High-profile lawyer Mark Geragos says his client, “The Ketamine Queen” charged in Matthew Perry’s fatal overdose, has nothing to do with the Friends star‘s death.
Alleged drug dealer Jasveen Sangha, 41, is one of five people charged in allegedly contributing to Perry’s death in October.
Geragos tells Newsweek that he “takes issue” with his client’s viral nickname, especially because she never knew Perry.
“Even though I give the US Attorney an A for creativity in nicknaming her in the indictment ‘The Ketamine Queen,’ there’s no basis for that,” Geragos said Wednesday.
“The coroner’s report does not reflect the homicide. It reflects an accidental death. I think all of these so-called urban legends that somehow my client knew Matthew Perry are demonstrably false.”
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Perry was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home on October 28 at age 54. Early news reports said he appeared to have drowned. In December, it was determined his death was caused by the acute effects of ketamine. No drugs were found at the scene of his death.
Prosecutors claim Sangha allegedly sold Perry ketamine when she “knew it could be deadly.” In August 2019, Sangha sold ketamine to victim Cody McLaury hours before his overdose death, the US Attorney’s office revealed in an August 15 press conference about the arrests in Perry’s case.
After a family member of McLaury’s sent Sangha a text message saying that her ketamine had killed McLaury, Sangha conducted a Google search for “can ketamine be listed as a cause of death[?]”
After Perry’s death, investigators executed search warrants at Sangha’s home where they found “a drug-selling emporium.” Officials found approximately 79 vials of ketamine, and about 3.1 pounds of orange pills containing methamphetamine, psilocybin mushrooms, cocaine, and prescription drugs that appeared to be fraudulently obtained.
Ciaran McEvoy, Public Information Officer at the US Attorney’s Office told Newsweek about “The Ketamine Queen,” “We did not give her that nickname. Her customers did. Erik Fleming, referred to her by that nickname. We don’t nickname our defendants. “
Geragos told Newsweek on Wednesday, “I think that this case has got a great degree of attention because of the novelty of the charging decision, meaning the US attorney has been very aggressive and ambitious in their theory of this prosecution. So I take issue with naming her a nickname in the indictment. I take issue with the idea that she’s somehow responsible for this tragic death.”
Sangha and Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 42, are set to be tried together starting on March 4, 2025. Both of them are facing multiple charges and could be in federal prison for decades. Neither of them has entered a plea yet.
The three others arrested in connection with the actor’s death were his personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, 59, Dr. Mark Chavez, 54, and his acquaintance Erik Fleming, 54, who have all pleaded guilty to their charges.
Last month, officials said Perry originally sought treatment for depression and anxiety and went to a local clinic where he became addicted to intravenous ketamine. When clinic doctors refused to increase his dosage, he turned to “unscrupulous doctors,” as well as street drug dealers, who saw Perry as a way to make quick money.
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