Jasveen Sangha, Matthew Perry. Credit : Jojo Korsh/BFA.com/Shutterstock; Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic

‘Ketamine Queen’ Pleads Guilty to Distributing Drugs that Killed Matthew Perry

Thomas Smith
3 Min Read

The woman accused of giving Matthew Perry the ketamine that led to his death in October 2023 has pleaded guilty.

Jasveen Sangha, called the “Ketamine Queen” by federal prosecutors, admitted on Wednesday, Sept. 3, in Los Angeles to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distributing ketamine, and one count of distributing ketamine that caused death or serious injury, the Associated Press reported.

Perry’s mother, Suzanne Perry, and his stepfather, “Dateline” reporter Keith Morrison, were present in court during her plea, according to AP.

Sangha, who holds both U.K. and U.S. citizenship, is the last person to plead guilty in connection with the Friends actor’s overdose. She could face decades in federal prison.

Prosecutors said Sangha gave drugs to Erik Fleming, a friend of Perry’s, who then passed them to Perry’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa. Fleming acted as the link between Sangha and Iwamasa, prosecutors claimed.

Fleming obtained 50 vials from Sangha, according to the Justice Department, and later gave them to Perry’s assistant.

Matthew Perry. Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

On Oct. 28, 2023, Iwamasa injected Perry with at least three doses of Sangha’s ketamine, which led to Perry’s death, according to the plea agreement cited by prosecutors.

“After learning from news reports of Perry’s death, Sangha called Fleming on Signal to discuss how to distance themselves from it,” a DOJ press release said. “That day, Sangha updated the settings on the Signal apps to automatically delete her messages with Fleming. She further instructed Fleming to ‘Delete all our messages.'”

Perry, 54, was found face down in the jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home that night. An autopsy later showed he died from the acute effects of ketamine, with other factors such as drowning, coronary artery disease, and effects from buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder, contributing to his death.

Four other people had already pleaded guilty in connection with Perry’s death, including Iwamasa and Fleming, as well as doctors Mark Chavez and Salvador Plasencia.

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