Suspect in Matthew Perry's death referred to him by code name: Prosecutors

Suspect in Matthew Perry’s death used code name for him: Prosecutors

Matthew Perry, 54, was found face down in a hot tub at his home
Prosecutors: Jasveen Sangha referred to Perry by one of his characters
Court documents didn't specify which character name was allegedly used

Updated: Aug 23, 2024 / 04:13 PM CDT

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – OCTOBER 14: Actor Matthew Perry arrives at the 9th Annual Dinner Benefiting the Lili Claire Foundation at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on October 14, 2006 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

(NewsNation) — One of the suspects facing charges in connection with the death of actor Matthew Perry allegedly referred to the actor by the name of one of the characters he played on TV.

According to the plea agreement of Erik Fleming, an acquaintance of Perry’s, Jasveen Sangha, who is known as the “Ketamine Queen,” used “a well-known character that (Perry) portrayed in a television series,” when discussing selling ketamine to Perry, People Magazine reported.

The plea agreement did not specify which character name Sangha allegedly used for Perry, who portrayed Chandler on the TV series “Friends” from 1994 to 2004.

According to the plea agreement, prosecutors allege Fleming and Sangha spoke on the phone the day of Perry’s death to discuss “distancing themselves from the drug deals” by deleting evidence on their phones. The documents also claim that two days after Perry’s death, Fleming sent Sangha a text message via the Signal app stating he was “90% sure everyone is protected.”

Perry, 54, was found face down in his hot tub on Oct. 28, 2023.

An autopsy blamed his death on an overdose of ketamine. According to the findings, the overdose caused Perry to lose consciousness and drown.

Perry had been undergoing supervised treatment with ketamine for his depression. However, his last session had been more than a week before his death, so the ketamine in his system could not have been from that.

The medical examiner said the amount of ketamine in Perry’s system was equivalent to the amount used as anesthesia in general surgery. His death was ruled an accident.

This month, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced five people were charged in connection with Perry’s death. The defendants are Sangha, Fleming, Dr. Salvador Plasencia Dr. Mark Chavez, and Kenneth Iwamasa. All of the defendants face multiple charges, and Sangha could face life in prison. The other defendants could face more than 20 years in prison if convicted.

Flemming pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death, per People Magazine.

NewsNation’s Steph Whiteside contributed to this report.