Doctor pleads guilty in death of Matthew Perry

He could face 10 years behind bars

Dr Mark Chavez changed his plea to guilty to a charge of conspiring to distribute ketamine.

The 54-year-old doctor operated a ketamine clinic and sold ketamine lozenges to Dr Salvador Plasencia, who supplied them to Perry, the BBC reports.

He is one of the five people charged in the case of Perry's death.

Perry, best known for his role as Chandler Bing in Friends, died on October 28 2023 after he was found unresponsive in his hot tub.

Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Perry had died as a result of the “acute effects of ketamine.” Drowning had also been listed as a contributing factor in his death, but this was ruled to be an accident.

In his plea agreement, Chavez admitted obtaining the drug from both his former clinic and a wholesale distributor through a fraudulent prescription.

Prosecutors in the case said Perry's assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, worked with Chavez and Plasencia to provide the actor with more than $50,000 (£38,000) of ketamine in the weeks before his death.

The two medical doctors are said to have exchanged texts discussing how much they could charge the late actor for the drugs, with one message reading: "I wonder how much this moron will pay."

Chavez's new plea will let him plead guilty to a lesser charge thanks to his co-operation in the case. However, he could still face a decade behind bars.

The toxicology report last year found Perry had taken ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety a week and a half before his death.

The ketamine inside his body at the time of his death, however, “could not be from that infusion therapy, since ketamine’s half-life is 3-4 hours, or less.”

The Medical Examiner also confirmed that the ketamine in his system caused cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression.