(NEXSTAR) — An arrest has been made in the accidental ketamine overdose death of actor Matthew Perry, according to multiple reports.
Perry was found unresponsive at his Pacific Palisades home on Oct. 28, 2023. Following an autopsy, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner revealed in December that he died from “acute effects of ketamine.”
Since spring, Los Angeles Police had been working with federal investigators to determine how and why Perry had so much ketamine in his system.
Law enforcement sources told NBC News on Thursday that a person in southern California has been taken into custody in connection with Perry’s death. A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that at least one person has been arrested.
TMZ reports at least one doctor and “several dealers” who helped deliver ketamine to Perry have been arrested. Nexstar’s KTLA has not been able to confirm this information.
A press conference is scheduled for Thursday morning, a person with knowledge of the situation told The New York Times. Local outlets report the U.S. Attorney for Los Angeles and the head of the DEA will been in attendance, indicating the potential for federal charges.
In May, Los Angeles Police told Nexstar’s KTLA they were working with the DEA and U.S. Postal Inspection Service to determine how and why Perry had such a high level of ketamine in his system when he died.
When reached for comment on Thursday, the DEA told KTLA they “are not commenting or providing information on this matter at this time” and deferred further comments to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In June, investigators said they were wrapping up a criminal investigation into Perry’s death, noting that several people may be connected with it.
While ketamine was listed as the primary cause of Perry’s October 2023 death, the medical examiner’s office reported “drowning, coronary artery disease and buprenorphine effects” as contributing factors (buprenorphine is used to treat opioid use disorder). His death was deemed accidental, with no foul play suspected.
According to the autopsy report, there were “trace amounts of ketamine detected” in Perry’s “stomach contents.” The actor was said to be receiving ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety.”
Per the report, Perry’s last known treatment was one and a half weeks before his death and the ketamine that was in his system when he died “could not be from that infusion therapy, since ketamine’s half-life is three to four hours, or less.”
Ketamine, a controlled but legal substance, is used in medical settings as an anesthetic and for treatment-resistant depression. It is known to have “some hallucinogenic effects,” according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and can be abused through injection, mixing a liquid or powder form with another liquid, or snorting or smoking the powder.
Perry had years of struggles with addiction dating back to his time on “Friends,” when he became one of the biggest television stars of his generation as Chandler Bing alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC’s megahit sitcom.
This would not be the first case of someone facing charges following the overdose death of a celebrity. In 2022, a man was sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to supplying counterfeit fentanyl-laced pills that were later sold to rapper Mac Miller before he died of an overdose in 2018. Two other people were also charged in Miller’s death.
Also in 2022, a former public relations employee for the Los Angeles Angels was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison after he was convicted of conspiracy and distributing the drugs that led to the death of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs in 2019. A coroner’s report said Skaggs choked to death on his vomit and that a toxic mix of alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone was in his system.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.