Matthew Perry died from acute effects of ketamine, other contributing factors: Autopsy

Matthew Perry died from the acute effects of ketamine, according to the autopsy report released Friday by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

The “Friends” actor died on Oct. 28, 2023. He was 54 years old.

The autopsy listed drowning, coronary artery disease and buprenorphine effects as contributing factors not related to the immediate cause of death. The manner of death was ruled an accident.

In a statement the day after responding to his home, the Los Angeles Police Department said Perry “was discovered by a witness unresponsive in his jacuzzi.”

“The Los Angeles City Fire Department responded to the scene and pronounced Perry deceased,” police said.

There were no signs of foul play at the scene, according to law enforcement sources. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner positively identified the body as Perry.

Matthew Perry visits SiriusXM Studios on Nov. 1, 2022 in New York City.

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Perry was on ketamine infusion therapy, with the most recent therapy 1 1/2 weeks before death, according to the autopsy report.

He had high levels of ketamine in his blood, and likely lapsed into unconsciousness and then went under the water, the autopsy report said.

He was reported to have been receiving ketamine infusions for depression and anxiety, according to the report, but the medical examiner writes the ketamine in his system at death could not have been from that infusion therapy because ketamine’s half life is 3 to 4 hours or less. His method of intake is listed as unknown.

Prescription drugs and loose pills were found at his home, but nothing close to the pool where he was found dead, the report said.

The LA County Medical Examiner confirmed to ABC News on Oct. 29 that an autopsy was performed, but his cause of death remained pending due to toxicology results.

Perry was known for playing Chandler Bing on the hit sitcom “Friends,” which ran from 1994 to 2004. He also starred in several TV series, including “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” and films like “17 Again” and “Fools Rush In.”

Matthew Perry appears on stage at the 2023 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the University of Southern California on April 22, 2023 in Los Angeles.

David Livingston/Getty Images, FILE

But outside of his achievements in film and television, Perry had said he wants people to remember him for helping others.

“When I die, I don’t want ‘Friends’ to be the first thing that’s mentioned,” Perry said in an interview on the “Q With Tom Power” podcast in 2022. “I want [helping people] to be the first thing that’s mentioned, and I’m gonna live the rest of my life proving that.”

In his memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” released in 2022, Perry opened up about his addiction to alcohol and prescription painkillers, which were triggered after a doctor prescribed him Vicodin following a jet ski accident.

The actor told Diane Sawyer in a “20/20” interview that by speaking out about his struggles with addiction and recovery, he hoped to “help as many people as I can.”

The late actor also started a sober house to aid others in their struggle with addiction.

“If they’ve gone through anything close to what I went through, I can come in and help,” he said.