'Ketamine Queen' sentenced over Matthew Perry's death

Los Angeles drug dealer Jayvee Sangha, known as 'Ketamine Queen,' has been sentenced to fifteen years in prison over Matthew Perry's death.

She pleaded guilty to supplying Perry with the dose of the drug that killed the actor in 2023.

In Septmber, Sangha confessed to five felony drug counts originating from Perry's death. She has also admitted to running a "stash house" for narcotics in her home in North Hollywood.

Initially, 42-year-old Sangha, a dual US-British citizen, had faced a sentence of up to 65 years in prison. The defence urged the judge to limit her sentence to time already served. The drug dealer has been incarcerated since August 2024.

Sangha acknowledged selling a total of 51 vials of ketamine to a go-between dealer, Erik ⁠Fleming, who sold the doses to Perry through the actor's personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa.

It was Iwamasa who later injected Perry with at least three ⁠shots of ketamine, resulting in the actor's death.

Perry, who played Chandler Bing in Friends, was found dead in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home in October 2023. He was 54 years old.

A post-mortem found high levels of ketamine in his system, prompting an investigation that uncovered a network of suppliers and enablers, including two doctors and Perry's personal assistant.

Ketamine is a potent dissociative anesthetic with hallucinogenic effects. It is sometimes prescribed to treat depression and other psychological disorders.

The actor had publicly acknowledged decades of substance abuse. His death came only a year after the publication of his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, which described his battle with addiction to painkillers and alcohol.

According to federal law enforcement officials, Perry ‌had been undergoing medically supervised ketamine infusions for depression and anxiety at a clinic where he became addicted to the ⁠drug. When doctors ‌refused to increase his dosage, the actor turned to unauthorised providers.

Alongside Sangha, Fleming, Iwamasa, and two medical doctors, Mark Chavez and Salvador Plasencia, have all pleaded guilty to federal ‌drug offences in Perry's case. You can read more about it here.