Matthew Perry’s mother revealed that the late Friends actor seemed to possess a “foreboding” regarding his demise during one of their final conversations.
Perry, renowned for portraying Chandler Bing in the iconic US television series, was discovered unresponsive in the swimming pool of his residence in Los Angeles on 28 October 2023.
A subsequent post-mortem examination concluded that he succumbed to the “acute effects of ketamine”.
His mother, Suzanne Morrison, expressed that during the final days with her son, there was a sense of “inevitability” about what was to follow for him, and he felt it intensely.
During an interview with the Today Show nearly a year post Perry’s passing, Ms. Morrison stated: “He remarked, ‘I’m not afraid any longer’… And that concerned me.”
Ms. Morrison additionally recounted a moment when her son was showing her “one of his new residences” when he approached her and expressed, “I love you immensely, and I’m so pleased to be with you at this moment.”
“It felt almost like a premonition or something.”
“At the time, I didn’t contemplate it, but I found myself wondering, ‘When was the last time we had a discussion like that?’ It had been years,” she reflected.
Perry was the sole offspring of Ms. Morrison and her former spouse, actor John Bennett Perry.
An autopsy report acquired by Sky News’ US affiliate network NBC News in December 2023 elucidated that ketamine was likely responsible for Perry losing consciousness and subsequently drowning.
The report also indicated that his existing coronary artery disease intensified the impacts of ketamine on his heart.
Ketamine serves as a sedative that may be misused recreationally, in addition to its therapeutic application for depression.
A report from the Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner noted that Perry was “undergoing ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety,” with the latest administration reportedly occurring one and a half weeks prior to his demise.
The report continued: “The ketamine detected in his system at death could not have originated from that infusion therapy, given that ketamine’s half-life is three to four hours or less.”
Perry candidly discussed his struggles with substance addiction and established a sober living facility for men facing similar challenges.
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Five individuals have been indicted concerning Perry’s demise, with three having entered guilty pleas and two slated to go on trial.
Dr. Mark Chavez has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to distribute ketamine and faces a potential 10-year prison sentence, while Perry’s live-in aide Kenneth Iwamasa has accepted guilt for one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death.
This follows Eric Fleming, an acquaintance of Perry, pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine as well as one count of distribution of ketamine causing death.
Concurrently, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, referred to as “Dr. P,” is scheduled to stand trial on 4 March next year after allegedly employing Iwamasa to procure ketamine for Perry.
He will be tried alongside Jasveen Sangha, identified in documents as the “Ketamine Queen,” who purportedly sold ketamine to Perry for $11,000 (£8,553) in cash.
