.
We don't do that anymore.
We blame the drug dealers, the drug sellers,
for taking advantage of those addiction issues
to cause death or serious injury.
And that's why we bring these cases.
[OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
The big takeaway from this case
is that when people involved in reckless activity,
whether that be drug dealing or other activity,
cause the death of others,
there needs to be accountability.
[POLICE SIREN BLARING]
[SAD MUSIC PLAYING]
He was such a, like, heartwarming,
kind, uplifting person,
that I feel like everyone could just turn on the TV
and feel immediately comforted by him.
I lost a friend in multiple ways,
and what's amazing
is the outpouring from the fans,
who lost a friend of theirs too.
And I hope wherever he is, he feels it.
WOMAN: The show is so great because you don't even know them
but you feel like they're your friends.
And so he was my favorite one
because he just made me laugh all the time,
so this is not easy. [CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY]
FORRESTER: It's so incredibly sad
that this story has become so big.
We're talking about ketamine,
we're talking about drug rings in L.A.,
you know, and how medical malpractice is everywhere,
that we're really forgetting this story is about one man,
and one man who simply wanted to be happy.
People are just forgetting who he was
and that he will be missed.
KAUFFMAN: If it doesn't stop,
we're gonna lose so many people.
He made it a big focus of his life
to help other people.
It's clearly the work of your heart,
And for him.
What he taught the world
is no amount of money will cure an addict.
It needs something else,
and that's what we're trying to do.
[CROWD CLAMORING]
O'NEILL: I think the greatest gift that Matthew offered is
sharing his personal struggle with pain and addiction.
And I feel like he did that
because he really did wanna help a lot of people.
COX: 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.
I know you're a spiritual person,
so you still feel his presence?
Yeah, I sense Matthew's around, for sure.
[HOPEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
FORRESTER: I think Matthew Perry's legacy is split in two parts.
On one side, his legacy will be
this is where you don't want to end up,
you know, if you're struggling with drug abuse.
And then I think on the flip side,
he's trapped in time almost as Chandler Bing.
Matthew Perry's the funniest person in the whole world.
On the planet. Thank you very much
You know what? I mean, that, actually.
I was saying it as a joke, and I absolutely mean it.
We all laugh at Matthew's jokes
There are very few things in entertainment
that are as ubiquitous as Friends.
MAN: Are you really actually friends?
Yes, for the last time,
we are all actually good friends.
Thank you. Thanks very much.
FAIRCHILD: The way the actors and the characters
and the ensemble touch people's lives,
made people feel like they had friends
even if they were alone and feeling lonely.
Hey.
BOTH: Hi.
[GASPING]
Hey, so, what is the big surprise?
[GASPING]
My God.
Okay, okay, awkward question.
The hospital knows you took two, right?
Yes, it's twins.
In the show, we see him finally settle down with Monica,
and I think they end up having twins.
I think there is a sense of
he never got Chandler Bing's happy ending.
[SAD MUSIC PLAYING]
[CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING]
FAIRCHILD: It was always interesting to watch Matthew.
He didn't seem like he was acting.
It seemed like he really was Chandler.
[YELLING, THEN GASPING]
Oh!
All right, you gotta give me some of your piece.
Oh, ho, ho, no. No.
No switching, no sharing. Don't come crying to me.
[LAUGHING SARCASTICALLY]
I may just sit here
and have my cake all day.
Just sit here in the hallway and eat my--
Matthew's legacy is always going to be
the friendship that he and the cast represented
to people all over the world.
His legacy will be one of hope and joy
and friendship and love.
[HOPEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]