Meet The Five Convicts In Matthew Perry’s Death Case, PA, Ketamine Queen And Two Doctors Sentenced

Matthew Perry was an American and Canadian actor, who gained fame for his role as ‘Chandler Bing’ on the NBC television sitcom, Friends. He was one of the most beloved actors in the industry, and his passing in 2023 was an extremely heartbreaking moment for his fans. However, things took a darker turn when the cause of his demise was revealed.

And now, after over two years, his death is once again in focus. Five people have pleaded guilty to various roles in supplying the actor with ketamine, the drug that killed him at age 54 in 2023. Four of them have been sentenced, and the last person is expected to be sentenced soon. Amid that, let’s take a quick look at who the five involved people are.

Kenneth Iwamasa will be the last person sentenced in Matthew Perry’s death case

Matthew Perry’s long-time live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, will also be sentenced in the murder case. According to reports, he was involved in the actor’s illegal ketamine use and even acted as his drug messenger and personally gave him six to eight shots per day in the last days of his life. It was revealed that Kenneth had left Matthew at his home after giving him several injections of the drug and returned to find the actor dead in his hot tub. 

It was later shared that Kenneth Iwamasa made nearly all of the illegal drug buys on Matthew Perry’s behalf, working in coordination with his co-defendants. One of them, Dr Salvador Plasencia, who taught him how to give Matthew the injections. He was the first to reach a plea deal with the police, who were seeking him as a key witness in the case. He will be convicted on May 27, 2026 (ET). He had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, causing death.

image credit: TrueCrimeSociety/FB

The ‘Ketamine Queen’ was sentenced to 15 years in prison for Matthew Perry’s murder

Jasveen Sagha, known as ‘The Ketamine Queen’, is the next in the list of convicts. While prosecutors claimed that she was given the name for her “jet-setting, drug-dealing lifestyle”, her lawyers asserted the police gave her the name to feed the media frenzy. However, she admitted to running a serious drug operation and selling Matthew Perry the dose of ketamine that took his life and causing the death of another man, 33-year-old Cody McLaury, in 2019.

Unlike other defendants, prosecutors alleged that her actions were not atypical, as she had been dealing drugs, including ketamine, methamphetamine and cocaine, from her home for at least five years. She pleaded guilty to three counts of distribution of ketamine, one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury, and one count of using her home for drug distribution, leading to her being sentenced to 15 years in prison. Jasveen, in her sentencing speech, said:

“These were not mistakes. They were horrible decisions. My choices shattered people’s lives and the lives of their family and friends.”

image credit: wsjmag/IG

Erik Fleming was sentenced to two years in jail and three years of probation

According to filings from prosecutors, Erik was working as a drug addiction counsellor when a mutual friend of his and Matthew Perry told him that the actor was seeking ketamine. His lawyers said he was a former television and film producer whose career had been ravaged by substance abuse, and that after gaining hard-won sobriety, he became a counsellor.

However, he relapsed when approached about Matthew and connected the actor to Jasveen. The reports revealed he delivered 50 vials of ketamine to Matthew, marking up the vial for profit, including 25 vials sold for USD 6,000 to the actor four days before his death. Erik entered a guilty plea and admitted to one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. He was sentenced on May 13, 2026 (ET), to two years in prison and three years of probation. Erik spoke at his sentencing and said:

“This grievous failure will haunt me forever. I want to do everything I can to make sure a tragedy like this never happens again. I don’t want anyone to die from ketamine.”

image credit: Caroline Brehman/The Associated Press

Dr Salvador Plasencia has been given prison time, probation and a fine

Dr Salvador admitted to selling 20 vials of the drug to the actor in the weeks before his death, according to his plea agreement. Known as ‘Dr P’, he was once the main target of the prosecution and has been in the headlines for a while. Matthew was connected with him through another patient and had been getting ketamine legally from his regular doctor as treatment for depression, an off-label but increasingly common use of the surgical anaesthetic.

However, Matthew wanted more than what the doctor would prescribe. Salvador admitted to injecting the actor with some of the initial vials and left more for Kenneth to inject, despite the fact that Matthew froze up and his blood pressure spiked after a dose. He pleaded guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, two years of probation and a USD 5,600 fine.

image credit: Reuters

Dr Mark Chavez was put on home arrest for supplying ketamine to Dr Salvador Plasencia

The final person in the list of people convicted for Matthew Perry’s murder was Dr Mark Chavez, a San Diego-based doctor who ran a ketamine clinic. According to reports, he sold the vials to Dr Salvador Plasencia, who later sold them to Matthew. He admitted to obtaining the ketamine from a wholesale distributor on false pretences and passing it along. He graduated from UCLA Medical School in 2004 and has since surrendered his medical license. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and sentenced to eight months of home confinement and three years of supervised release. 

image credit: Matthew Perry/IG

What are your thoughts on the five people convicted of Matthew Perry’s murder?

Next Read: Mariah Carey’s Bond With Mom, Sis Explained, Amid Justin’s Fabricated Post Claimed ‘She Killed Them’