Arabic version: امرأة من لوس أنجلوس تتلقى حكمًا بالسجن 15 عامًا بسبب وفاة ماثيو بيري
A Los Angeles woman dubbed the “Ketamine Queen” has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for selling drugs that led to the death of Friends actor Matthew Perry. Jasveen Sangha, 42, pleaded guilty to five charges, including one count of distributing ketamine resulting in death or bodily injury. According to BBC News, prosecutors described Sangha’s North Hollywood home as a “drug-selling emporium,” selling a range of drugs to wealthy and well-connected clients.
Perry, who had struggled with addiction for years, was found dead in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home in October 2023. Investigators determined his death was caused by the acute effects of ketamine. Sangha sobbed as relatives of Perry addressed the court, before the judge announced her sentence. The judge noted that she had shown no remorse in the years since her arrest.
Given her opportunity to address the court, Sangha admitted that her poor decisions had shattered people’s lives, and that she was deeply ashamed and sorry for what she did. Ahead of Sangha’s sentencing, Perry’s stepmother Debbie Perry asked the judge to hand the maximum possible prison sentence, stating that Sangha caused “irreversible” damage.
Federal authorities found dozens of ketamine vials during a raid at Sangha’s Los Angeles home and accused her of supplying the injectable drug from her “stash house” in North Hollywood since at least 2019. Thousands of pills that included methamphetamine, cocaine, and Xanax were also found. Sangha initially denied the charges but agreed to change her plea in August, just weeks before her trial was scheduled to begin.
As part of her plea agreement, she also pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to a man named Cody McLaury in August 2019, who died hours after the purchase from a drug overdose, according to the justice department. She faced a maximum sentence of 65 years in federal prison. Sangha has been detained since August of 2024, according to her attorneys.
Sangha is one of five people – including medical doctors and the actor’s assistant – who US officials say supplied ketamine to Perry, exploiting his drug addiction for profit, and leading to his overdose death. The other four also agreed to plead guilty to charges in the case. Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who supplied the actor with ketamine in the weeks before his death, was sentenced in December to 30 months in prison. Also in December, Dr. Mark Chavez, a California doctor who sold the ketamine to Perry, was sentenced to eight months of home detention and three years of supervised release. Perry’s live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, who helped purchase and inject the actor with ketamine, is scheduled to be sentenced later this month but his legal team has requested a postponement.
