Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - “FRIENDS” MATTHEW PERRY OD DEATH IN HOT TUB: Doctor Guilty!

Episode Date: August 2, 2025

In his 2022 memoir, "Friends, Lovers, and the Big, Terrible Thing," Matthew Perry claimed to have been to rehab 15 times, detoxed 65 times, and spent about $7 to $9 million trying to get sober.     Two years after his near-death experience, Matthew Perry goes to a Rehab facility in Switzerland. He admitted to faking pain symptoms to get Oxycontin during COVID. He was also getting daily Ketamine infusions. Ultimately it was Ketamine that killed him.   On October 28, Matthew Perry went to his country club to play a game of Pickleball with friends. Perry returned to his home after the game and was seen by his assistant, who was leaving the house to run errands. At 4 p.m., the assistant returned home and found Perry floating face down in the heated end of the pool.  Paramedics pulled Perry out of the pool and pronounced him dead at the scene. Jasveen Sangha, known as the "Ketamine Queen,"  sold the drug involved in Matthew Perry's death.  She remains in custody.  Court documents reveal the close ties between Sangha, drug dealer Eric Fleming, and Perry's assistant Kenneth Iwamasa. Iwamasa told Fleming he "cleaned up the scene" by disposing of ketamine vials and syringes and "deleted everything." Fleming then informed Sangha that he believed they were protected since he never dealt with Perry directly, only through Iwamasa, who would be considered Perry's "enabler." In their communications, Sangha and Fleming refer to Perry using the code name "Chandler,"   Now the doctor who called Perry a moron, who's directly implicated in Perry’s ketamine overdose, Dr. Salvador Plasencia,  admits his guilt in Perry's death.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime stories with Nancy Grace. The death of Friends superstar Matthew Perry has reverberations that continue up until even now. even now. The world stunned when Matthew Perry found dead at his own home. Why? An OD of ketamine. In the last days, a stunning guilty plea. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. That's right. In the last days, a formerly renowned doctor pleads guilty, a doctor who was the primary target in the investigation of the OD of Matthew Perry, pleads guilty to supplying Perry with ketamine despite knowing the Friends star was a struggling addict. Dr. Salvador Placencia, the fourth of five people charged in Perry's death, pleads guilty.

He and another, a woman who prosecutors say was a major ketamine dealer, face the most serious charges after Perry discovered dead in the hot tub of his LA home. Placencia stands next to his lawyer in court and says guilty four times for four different counts in front of Judge Sherrilyn Pease Garnett in federal court. Placencia 43 was set to go to trial until the doctor just agreed to plead guilty. Now this is according to a signed document we got our mitts on that was filed in federal court in LA.

While these charges can carry up to 40 years behind bars, trust me, he's going to be sentenced to a lot less. How did the whole thing unfold? The same way I like to start every jury trial, let me start with the 911 call. Listen. Inter-23, Ressie 23, EMS 9. Inter-23, Ressie 23, EMS 9, all radio, this part of the drowning

****** crosses us for a few drives. Inter-23, Ressie 23, EMS 9. ****** You can't tell a lot, but I learned something significant. Let's hear that one more time, Sid. Inter-23, Ressie 23, EMS 9. ****** But I learned something significant. Let's hear that one more time, Sid.

Now, some of those numbers are universal. Sometimes you hear numbers across a police band or on an EMS that are specific to that region. But what I'm hearing that really jumps out at me is response to the drowning. So at the beginning, it was believed that the Friends of Stark died of drowning because that's what was reported to them. But what do we really know? Take a listen to our friends at Crime Online. The Los Angeles Medical Examiner determined

that 54-year-old Matthew Perry died from the acute effects of ketamine. Other contributing factors listed were drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine. Buprenorphine is used to treat opioid use disorder. The manner of death has been ruled an accident. Okay, see, I'm a trial lawyer and that is why the medical examiners and everybody at the crime lab would go hide under their desk when they saw my beat-up Honda pulling up because they knew I was

going to go through it line by line, literally, to make sense of what they wrote down in their scientific findings. What acute effects of ketamine, other contributing factors were drowning, coronary artery disease, buprens- blub blub blub used to treat opioid disorder, manner of death accident. There's so much there. I could do a whole flowchart on that to try to explain all that to a jury. Luckily, we have experts with us,

but first, I'm gonna go to a special guest joining us. Miguel Melendez joining us, senior writer for ET Entertainment Tonight. Miguel, what a pleasure to have you on. Man, this sent shock waves through not only Hollywood, but across our country because I'm going to follow this up with our shrink, Karen Stark. We think we know Matthew Perry. Why? Because we've seen him on the big screen. We've seen him on the little screen. We follow him in the tabloids, we think we know him and about his life, we've been following his struggle with addiction,

and a lot of people can identify with that. If you haven't had that struggle, then somebody you know, somebody close to you has had that struggle. So Matthew Perry was kind of like every man that was struggling with a lot. But to you Miguel Melendez, I want to go before I get into Matthew Perry himself and how it ended up this way, I want to talk to you about what happened, what surrounded the discovery of Matthew Perry dead in a hot tub leading up to that. Tell me about the discovery and what came out at the time that he was first

discovered dead in the hot tub. Right, so what we know the timeline is that at 11 a.m. Matthew had played pickleball. At 1 37 p.m. is when Matthew was last known to be alive by his personal live-in assistant who lived with him in the Pacific policy home. He was off to run errands at 1 37 p.m. The living assistant returned home and found Matthew floating face down in the jacuzzi. The assistant jumped into the pool, moved Matthew into the sitting position on the steps of the pool and found him by the way in the on the heated side of the pool called 911. Paramedics arrived and they moved and they pulled Matthew out of the pool.

Okay, hold on, Miguel, you're giving me so much information so quickly. I'm drinking from the fire hydrant because Miguel, you know, I like to dissect every single sentence and I loved everything you just said as far as factually what I'm learning. Could you say it again and very slowly?

Okay, did you say the live-in assistant found him? Yes. Okay, why did Matthew Perry have a live-in assistant? That I can answer you, Nancy. I don't know the exact circumstances of what led to that. I do know that the live-in assistant based on this report is that he administered the detox drug on Matthew twice a day. That's important, Miguel Melendez.

Hold on, Miguel, hold the thought. Guys, with me, he's a senior writer for Entertainment Tonight. You all know him, Miguel Melendez, giving us everything we need to know to analyze this drug, ketamine, that claimed the life of Matthew Perry. Karen L. Stark joining me,

renowned TV radio trauma expert at karenstark.com. Karen with a C if you're trying to find her. Karen, so is it like a minder you have with AA? That, I don't think they call it a minder. They call it something else. Someone that checks in on you. It's like your partner, your buddy, that's who you call when you have a problem

or you're gonna relapse. Is that what you think is happening here? He had somebody to help him? It's called a sponsor. And his assistant, she was his sponsor. She was his minder, as you said, Nancy. So she was there. She was his minder as you said Nancy So she was there she could not stop him from taking something but certainly was trying that was her role to make sure that he was on the straight and narrow and

Sticking to his determination to stop and he was very open about it But he really did want to stop taking drugs recreationally. He really did and he made no secret about it. What led up to that moment Miguel Melendez is describing, but first again Miguel could you tell me the assistant comes in, you said he was near the heater end of the hot tub? Correct. So at 4 p.m. the live-in assistant walks in from running errands,

finds Matthew Perry floating face down in the jacuzzi in the heated end of the pool. The assistant jumped into the pool, moved Matthew into the sitting position on the steps of the pool and called 911. Paramedics soon arrived, pulled Matthew out of the pool onto the grass, where he was pronounced dead at the scene. You know, I think I had it bass aqua, Miguel Melendez.

I was saying hot tub because I've read Jacuzzi, but was the Jacuzzi or the hot tub part of the pool? Was he in a pool or was he in a hot tub or jacuzzi? It looked like it was a long pool that has a jacuzzi in it. They're not two separate. OK, that makes perfect sense. OK, guys, what led up to this moment? Take a listen to our friend, Nicole Parton.

Matthew Perry went to his country club to play a game of pickleball with friends around 11 a.m. Perry returned to his home after the game and was seen by his assistant who was leaving the house to run errands at 1 37 p.m. At four o'clock p.m. the assistant returned to the home. Investigator Jennifer Herzog says the assistant found Perry floating facedown in the heated end of the pool. The assistant jumped into the pool and moved him into a sitting position on the steps and called 911. Paramedics responded, pulled Perry out of the pool and onto the grass and pronounced

him dead on the scene at 417 PM. His stepfather, Keith Morrison, is listed as the informant, which means the Dateline host is who identified Perry to authorities. Oh my goodness, that must have been so horrible on the stepfather to have to do that. After the struggle Matthew Perry went through so publicly against substance abuse, Mike McCormick joining me out of LA, owner, lead investigator, MCM Investigations. Mike McCormick, thank you for being with us. I'm very curious. Matthew Perry had been so open and public about his battle with addiction. Who, I mean, even I know about that, 2,000

miles away, who would be supplying him drugs, ketamine and all the other things in his system? It was either prescribed to him, the ketamine was prescribed, or he's getting it off the street. There's only several ways of doing it. My understanding is that the, from his assistant or, uh, assistant or past girlfriend, uh, Miss Edwards, that, uh, she's been involved with him off and on from about 2006, and she used to purchase his drugs off the street, uh, for him.

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. CRIME STORIES WITH NANCY GRACE In the last days, a U-turn. Dr. Salvador Pocencia, the doctor who supplied Matthew Perry with ketamine, knowing that Perry struggled with addiction, had insisted on a trial, pled not guilty, but then takes a surprise plea deal. Why?

Is a sweetheart deal in the works? Of course, he's going to stay on bond awaiting sentencing. That never bodes well. What happened to Matthew Perry? And what role in his death did Plasencia play? Federal prosecutors allege that Perry first obtains ketamine from an unscrupulous doctor aiming to take advantage of the actor's addiction issues. Dr. Salvador Plasencia teaches Perry's live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, how to administer the drug and provides ketamine to both Perry and Iwamasa at exorbitant prices. When the drugs become too expensive, Perry and Iwamasa turn to street dealers, including Jasveen Songha, dubbed the ketamine queen.

What? In the last hours, a very dear and intimate friend of Matthew Perry says, she doesn't think that ketamine is the cause of death. Why? And what would be the cause of death? And what leads her to say that? This is what the medical examiner has to say. The Los Angeles medical examiner determined that 54-year-old Matthew Perry died from the acute effects of ketamine. Other contributing factors listed were drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine. Buprenorphine is used to treat opioid use disorder. The manner of death has been ruled an accident.

Joining us in an All-Star panel to make sense of what we are learning right now, but with me, a special guest, Rowena Chu, activist and former assistant to Harvey Weinstein. His name tastes like dirt in my mouth. Convicted on multiple rapes and she has just written a New York Times guest essay, I was a celebrity assistant. The power imbalance is very real. Rowena Chiu, thank you for being with us. I enjoyed your article. I read it

several times over and I tried to compare what you're saying and your situation with Harvey Weinstein, may he rot in hell, to Matthew Perry's assistant. Number one, Matthew Perry was not a criminal and was not a rapist, number one. But you point out assistants often do things that are, let me just say, legally and ethically questionable. In your case, what does that mean? In my case, I worked for Harvey for only a couple of months and so I didn't have the opportunity to do things that were ethically and legally immoral. But I was making the point that the power imbalance is so huge that assistants don't get the chance to say no.

You also pointed out a quote that compared assistants that may do illegal acts or unethical acts to the guards at Auschwitz, that they knew what was happening was wrong. And you make a very subtle yet important distinction. Explain. The comparison was really with ordinary folks that lived in Nazi Germany, whether or not you can hold them accountable for the events that happened in the country. So I'm really making a point about bystanders that don't have any real power themselves and they are essentially invisible or they don't have an identity of their own and they don't have

the autonomy to make decisions. And so I feel that celebrity assistants, I also call them butlers, I constantly felt that I was invisible, I had no autonomy, I frequently didn't really have a name of my own. I would call people up and say, I'm calling from Harvey Weinstein's office, but I wouldn't mention my own name because I was added significant. So when you're in a power balance where you're that insignificant, I think it is incredibly difficult to be then thrust into the spotlight and held responsible for something as serious as somebody's death. I think that I am attempting to shed light on the fact that

Kenneth Iwamasa may have had absolutely zero choice in a way that the ordinary person can't understand. He was a living assistant. The power imbalance would have been enormous. At the end of your article, I noted that you stated it is often too easy to turn the butler into the scapegoat. Do you believe that Matthew Perry's assistant who injected him with that deadly dose is a scapegoat? I think he might have been put in an incredibly difficult situation. Not only was his employment on the line but likely his involvement in the industry as a whole. It could have been that he did not have another residence. And so, as a live-in assistant, you know, really there's a power bank dynamic on many different levels. I also think in the Weinstein case, at least, that there were many circles of power, enablement, and entitlement

that were far more deserving of perhaps the legal system going after them than assistants. For example, Harvey Weinstein had accountants and board members that certainly knew of what was happening. So, I think the assistants, I'm merely making the point that the assistants, I suppose, are the lowest rung on the ladder. And I think to hold them accountable and responsible for the actions taken by a celebrity doesn't take into account the enormous power difference between a celebrity and his assistant.

Rowena Chiu is joining us, activist, former assistant to Harvey Weinstein, who has just written a guest essay for the Times titled, "'I Was A Celebrity Assistant, "'The Power Imb and Balance is Very Real. Ms. Chi, I deeply respect you and what you have to say and your viewpoint, and I highly, highly disagree with you. In your case or some other assistance, not necessarily Weinstein's other assistance. Comparing that to what Iwamasa did in Perry's case, knowing that he had had seizures just

16 days where he was unable to move or speak after a ketamine injection, knowing that, I consider this much, much more serious. But I'll circle back to you, Miss Chew, in just one moment. And again, I do appreciate what you're saying, but I find it vastly, vastly different than the case of Matthew Perry's assistant. Speaking of the facts, let's go to Kayla Brantley, joining us, investigative reporter with The Daily Mail,

who's been on this case from the very, very beginning. What I find very interesting right now is that it's all business as usual. Matthew Perry dies in the hot tub with a fatal overdose. The doctor had to put up like a hundred thousand dollar bond. Really? That's ten thousand dollars and regular people talk. You put up 10%. He's gone. He's out. The so-called ketamine queen has not been sentenced. The assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, has not been sentenced. Why? I think that the feds... Have you ever seen a cat with a little mouse just back and forth and back and forth until it bites its head off? I think that's what the feds are doing right now.

They're playing, toying with the various defendants in order to get them to talk. To name other celebrity doctors and other pill mills headed by doctors in LA and other celebrities. I think that's what's happening. But you kill a Brantley Daily Mail. Tell me the latest. We've got the doctor back to work. A lot of people haven't been sentenced.

The other celebrity doctors, including one that just got shot in the last day, a celebrity doctor, he was assassinated in his parking lot following all of the drama surrounding Matthew Perry's death and what's being uncovered. Hamid Mershoye was shot in his parking lot. He was a celeb doctor focusing on addiction. But I bet a lot of celebrities and A-list doctors are quaking in their boots right now, Kiella. What's happening? Yeah, Nancy.

So what we know so far, at least when it comes to Matthew Perry, is that Dr. Salvador Placencia, he is back practicing. He is forbidden by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the DEA, from prescribing controlled substances. He turned over his license that would let him prescribe, but he can still practice medicine under certain conditions. He works at an urgent care in Malibu. And the only difference now is that his patients have to sign a written consent form for treatment

that basically acknowledges and discloses that he is under investigation. It lets them know what's going on, but his patients can still see him. He can still practice. The only difference is that he cannot provide, lethal doses of ketamine as he is alleged to have done to Matthew Perry.

And the same goes for Dr. Mark Chavez who has also surrendered his DEA license and therefore cannot prescribe the control substances. However, these men are out, able to practice, able to continue living their daily lives. As you said, Dr. Placencia put up $100,000 bond and he's out, but they will have to wait for something and see if they can continue to live their life

or if they'll face music. Continue to live their life, Kayla Brantley, Daily Mail, Matthew Perry can't live his life and he's not the only one. We now have identified two potential suspects, but two potential victims, other victims of the Ketamine Queen, both dead. But right now to Mike McCormick, owner, lead investigator, MCM Investigations, former LAPD, over 25 years. You can find him at MCMMmother, C Corpus, mmotherinvestigations.com, Mike. Really?

Boo hoo. He can't prescribe control substances. That's his punishment. He's back in his fancy sports car and his fancy condo and his fancy office to the stars making money hand over fist. He can't prescribe DEA controlled substances. I guess not. But you know what he can do? He can illicitly get another doctor, a straw doctor, as it were, to write those prescriptions

for him. Let me think of an example. Okay, psychologists cannot prescribe certain medications, right? They can't. They work in tandem with a psychiatrist and they get the psychiatrist to write the prescription. See what I mean? So he can be doing that. He can have a straw doc actually write the prescriptions. This is such BS. Why is he not in a jail cell? Perry is dead.

And you know what? Everybody's talking about his net worth. In fact, his home is being remodeled near the hot tub. Man, that's going right on the market. It's like it never happened. Exactly. Exactly. This is an outcome of a linear justice system.

Joining me, psychoanalyst to the stars, Dr. Bethany Marshall, author of Dealbreaker, and you can also see her on Peacock and find her at drbethanymarshall.com. Dr. Bethany, I want to circle back with you about how this doctor continued treating celebrity patients with the use of a straw doctor, how easy that would be. But we now know this doctor, this doctor knew very well that Matthew Perry had actually seized up. In other words, he could not speak or move for an extended period of time to 16 days before he died. Yet, everything was business as usual. Listen.

Details of Perry's last days in a federal indictment reveal it was very clear to Dr. Placentia that Perry's ketamine injections were causing a total loss of awareness. The indictment documents three separate occasions where Perry froze up after receiving the medication with Placentia commenting, let's not do that again. Defendant Placentia knew full well the danger of what he was doing. In fact, on one occasion, he injected Mr. Perry with ketamine, and he saw Mr. Perry freeze up and his blood pressure spike. Despite that, he left additional vials of ketamine for defendant Iwamasa to administer

to Mr. Perry. And he's free. If you or I caused the death of a superstar like Matthew Perry, we would be under the jail. So why is he free? And why is it very murky, very unclear as to the status of the other defendants? Because the feds are squeezing them to talk. That's why.

Joining me, Todd Barr, Dr. Todd Barr, board certified anatomic clinical forensic pathologist. I'm very curious. Oh yes, he's also featured in Thin Places essays, essays from in between. Doctor, thank you for being with us. I've been researching and investigating what exactly happened to Matthew Perry when he

quote froze up. That's hardly a medical description. But I've learned that there was apparently a significant spike in his systolic blood pressure. What does that mean? Hi, Nancy. Thank you. So, a spike in his systolic blood pressure just means that he is having

a hypertensive crisis. His blood pressure is elevated to a point. Okay, right there. Right there. What do you mean hypertensive crisis? That means his blood pressure is at a high level, such a high level that it could cause death. I mean, people die from extreme fluctuations in their blood pressure. Blood pressure is supposed to live in an average and a normal range. If you get too high, it's hypertensive. If you get too low, it's hypotensive. And either of those hyper or or hypo, can cause death. So when he quote, froze up, what does that indicate to you? Is that some sort of a stroke or a near stroke? What's a systolic spike in blood pressure?

I would say the term froze up to me sounds more like a seizure like activity, like a tonic, clonic seizure where the muscles contract and you get into this. Ketamine is actually known for its anti-convulsive properties. It's used to treat seizures, but in high doses, it can actually cause seizures. And as we know by the reports that are out there, Mr. Perry was administered extremely high doses of this drug ketamine, which is an anesthetic drug. He was actually found with levels that were compatible with surgery and anesthesia that

you would need for surgical procedures. It reminds me a great deal of Conrad Murray injecting Michael Jackson with propofol and it took hell and high water to get Conrad Murray charged and convicted. But even that conviction was not enough to send sufficient shockwaves through the Celebrity Doctor Network in Hollywood, and now Matthew Perry is dead. You know, it's, Kayla Brantley is joining me, investigative reporter with The Daily Mail. Kayla, I understand that the doctor who is now living life, he's not in jail, like everybody else would be connected to a death, he would provide the medication,

the ketamine, along with ketamine queen, for the assistant to make at home ketamine injections. Now I heard what Rowena Chiu said that the power balance is way off, but shouldn't you know instinctively, especially after Perry was having seizures just days before, that you should not be injecting ketamine to Matthew Perry at home. I mean, this assistant needs to be in jail along with the doctor and the ketamine queen, the street supplier.

They all need to be in jail and we need to know their sentences. So what's happening, Kayla? I don't understand. What's the holdup? Right, well, Nathie, I also want to break down exactly how much ketamine was distributed to Matthew Perry. The doctors Chavez and Placencia distributed

20 vials of ketamine to Perry for $55,000 in cash that's charging him $2,000 for a vial and that vial cost Dr. Chavez just $12. So you can imagine how much money they were making off Perry. And that's the point that the prosecutors were making. Now the Ketamine Queen, Sanga, she sold about 50 vials of the drugs to Perry with Fleming delivering the product that Eric Fleming, the Hollywood producer, and they sold it to him for $11,000.

So these people were making a lot of money off of Perry's addiction and they clearly knew as you said he was soothing up and then you had the person who was injecting him who was his trusted assistant. So you make a great point that you know these people should be held accountable and that's exactly what the prosecutors are trying to do. They distributed approximately 20 vials of ketamine to Mr. Perry in exchange for $55,000 in cash. Defendant Placentia saw this as an opportunity to profit off of Mr. Perry.

He wrote in a text message in September 2023, quote, I wonder how much this moron will pay. He also stated in text messages that he wanted to be Mr. Perry's sole source of supply. He wrote in a text message that he wanted to be Mr. Perry's quote, go to for drugs. Matthew Perry's assistant allegedly found Perry in similar circumstances two times in the same week of his tragic death. Joining us Rowena Chiu, former assistant to Harvey Weinstein who just wrote a New York

Times guest essay, I was a celebrity assistant, the power imbalance is very real. You just heard other examples that celebrity assistants have named. Do you believe that in this case, the assistant is being scapegoated, or do you believe he is rightfully being prosecuted as it relates to Matthew Perry's death? I do believe he's being scapegoated. I mean, we just heard about how other players in this system are making insane amounts of money. And I asked you to think about what does the assistant stand to gain? In that equation-

What does the money have to do with it Rowena? Would it make it okay if he was paid more money? Oh no, absolutely not. I'm not saying that anybody was doing anything right. However, there's a big difference between the amounts of money the doctors and the drug dealers were making and what did the assistant stand to gain? I believe the assistant was just trying to survive. He wasn't making staggering amounts of money the doctors and the drug dealers were making and what did the assistant stand to gain? I believe the assistant was just trying to survive. He wasn't making staggering

amounts of money and so therefore his incentive to do what he did was very different from the doctors and the drug dealers. He wasn't out there trying to get something for himself. He was merely trying to survive his job. There's a big difference in that. So you believe the difference in whether he should be held criminally culpable is whether he was getting paid for shooting Matthew Perry up to his death? I don't think that there's a huge incentive for him to push this agenda. And therefore, I don't believe that he was pushing

the agenda. He was merely doing what he was told to do under incredibly strenuous circumstances. So I'm merely saying that as a point of coercion, the assistant is not really the person who should be scapegoated. That there are layers of privilege and abuse of power that are far greater than that. And, you know, we can easily point to doctors and drug dealers who were making vast amounts of money and had a huge incentive to push this kind of an agenda. And are actually still making vast amounts of money. Mike McCormick joining me, leading investigator of MCM investigations in Hollywood.

Mike McCormick, all respect to Rowena Chu, but I think that's complete BS. I don't agree at all. Everybody in Hollywood is making money off celebs. Celebs are making money off the studios. The studios are making money off us and advertisers. That's how it works in Hollywood. It's like one bloodsucker sucking on the next bloodsucker just like ticks, you know, stuck to the animal.

But Mike McCormick, why aren't they in jail, number one? And what do you make of what Rowena is saying? That the assistant is the scapegoat. I think they should all be put in the same pot to boil and all be tried together as it relates to Perry's death. Well, I don't think the assistant is being scapegoated. I just think he was being more loyal, just doing what the boss wanted him to do. It had nothing to do with money. It was job security and loyalty. Okay, hold on just a moment. Dr. Bethany Marshall, maybe I'm not articulating my point that well.

The assistant lives in a mansion. He makes plenty of money. He rubs elbows with all of the stars. He drives a beautiful luxury car. Maybe I'm not understanding his poor conditions. I don't see it. Nancy, I have a unique perspective on this because these assistants sometimes come to my office. One in particular was

the major domo for one of the wealthiest men in the world and had to stand around serving palomas to the family all day long, alcoholic beverages. And he became so disgusted because one of the family members was drunk all day long. He was traumatized. He came to therapy and said, I just cannot do this anymore. And he left the job. So yes, these assistants are vulnerable in the sense that they often do things they don't want to do, but they do have agency in the world.

And I think in particular, when you are potentially committing homicide, that's a breach of duty. That's lack of judgment that a 10-year-old knows not to do. We just know basically you don't kill somebody. If you administer a drug they seize, you don't administer the drug again. I mean, I'm sorry, but this assistant could have gone and worked at a bar. I would prefer to scrub floors than to

inject somebody with a substance that could kill them. It is just common sense. Of course, there's a power imbalance. Of course, there's a power imbalance in life for all of us. Exactly. You know, Kayla Brantley, I want to follow up on what Dr. Bethany is saying. Kayla Brantley joining us from Daily Mail. Kayla, we understand that Matthew Perry's mansion is being renovated, especially around the hot tub, the pool area where he died. It seems as if for Hollywood, including the prosecutors,

it's just business as usual. The doctor is back in his clinic treating patients, making a ton of money. There are no sentences on the people that have agreed to plead guilty. It just seems as if everyone's acting as though nothing happened. Matthew Perry is dead. These people, according to the feds, are responsible. Why aren't they behind bars, Kayla? And what, if anything, can you tell me about when these people are going to jail? And one other question, apparently one of Perry's intimate friends states that he, Perry, was deathly afraid of

needles and she is questioning the real COD killer. Listen. One of Perry's former assistants and ex-girlfriend Katie Edwards says she does not believe Perry the Perry's response, quote, You only die when you use needles and I would never ever do that. Kellebrantley, what about it? This person, an intimate friend of Perry's, raising the specter of another COD cause of death. I understand that, Nancy, but it was Katie Edwards. She dated him back in 2006, worked as his assistant until like 2011. So while they were still friends, they hadn't dated in a while.

And I understand that she said that he had a fear of this. But Matthew Perry himself had written in his book about these ketamine infusions that he was taking and how it felt and how it was helping him. So I personally am not so sure of that theory. And you do have his assistant and everyone basically admitting to injecting him. And back to your point of why aren't these people, you know, behind bars and what's going on. I think right now it's just a waiting game. We have had plea deals which have gotten us more information from the assistant, from the friend, from one of the doctors. So I think we will be seeing more in due time. There will be a sentence.

They will end up facing the consequences of their actions. CRIME STORIES WITH NANCY GRACE Now in a statement, Plasencia's lawyer reads out, Dr. Plasencia is profoundly remorseful for the treatment decisions he made while providing ketamine to Matthew Perry. What? He can't even say, I'm sorry, himself?

Plasencia is pleading guilty to drug distribution and will surrender his medical license. I know that much. I wonder what the sentence will be. I know that in exchange for guilty pleas, prosecutors have agreed to drop three additional counts of distribution and two counts of falsifying records. Hmm. What more do we know about his role in the Friends star's death?

Did the drug dealer dubbed the Ketamine Queen refer to Matthew Perry by his friend's character name? And that would be his affinity, Matthew Perry's affinity with Batman. And he would call himself Mat Man. But according to sources, the so-called Ketamine Queen, Jasveen Songhart referred to him as Chandler in their texts and emails when they would talk about drugs and drug deliveries. emails when they would talk about drugs and drug deliveries. Codename Chandler. Wow, that was a toughie.

Apparently celebrities and celebrity doctors alike across Hollywood are quaking in their boots afraid that the so-called ketamine queen is going to rat them out in exchange for a sweetheart deal from the feds. The so-called ketamine queen, the one that supplied Matthew Perry with the deadly dose of ketamine that ended in his death. Are there other victims? Yes. Listen. Jasveen Sangha sells Cody McLaury several vials of ketamine. Later that same day, McLaury's the the the the the

the the the the the the the the

the the the the the the the the

the the the the the the the the feds. The feds are the only ones who are not allowed to be in the feds. The feds are the only ones who are not allowed to be in the feds. The feds are the only ones who are not allowed to be in the feds.

The feds are the only ones who are not allowed to be in the feds. The feds are the only ones who are not allowed to be in the feds. The feds are the only ones who are not allowed to be in the

feds. The feds are the only ones who are not allowed to be in the feds. The feds are the only ones who are not allowed to be in the feds. The feds are the only ones who are not allowed to be in the feds. The feds are the only ones who against the Ketamine Queen and is she talking is she making a deal with the feds to get a light sentence in exchange for ratting out other celebs and other

doctors man she needs a lot of money to support this lifestyle so what is the connection between the Ketamine Queen and the other alleged victims, all dead. Coming to light are Brooke Mueller's deep ties to suspects Fleming and Songha. Mueller spent time with Songha in one of her many rehab stints, and Fleming is reportedly a godfather to one of Mueller's children. Mueller reportedly pressured then-boyfriend William Cooney to join her at pal Fleming's rehab program where Cooney overdosed and died. Mueller may well have introduced Fleming and Songha to Perry as shortcuts to feed his addiction. Federal prosecutors report that Mueller is cooperating with the

investigation and is not facing any charges. Let me understand, Kayla Brantley joining us from DailyMail.com, the so-called Ketamine Queen, Songha, meets up with who in rehab? Now let me see, it's Brooke Mueller, who apparently was very close to Matthew Perry. Now how does that connect in to Songha, the dealer? Well, all roads are kind of leading back to having Songha, the Ketamine Queen. She was a supplier of multiple people. And now we do find this connection between Brooke Mueller, who spent time with Matthew Perry in rehab.

They were close friends. And then we have Eric Fleming, who was a director at the rehab center, where this man, William Cooney, had passed away. So it was all a circular connection of going back to Sangha and I have been on the radar for a while back in March 2024. The feds raided her house and they called it a drug emporium. They seized 79 bottles that some had tested positive

for ketamine. So this is no surprise that Jasdeen Sangha is involved in this Matthew Perry case now. Two more alleged victims of this woman living the high life that supplied the deadly dose to Matthew Perry. Now would he be her third victim? Why has it taken that to bring her to justice? Are those investigations ongoing now? This, by far, is not the first time a celebrity has died with enablers circling them like vultures. Listen. Now an emergency. Hi, how you doing? This is security from Beverly Hilton.

Hi, what's going on? I need the paramedics. Apparently I got a 46-year-old female found in the bathroom. That's all I've got right now, but they're requesting paramedics. Ah, okay. So you found the bathroom and what room is she in? I'm not sure. She fell or she was in the bathroom with the water. 4-6-4? 4-3-4, I'm sorry. That's room 4-3-4? Yes. Okay, and it's not east-west or anything else? It's room 4-3-4? That's right.

Yeah. Okay, and you don't know if she's conscious of breathing at all? Apparently she wasn't breathing and she's 46-year-old. She was not breathing? Yes. Whitney Houston, surrounded by enablers, ultimately it cost her her life. Then there is John Belushi, one of the greatest comedians that ever lived. He was shot up with drugs at the Chateau Marmont and his assistant did hard jail time after shooting him up. Bobby Christina, Whitney's daughter, OD. It goes on and on and on. Of course, Michael Jackson, Aaron Carter, Chris Farley went to rehab 16 times. His younger brother finds him dead in his apartment. Of course, Prince died of a deadly opioid injection.

It goes all the way back to Elvis. China, Amy Winehouse, Anna Nicole spiraled down a drug hole while everyone supported that and enabled her. Kurt Cobain, River Phoenix. It goes on and on and the enablers are never brought to justice. Straight out to Mike McCormick, MCM Investigations. Don't you know the Ketamine Queen and all of them, they're like rats on a sinking ship, are ready to deal, ready to name names,

addresses, phone numbers, little black books to save their own skin. You don't think they're talking to the feds right now? Oh, absolutely. Yeah, they're gonna tell them everything they want to know to stay out of jail. To Todd Barr joining us, Dr. Barr, board certified anatomic clinical forensic pathologist. Dr. Barr, what do you notice about the death certificate? So Nancy, I have a lot of real issues with the way this case was decided.

As a forensic expert, I have been involved in prosecutions of crimes that involved other people distributing or administering drugs to a victim. The very definition of a homicide is death at the hands of another, period, whether it's by omission or commission. In this case, commission, they brought in drugs, they injected them into Matthew Perry's body. They should be charged with a homicide. They should be charged with murder straight up. Everyone that's involved. Now, the second part of this is the official cause of death was listed as the acute effects of

ketamine and then other conditions or contributing conditions included drowning. Now there are certain stigmata of drowning that you see at autopsy. If those are present, then a drowning occurred. So Matthew Perry's death is literally because of drowning, but then there's a part B or drowning due to the intoxicating effects of ketamine. So he was so dissociative and anesthetized that he slipped under the water. If they're going to list drowning as a contributing factor, then that means they had evidence that he drowned.

So it should have been listed as a drowning number one due to the effects of ketamine and the manner of death should have been listed as homicide. So I have a very strong opinion about the way this death certificate was worded. And I believe that sometimes when it's worded this way, defendants get off a lot easier. Now, I don't know if in LA they have something going where they word these death certificates in a way so people get off a little easier, but that's my take.

To Rowena Chiu joining us, former assistant to Harvey Weinstein, now activist, who has just written a New York Times guest essay called I Was A Celebrity Assistant, The Power and Balance is a very real thought to you Rowena. What do you make of it all? I think there are levels of power that we could go after that are much more intense than that of the assistant. I think the assistant being the lowest rank on the ladder probably is the last person that anyone should go after

because he has very little autonomy. I'm not saying that no one should be held accountable. I'm saying that there are levels of power above him that should be accountable before he is. Dr. Salvador Placencia has been free on bond since his arrest all the way back in August, and he will remain free until his sentencing on December 3. So what's there to complain about? It has been said he is not a flight risk. I don't know about that, but I do know he was well aware Matthew Perry was using ketamine that he wasn't addict, yet he still handed it over hand over fist. Of course, the doctor

leaves the courthouse surrounded by lawyers without speaking to anyone gathered outside. Now according to reports, Placencia in a text message called Matthew Perry a quote, moron who he Placencia could exploit for money. That's the doctor. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.