Matthew Perry's death reconstructed minute by minute: His grim last words... the hot tub 911 call... and the cover-up before police arrived

On Saturday, October 28, 2023, Matthew Perry woke early. Across the course of what should have been an average day, he played pickleball, watched a movie and took a dip in the hot tub at his 3,500sq ft home in the Pacific Palisades.

None of this would have generated much interest had it not been for the simple fact that before the sun had set, the actor, forever known for his portrayal of Chandler Bing in Friends, would be dead. At 4pm, he was found face down and unresponsive in his hot tub. The death was rendered all the more shocking for the truth that emerged with his passing.

The actor who had made it his life's mission to speak on sobriety and document his supposed journey towards it had never actually achieved it – his recovery was as much an illusion as the character for which he became so beloved.

Documenting his ketamine use in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry wrote about the infusion therapy to treat depression and anxiety during the COVID pandemic, ultimately determining 'ketamine was not for me.'

In his memoir, he described himself as 'pretty safely sober' when, in fact, Perry was anything but. He was spiraling out of all control, wanting more ketamine than any ethical doctor would legally prescribe. The Los Angeles Police Department opened an investigation and ultimately, five individuals – including Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry's former live-in assistant and Jasveen Sangha, a dealer known as 'The Ketamine Queen' – were charged.

Now, using many of the details outlined in Iwamasa's plea agreement in which he pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death in return for 41 months in federal prison and a $10,000 fine, the Daily Mail has pieced together a minute-by-minute account of the final hours of Perry's life.

8.30am

Iwamasa, 60, gives Perry his first injection at his Pacific Palisades home. Iwamasa uses syringes obtained from Salvador Plasencia, a physician from Santa Monica, and ketamine obtained from Sangha.

In the month leading up to Perry's death, the actor and his assistant paid Plasencia more than $31,000 in cash for ketamine that the doctor was able to obtain from his doctor friend Mark Chavez. 

Plasencia injected Perry several times in September and October 2023 and taught Iwasama how to administer the dissociative hallucinogen typically given in a clinical setting under strict medical supervision.

Perry also obtained ketamine from Sangha. Erik Fleming, a once-licensed drug counselor, delivered 75 vials of Sangha's ketamine to Perry between October 13 and October 25 of 2023. Perry paid Fleming and Sangha $18,000 in cash. 

The third and final batch that Fleming delivered included the fatal dose that would lead to Perry's death.

Around 11am

Perry leaves his home to play pickleball – key in his recovery – at the private Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles located less than seven miles from his home.

Although he often played with his personal coach and friend Matt Manasse, Perry hits the pickleball court with a different coach on October 28.

Manasse later told People that while the other coach did not reveal how long the two lobbed the ball back and forth that day, she noted that the actor had 'been doing really well on court, which wasn't a surprise.'

Perry, who picked up pickleball while navigating his addiction issues, played the sport four or five days a week, according to Manasse.

In his youth, Perry was a top-ranked junior tennis player. He often practiced for ten hours a day and considered a tennis career until he moved to Los Angeles to live with his father when he was 15.

'He fell in love with the sport and he really wanted to use it for his recovery,' Manasse, who began playing with Perry in 2021, told NBC.

'It was sort of his new thing he could get behind and have on his calendar. Everyone who came in contact with him really cared about his recovery journey, and the flip side is he really cared about us. He cared about your success just as much as his own.'

12.45pm

Perry heads home and at 12.45pm, Iwamasa gives Perry his second injection of the day as the actor watches a movie.

1.25pm

Perry asks his assistant to prepare the hot tub and to give him another shot of ketamine. In the four days leading up to his death, Perry was receiving six to eight daily injections from his assistant – so even after this injection, it's quite possible he expected three to four more doses to get through the day.

While some mental health patients receive daily doses of ketamine as part of their treatment, it is rare for them to receive multiple doses in one day. Its effects are almost immediate and many who have been treated with the drug describe feeling like they're floating out of their body and seeing shifting and colorful visuals.

Before Iwamasa gives Perry his third injection on this October Saturday, Perry instructs his assistant to: 'Shoot me up with a big one.'

1.30pm

Iwamasa administers the substantial ketamine dose, per her boss's orders.

Leaving Perry by himself in the hot tub, Iwamasa leaves the premises to run errands.

4pm

Iwamasa returns to discover his boss face down in the gurgling water.

4.07pm

Iwamasa calls 911 and pulls Perry's head above water and over to the side of the hot tub. The Los Angeles Fire Department sends first responders to Perry's Palisades address to treat what they describe as a 'water emergency of an unknown type.' Police officers from the West Los Angeles Division are also on the scene.

But a quick medical assessment reveals the situation is beyond all hope.

4.17pm

Perry is pronounced dead.

10.35pm

The medical examiner arrives at Perry's house.

Perry's mother Suzanne Perry and his stepfather Keith Morrison are out walking their dog when they receive the tragic news.

Morrison, a longtime 'Dateline' correspondent, rushes to Perry's home, where he crosses police tape into the scene of the crime and identifies his stepson's body.

1.06am – Sunday, October 29

The medical examiner leaves with Perry's body.

Authorities say they did not find any illegal drugs at the scene. The death is believed to be a drowning.

The LAPD's investigation into Perry's death later reveals that police did not find ketamine at Perry's home because Iwamasa hid the drugs before first responders arrived.

The autopsy will conclude that while drowning contributed to Perry's death, the main cause of death is the acute effects of ketamine.

Six days later

Perry's funeral is held on November 3 at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park – near the Warner Bros. Studio where he and his castmates filmed Friends.

The private ceremony – held from 3pm to 5pm – is attended by his father, John Bennett Perry, his mother, stepfather and Friends' co-stars. The emotional duet 'Don't Give Up' by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush – which Perry called 'the soundtrack' to his memoir – plays at the service.

'It's just beautiful,' he said of the song during the book's press tour.

'It's saying don't give up. I mean come on, how am I not going to like that?'

The aftermath

Initial autopsy results were inconclusive, but on December 15, 2023, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's office revealed that the primary cause of death was the acute effects of ketamine. Drowning was listed as the secondary cause.

One month later, in January, 2024, a search warrant is served at Perry and Iwamasa’s home.

The Los Angeles Police Department opened an investigation into how the sitcom star obtained so much ketamine and ultimately five individuals – Iwamasa, Sangha, Erik Fleming, Dr Salvador Plasencia and Dr Mark Chavez – were charged for conspiracy to distribute ketamine.

All five pleaded guilty. Iwamasa was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Fleming got two and Plasencia got two and a half. Chavez received eight months of home detention. Sangha was sentenced to 15 years in prison.