Bombshell criminal charges over Matthew Perry’s death coming ‘any day’ & up to 4-year sentences expected, attorney says
CHARGES in the investigation into Matthew Perry’s ketamine death will be filed any day now – and anyone found liable for supplying the drugs that killed the star will face the full force of the law, an attorney says.
Perry was found unresponsive in the hot tub of his LA home on October 28, 2023, having suffered acute effects of ketamine and drowning, his autopsy revealed.
The 54-year-old actor, best known for his portrayal of Chandler Bing in Friends, was found to have similar levels of ketamine in his system as a hospital patient under general anesthetic.
Perry, for years, was frankly honest about his struggles with addiction and had been open about receiving ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression in the months before his death.
However, the star’s last therapy session was a week and a half before he died, and ketamine metabolizes in the human body within hours of consumption – meaning the treatment was not the cause of his sudden passing.
The Los Angeles Police Department launched a criminal investigation in December to determine how Perry obtained the drugs that would ultimately claim his life.
Over the last nine months, the LAPD has been working alongside the Drug Enforcement Administration and the US Postal Inspection Service to re-trace the line of supply.
Some of the detectives working on the case also investigated the overdose death of rapper Mac Miller, who died after consuming a fentanyl-laced opioid in 2018.
Tre Lovell, a veteran entertainment attorney, told The U.S. Sun he believes arrests in the case are imminent and will likely involve multiple people.
Lovell further warned that the charges against anyone accused of wrongdoing will be swift and unforgiving, even though Perry’s death was ruled accidental.
“Charges will be coming any day now,” said Lovell. “This investigation has been going on for a long time, and the leaks are starting to come out, which are probably intentional.
“[Anonymous law enforcement sources] are not going to leak stuff unless they intend on indicting, otherwise they’ll get egg on their face.”
In June, a law enforcement source close to the investigation told PEOPLE the Perry investigation was “nearing its conclusion” and “multiple people” could be charged.
The US Attorney’s Office has the final say on whether or not charges should be filed, the source said.
Lovell says those at risk of being charged could include doctors who may have written Perry an under-the-table prescription, drug dealers who could’ve sold him the ketamine illegally, and friends or associates who facilitated any illicit transaction.
He shared, “There are several ways to impose criminal liability, either through the distribution of a controlled substance, an unlawful act that rose to criminal negligence or recklessness, and even in some cases involuntary manslaughter and mail fraud.
“There cases are tough […] when somebody overdoses, that’s an act of their own volition, so to impose criminal culpability there’s a very high standard.
“They have to get warrants, they have to get subpoenas, they have to get private information from his physician, and this takes a lot of time.”
Depending on what charges prosecutors pursue – if any – accused parties could face prison sentences of anywhere between four and more than 20 years in prison.
Perry’s star power will motivate authorities to prosecute the case to the full extent of the law, Lovell says.
“The reason for this is because there’s a big policy now to attack this kind of drug distribution, with fentanyl at the top of the chain, and these other controlled substances that are floating around, like ketamine.
“The government – both at federal and state level – has a mandate to go after drug dealing like this where there are overdoses, so they’re going after the suppliers – and part of the reason for that strategy is deterrence.
“They want to deter future acts, and the best way to prevent someone from distributing drugs is deterring them from getting involved in the first place.
“Where there’s a high profile victim, and the press is monitoring it, it’s the government’s opportunity to show there are severe consequences for supplying people drugs.
“Not only can you be liable for distributing a drug, you can also be liable for homicide.
“And they’ll want to make that clear in this investigation.”
THE MUELLER REPORTS
The only person so far publicly linked to the Perry investigation is the late actor’s friend, Brooke Mueller, whom he met in rehab.
Over the last few months, Mueller has been the subject of multiple search warrants.
The actress’ LA sober living residence was raided by police in May and her iPhone and a laptop were reportedly seized.
Mueller, an ex-wife of Charlie Sheen, is said to be fully cooperating with the investigation.
A source with knowledge of the matter told InTouch, “She’s hired lawyers and has had multiple meetings with law enforcement since they arrived at her sober living house with a search warrant.
“She’s being tight-lipped about the situation. But the investigators must have known something to get a warrant and turn up like that.
“It’s tough to say or know exactly what her role is [in Perry’s death], but she’s adamant she had nothing to do with that.”
Lovell agreed that for police to have obtained a warrant to search Mueller’s home, there must’ve been strong evidence of a crime potentially having occurred.
“To seize a phone and search a house, you have to get a warrant, and to get a warrant you have to have probable cause,” said Lovell.
“To have probable cause, you have to convince a judge there’s likely a crime going on, and if they’ve been able to get all of that, there’s a strong chance that person is a person of interest.
“We don’t know for sure, but if they’ve gone to those lengths and they have enough evidence to get probable cause for a warrant, then that person is likely suspected of something serious.”
One of Perry’s ex-girlfriends, Kayti Edwards, told The U.S. Sun in June that Mueller and Perry were at one time romantically involved.
Mueller has not publicly been accused of any wrongdoing.
A request for comment has not yet been returned.
In a July statement, an attorney for Charlie Sheen played down Mueller’s connection to the case.
“I believe Ms. Mueller’s past choices may have put her in a position to provide some incidental, anecdotal background to the authorities investigating Mr. Perry’s death. Nothing more,” said Gregory J. Pedrick.
We seem to be getting to the end of this investigation, and what they’re going to do is just try to charge as many people as they can.
Tre Lovell
MYSTERY SECOND CELEBRITY INVOLVED?
InTouch reported in July that a second celebrity friend of Perry’s was being eyed by the LAPD for potential involvement in his death.
The second celebrity has not been named, but a source said while Perry and the unnamed star claimed to be sober they were in fact “walking pharmacies” who indulged in late-night chats about addiction and their battles to stay sober.
The source claimed there was photo evidence of Perry and the anonymous star pictured together at the office of a doctor who is known to prescribe ketamine.
The tipster suggested that Perry and the second celebrity may have “aided” one another by referring the other to their respective doctors whenever their supplies of drugs ran low.
“If the feds had either one of their phones — especially [the second celeb’s], because she doesn’t erase her text messages — they would probably find conversations about the drug and ‘How can I get extra?’ Like, ‘Oh, come see my doctor if you need more,’” said the source.
“It will not look good for the celebrity,” they added.
Matthew Perry’s rollercoaster love life
LONG time bachelor Matthew Perry revealed just a year before his death that he was desperate to settle down and have kids. In a poignant interview in October 2022, the Friends star revealed he was “not afraid of love anymore”.
Here we look at the past loves in Perry’s life – and a crippling co-star crush.
Tricia Fisher
Perry began dating Fisher – half-sister of late Star Wars legend Carrie – while making his film debut, in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, at 18.
Gwyneth Paltrow
Although they never officially dated, Perry revealed he and Gwynnie had shared a brief “make-out session in a closet” the summer before Friends hit the screens in 1994.
He later worried the revelation would upset her, telling GQ: “Hopefully, she’ll find it to be a cute story,” he said. “It’d be bad if Gwyneth Paltrow hated me; I wouldn’t like that.”
Julia Roberts
With Friends just a year old, in 1995, Perry’s newfound fame led to his first high profile romance, with Julia Roberts.
The pair became friends, ahead of the Pretty Woman star’s cameo in the second series of the show, after sending “hundreds” of messages every day – by fax.
Yasmine Bleeth
Shortly after the split from Roberts, the Friends star moved on to the Baywatch star – named in the sitcom as Chandler’s ideal woman.
The pair were actually dating at the time – although neither has spoken about it and the romance, in 1996, fizzled out after a few months.
Molly Hurwitz
The closest the star got to walking down the aisle was with literary manager Molly Hurwitz, who he first met in 2018.
Perry had recently recovered from a near-fatal incident where his colon burst, through opioid abuse, and he was in a coma for two weeks, with his family being told he had a 2 percent chance of survival.
Hurwitz went public with the romance on Valentine’s Day in 2020, when she posted an Instagram message reading: “Second year being my valentine, but his first as an Instagram influencer. HVD to my favorite.”
Six months after announcing the engagement, the pair went their separate ways.
Perry issued a statement saying: “Sometimes things just don’t work out, and this is one of them. I wish Molly the best.”
Lovell believes law enforcement will plan to charge as many people as possible to begin with, and offer deals to lesser offenders to “flip” and testify against the main player or players.
He shared, “We seem to be getting to the end of this investigation, and what they’re going to do is just try to charge as many people as they can.
“Then, if there’s three or four people involved, you can charge everyone and hand out a couple of deals so they flip for the bigger one.
“They don’t want to charge anyone too prematurely, but they want to get as many people in the net as they can because that’s how they build their case.
“It’s going to be very interesting to find out who is involved in all this.”
FORTUNE DISTRIBUTED
Perry was pictured playing pickleball in the hours preceding his death.
At the time of his passing, Perry’s personal wealth was valued at just over $1.5 million, The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed in July.
That sum was directed to go into a trust already said to be worth more than $120 million, and his will named numerous beneficiaries, court documents show.
Perry established his “Alvy Singer Living Trust” in 2009, which is named after Woody Allen’s character in the movie Annie Hall.
He chose his father John Perry, mother Suzanne Morrison, and half-sister Caitlin Morrison as his beneficiaries, along with an old ex-girlfriend, Rachel Dunn.
Court filings obtained by The U.S. Sun and filed in June show his personal property amounted to more than expected.
Lisa Ferguson, the trustee of Perry’s estate, filed an inventory and appraisal document showing a balance of $1,596,914.47.
The Pacific Palisades home where he died is still in Ferguson’s name and is not yet on the market.
Renovation work was being carried out at the home around the time of his death, sources told The U.S. Sun.
Another property Perry purchased before his death under his Alvy Singer, LLC in the Hollywood Hills went on the market for $5,195,000 in May.
Perry had also been renting a three-bed home overlooking Beverly Hills for $49,000 a month while his Pacific Palisades property was being renovated.
Perry has always been open about his struggles with drug and alcohol abuse.
He wrote candidly of his health problems and struggles to stay sober in his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.