The police investigation into Matthew Perry's death has officially been closed.
The Friends star was found dead in the hot tub of his LA home on October 28th. His death was ruled an “accident” and Los Angeles police confirmed to People magazine that they have now closed the case.
Perry's case with the Los Angeles County coroner is also now considered closed, online records show.
The cause of death was given as the acute effects of ketamine. Drowning, coronary heart disease and the effects of buprenorphine, a prescription drug often used to treat opioid addictions, were cited as contributing factors.
Police confirmed they have completed their investigation into the death of Friends star Matthew Perry
In his last post on Instagram, posted the week of his death, the star shared pictures of himself in his hot tub next to his infinity pool
Forensics determined the actor had similar levels of ketamine in his system as a hospital patient under general anesthesia when he was found.
Perry's blood ketamine levels were 3,540 ng/mL in peripheral blood and 3,271 ng/mL in central blood.
For a patient under general anesthesia in the hospital, a blood ketamine level of 1,000-6,000 ng/ml is normal, the coroner said.
“Drowning is a contributing factor as there is a likelihood of him submerging himself in the pool while becoming unconscious; Coronary artery disease contributes, as the myocardial effects on the heart caused by ketamine are exacerbated.
“Buphrenorphine effects are listed as contributing due to additive respiratory effects at high concentrations of ketamine, although not at toxic concentrations.”
He had no alcohol, cocaine, heroin, meth or fentanyl in his system.
Perry, 54, was found face down in the hot tub by his assistant, stunning the world of show business and breaking the hearts of fans worldwide.
He received ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression, the coroner reported – but the last session was a week and a half before his death, and the ketamine is only in your body for three to four hours, meaning that's not the case was directly leading to his death.
Friends star Matthew Perry was killed by ketamine and drowning, his death ruled an accident. He is pictured on October 22 – the last time he was seen in public
Perry was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills at a service attended by former cast mates Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, Courtney Cox and David Schwimmer
His death came a year after he published a memoir detailing his long-standing struggles with addiction that continued during the filming of “Friends.”
“Given the high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood samples, the fatal consequences would be primarily due to overstimulation of the cardiovascular system and respiratory depression,” concluded forensic pathologist Raffi Djabourian.
The week before his death, Perry shared an eerie Instagram post showing himself relaxing in the hot tub at his home, where he was later found. He was last seen in public on October 22nd.
His death came just a year after he wrote a comprehensive memoir about his battle with addiction.
Perry wrote that he spent $9 million trying to get sober, attended 6,000 AA meetings, went to rehab 15 times and detoxed 65 times.
At his lowest point, he was taking 55 Vicodin a day to fuel his addiction.
He said he overcame addiction in 2021 and is living a healthier lifestyle with the help of his “sober companion” Morgan Moses, mentioned in the memoir under the pseudonym “Erin.”
He was buried in an intimate ceremony at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills attended by his Friends co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, Courtney Cox and David Schwimmer.