Causes of Matthew Perry's Death Determined
According to reports from the Los Angeles coroners obtained by People, the death of "Friends" star and Hollywood actor Matthew Perry resulted from an accidental overdose of ketamine.
As previously reported by The Gaze, the 54-year-old actor was found lifeless in the pool of his Los Angeles home in October 2023. The results of the initial autopsy did not provide conclusive evidence regarding the reasons for Mr. Perry's premature departure from life. The medical report indicated that drowning was only a "contributing factor" to his death, not its immediate cause.
"At the high levels of ketamine found in his post-mortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression,"
senior deputy medical examiner Raffi Djabourian wrote, as reported by the BBC.
In addition to ketamine, a hallucinogen used as an anesthetic (in the U.S., it is employed to treat depression, PTSD, and in therapy related to heroin use), other cited causes of the beloved actor's death included the influence of buprenorphine, used in opioid addiction treatment, and ischemic heart disease. Forensic experts were able to reconstruct the actor's demise, noting that the impact of ketamine exacerbated symptoms of ischemic heart disease, causing loss of consciousness, leading to Perry's body submerging in the pool, resulting in drowning.
According to friends and close associates of Matthew Perry, the actor had not used narcotics for at least 19 months, as he was on ketamine infusion therapy. His last therapy session occurred about a week and a half before his death. However, forensic experts point out that the ketamine found in Perry's blood cannot be remnants of the rehabilitation course since the drug's half-life is only 3-4 hours. The reasons why Matthew Perry took an unplanned dose of ketamine remain unknown.
Hollywood actor Matthew Perry is best known for his role as Chandler in the TV series "Friends." Additionally, he starred alongside his friend Bruce Willis in the two parts of the crime comedy "The Whole Nine Yards," released an autobiographical book titled "Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing," and in 2016, he debuted as a theatrical director in London with his play "The End of Longing."