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On Saturday, October 28, 2023, Matthew Perry woke early.
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Perry → publish → Saturday
Across the course of what should have been an average day, he played pickleball, watched a movie and took a dip in the hot tub at his 3,500sq ft home in the Pacific Palisades.
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he → play → Palisades
None of this would have generated much interest had it not been for the simple fact that before the sun had set, the actor, forever known for his portrayal of Chandler Bing in Friends, would be dead.
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actor → generate → Friends
At 4pm, he was found face down and unresponsive in his hot tub.
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he → find → tub
The death was rendered all the more shocking for the truth that emerged with his passing.
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that → render → passing
The actor who had made it his life's mission to speak on sobriety and document his supposed journey towards it had never actually achieved it – his recovery was as much an illusion as the character for which he became so beloved.
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he → make → which
Documenting his ketamine use in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry wrote about the infusion therapy to treat depression and anxiety during the COVID pandemic, ultimately determining 'ketamine was not for me.'
In his memoir, he described himself as 'pretty safely sober' when, in fact, Perry was anything but.
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Perry → document → fact
He was spiraling out of all control, wanting more ketamine than any ethical doctor would legally prescribe.
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doctor → spiral → ketamine
The Los Angeles Police Department opened an investigation and ultimately, five individuals – including Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry's former live-in assistant and Jasveen Sangha, a dealer known as 'The Ketamine Queen' – were charged.
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individuals → open → Queen
Now, using many of the details outlined in Iwamasa's plea agreement in which he pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death in return for 41 months in federal prison and a $10,000 fine, the Daily Mail has pieced together a minute-by-minute account of the final hours of Perry's life.
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Mail → use → life
Matthew Perry's death was all the more shocking for the truth that emerged with his passing
Perry is seen here one week before his death with assistant Kenneth Iwamasa in Los Angeles
8.30am
Iwamasa, 60, gives Perry his first injection at his Pacific Palisades home.
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Iwamasa → emerge → home
Iwamasa uses syringes obtained from Salvador Plasencia, a physician from Santa Monica, and ketamine obtained from Sangha.
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Iwamasa → use → Sangha
In the month leading up to Perry's death, the actor and his assistant paid Plasencia more than $31,000 in cash for ketamine that the doctor was able to obtain from his associate Mark Chavez.
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doctor → lead → associate
Plasencia injected Perry several times in September and October 2023 and taught Iwamasa how to administer the dissociative hallucinogen typically given in a clinical setting under strict medical supervision.
Perry also obtained ketamine from Sangha.
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Perry → inject → Sangha
Erik Fleming, a once-licensed drug counselor, delivered 75 vials of Sangha's ketamine to Perry between October 13 and October 25 of 2023.
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Fleming → license → 2023
Perry paid Fleming and Sangha $18,000 in cash.
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Perry → pay → cash
The third and final batch that Fleming delivered included the fatal dose that would lead to Perry's death.
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that → deliver → death
Perry's assistant obtained syringes from Salvador Plasencia, pictured, a physician from Santa Monica, and ketamine obtained from Jasveen Sangha
Perry returned to his home after playing pickleball at Riviera Country Club.
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Perry → obtain → Club
Here is the property where he was later injected with multiple syringes of ketamine
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he → inject → ketamine
Perry leaves his home to play pickleball – key in his recovery – at the private Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles located less than seven miles from his home.
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Perry → leave → home
Although he often played with his personal coach and friend Matt Manasse, Perry trained with a different coach on October 28.
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Perry → play → October
Manasse later told People that while the other coach did not reveal how long the two played for that day, she noted that the actor had 'been doing really well on court, which wasn't a surprise'.
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which → tell → court
Perry, who picked up pickleball while navigating his addiction issues, played the sport four or five days a week, according to Manasse.
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who → pick → Manasse
In his youth, Perry was a top-ranked junior tennis player.
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Perry → rank → youth
He often practiced for ten hours a day and considered a tennis career until he moved to Los Angeles to live with his father when he was 15.
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he → practice → father
'He fell in love with the sport and he really wanted to use it for his recovery,' Manasse, who began playing with Perry in 2021, told NBC.
'It was sort of his new thing he could get behind and have on his calendar.
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he → fall → calendar
Everyone who came in contact with him really cared about his recovery journey, and the flip side is he really cared about us.
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he → come → us
He cared about your success just as much as his own.'
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He → care → own
Perry heads home and at 12.45pm, Iwamasa gives Perry his second injection of the day as the actor watches a movie.
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actor → head → movie
Posted five days before his death, this is the last photo Perry shared on social media
On his last day, Perry played pickleball, watched a movie and took a dip in the hot tub at his 3,500sq-ft home in the Pacific Palisades
1.25pm
Perry asks his assistant to prepare the hot tub and to give him another shot of ketamine.
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Perry → post → ketamine
In the four days leading up to his death, Perry was receiving six to eight daily injections from his assistant – so even after this injection, it's quite possible he expected three to four more doses to get through the day.
While some mental health patients receive daily doses of ketamine as part of their treatment, it is rare for them to receive multiple doses in one day.
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them → lead → day
Its effects are almost immediate and many who have been treated with the drug describe feeling like they're floating out of their body and seeing shifting and colorful visuals.
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they → treat → visuals
Before Iwamasa gives Perry his third injection on this October Saturday, Perry instructs his assistant to: 'Shoot me up with a big one.'
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Perry → give → one
1.30pm
Iwamasa administers the substantial ketamine dose, per his boss's orders.
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Iwamasa → administer → orders
Leaving Perry by himself in the hot tub, Iwamasa leaves the premises to run errands.
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Iwamasa → leave → errands
4pm
Iwamasa returns to discover his boss face down in the gurgling water.
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Iwamasa → return → water
Iwamasa calls 911 and pulls Perry's head above water and over to the side of the hot tub.
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Iwamasa → call → tub
The Los Angeles Fire Department sends first responders to Perry's Palisades address to treat what they describe as a 'water emergency of an unknown type.'
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they → send → type
But a quick medical assessment reveals the situation is beyond all hope.
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situation → reveal → hope
4.17pm
Perry is pronounced dead.
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Perry → pronounce → ?
…and 25 more, not listed.
The Aporia
