Dr. Salvador Plasencia faces sentencing on Wednesday for selling ketamine to actor Matthew Perry, making him the first of five defendants awaiting sentencing in connection with the Friends star's overdose death in October 2023. The 43-year-old physician pleaded guilty to four counts of drug distribution and faces up to 40 years in prison.
Plasencia admitted to injecting Perry with liquid ketamine in the weeks before his death, including once in a car parked outside an aquarium, and sold him vials of the anesthetic for at-home use without a legitimate medical purpose. According to court filings, Plasencia and another physician distributed an estimated 20 vials of liquid ketamine to Perry for $55,000 cash during the final weeks of the actor's life. A single vial that Plasencia sold for $2,000 had cost his co-defendant approximately $12.
Parents demand extended sentence
Matthew Perry's parents issued emotional statements ahead of the sentencing, calling Plasencia "among the most culpable of all" for their son's death. His mother and stepfather, Suzanne and Keith Morrison, described their son's life as "Here was a life so entwined with ours and held aloft sometimes with duct tape and bailing wire, with anything that might keep that big terrible thing from killing our first-born son, and our hearts with him. And then those greedy jackals come out of the dark, and all the effort is for naught; it all crashes down."
They accused Plasencia of feeding on their son's vulnerability: "No one alive and in touch with the world at all could have been unaware of Matthew's struggles. But this doctor conspired to break his most important vows, repeatedly, sneaked through the night to meet his victim in secret[...] For what, a few thousand dollars?"
Perry's father and stepmother, John and Debby Perry, questioned Plasencia's motives: "Matthew's recovery counted on you saying NO. Your motives? I can't imagine." They urged the court to extend his sentence "beyond the mandatory time" to give him "plenty of time to think about your actions".
Text messages reveal callousness
Court filings show Plasencia allegedly texted his co-defendant Dr. Mark Chavez in September 2023, asking: "I wonder how much this moron will pay?…[Let's] find out." After injecting Perry, he allegedly described the situation in another text as "like a bad movie".
Plasencia's lawyer, Karen L. Goldstein, stated the doctor is "profoundly remorseful" and hopes his case "serves as a warning to other medical professionals and leads to stricter oversight and clear protocols for the rapidly growing at-home ketamine industry".
Four others await sentencing
Four additional defendants have pleaded guilty and face sentencing in the coming weeks. Jasveen Sangha, whom prosecutors dubbed the "Ketamine Queen", is due for sentencing on December 10. Dr. Mark Chavez faces sentencing on December 17, followed by Erik Fleming on January 7 and Perry's former assistant Kenneth Iwamasa on January 14.
Perry's path to addiction
Matthew Perry, 54, died on October 28, 2023, in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home. An autopsy concluded he died from the acute effects of ketamine and other factors, causing unconsciousness and drowning. Toxicology tests found ketamine levels in his body within the range typically associated with general anesthesia.
Perry had initially sought ketamine treatment for depression and anxiety at a licensed clinic in late 2023. Authorities say he turned to the charged suppliers after the clinic refused to increase his dosage. Plasencia taught Perry's assistant Iwamasa how to administer ketamine, and Iwamasa admitted to repeatedly injecting Perry at his request, including on the day of his death.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
