ENTERTAINMENT
Police close investigation into death of ‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry
Last October, the actor was found unresponsive in his jacuzzi in his Los Angeles home at the age of 54.
More than two months after the death of Friends star Matthew Perry, and just under a month after the cause of his death was announced, the authorities have decided to officially end the investigation into what led to his passing. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner has also confirmed on its website the case related to Perry’s death is “closed.”
Perry found unresponsive in jacuzzi by assistant
On 28 October last year, it was announced that Perry, best known for starring as Chandler Bing in the 90s-00s sitcom, had died at the age of 54. Law enforcement sources told TMZ at the time the actor had been found in his Los Angeles home having apparently drowned.
That morning, Perry had reportedly played pickleball for a couple of hours before returning home and sending his assistant to run an errand. When he returned, he discovered the actor unresponsive in his jacuzzi and called 911.
“Acute effects of ketamine” led to passing of Friends star
Over a month later, in mid-December, a toxicology report, shared by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office and obtained by TMZ, revealed that Perry had died due to “the acute effects of ketamine”, a drug used to treat depression and also as a recreational drug.
Autopsy report rules Perry death “accidental”
According to the report, the ketamine in Perry’s system caused cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression. Drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid use disorder, were listed as additional factors in his death, which was ruled accidental.
The autopsy report indicated no traces of alcohol, methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, phencyclidine (PCP) or fentanyl were found. Although smoking was not listed as a contributing factor in Perry’s death, the report does note he smoked two packs of cigarettes a day and suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema and diabetes.