Matthew Perry lawyer reveals 'disturbing' texts between doctors charged with death
A lawyer who led the investigation and brought charges surrounding Matthew Perry 's death has spoken out about the "disturbing" text messages between doctors Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez - who pled guilty to drug offenses.
Speaking to ITV's documentary Matthew Perry: A Hollywood Tragedy, lawyer Martin Estrada detailed the evidence against the two doctors, who have pleaded guilty to supplying the Friends star with ketamine. The actor died in October 2023 aged 54.
He was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his home in the Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, having overdosed on the drug ketamine. It comes after 'Ketamine Queen' to stand trial over Friends star Matthew Perry's death as court date set.
In August last year, five people were charged over the actor's death, with Plasencia, Chavez, Matthew's personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, acquaintance Erik Fleming and 'Ketamine Queen' Jasveen Sangha being arrested.
Fleming, Iwamasa and Chavez pled guilty shortly afterwards, while Plasencia agreed to plead guilty in June this year. Sangha has pleaded not guilty, with her trial set to take place next month.
Opening up about the texts between Drs Plasencia and Chavez in the documentary, Martin Estrada said: "Dr. Pacentia was very clear in text messages and other messages in saying that he saw this as an opportunity to make a lot of money in a short amount of time.
'He allegedly did just that. The indictment contains evidence that he sold in a month 20 vials of ketamine to Mr. Perry in exchange for $55,000.'
'They even talked about the fact that this wasn't the right way to administer ketamine yet this was a golden opportunity to make money. At one point, Dr. Plasencia writes to Dr. Chavez, 'I wonder how much this moron will pay.''
Former LA police officer Greg Kading added: 'There was just such a degree of almost disdain for Mr. Perry and these are medical doctors.'
'They were using an encrypted app. Often times people think that because it's an encrypted app, law enforcement can't access it but that's not the case. Often times law enforcement is ahead of the game. Within the indictment, there's a whole plethora of criminal activity. Dr. Placentia even teaches Mr. Iwamasa how to do the injections.
"Allegedly, you have Dr. Placentia providing ketamine to a live-in assistant who has no medical training whatsoever and that live-in assistant is administering the ketamine to a person whose risk factors are through the roof."
The documentary looks back on Matthew Perry's career, struggle with addiction and investigation surrounding his death. Last week, his on-screen mum Morgan Fairchild revealed that she had tried to help him beat his addiction to drugs.
Matthew Perry: A Hollywood Tragedy airs tonight at 9pm on ITV1.
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