World
Matthew Perry's death leads to sweeping indictment of 5, including doctors and reputed dealers
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nearly 10 months after the death of Matthew Perry, the long-simmering investigation into the ketamine that killed him came dramatically into public view with the announcement that five people had been charged with having roles in the overdose of the beloved “Friends” star.
Here are key things to know about the case, including the two key figures who could be headed for trial and the possibility of the steepest of prison sentences.
A sweeping set of indictments
One or more arrests had been expected since investigators from three different agencies revealed in May they had been conducting a joint probe into how the 54-year-old Perry got such large amounts of ketamine.
The actor had been among the growing number of patients using legal but off-label medical means to treat depression, or in other cases chronic pain, with the powerful surgical anesthetic.
Recent reports suggested indictments might be imminent, but few outside observers, if any, knew how wide-ranging the prosecution would be, reaching much further than previous cases stemming from celebrity overdoses.
When Michael Jackson died in 2009 from a lethal dose of the anesthetic propofol, his doctor was charged with providing it. After rapper Mac Miller died in 2017, two men who prosecutors described as a dealer and a middleman were convicted of providing fentanyl-laced oxycodone that helped kill him.
But Perry’s case pulled in both, with indictments against doctors and illegal distributors who prosecutors say preyed on his long and public struggles with addiction. The investigation even went after the live-in personal assistant who prosecutors say helped him get ketamine and injected it directly into him before Perry was found dead in his hot tub on Oct. 28, 2023.
“They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr. Perry. But they did it anyway,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in announcing the charges.
The prosecution was well under way even before the announcement. Two people including the assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, and a Perry acquaintance, Eric Fleming, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute the drug. A San Diego physician, Dr. Mark Chavez, has agreed to enter a guilty plea.
That leaves prosecutors free to pursue their two biggest targets.
The doctor and the ‘Ketamine Queen’
An indictment unsealed Thursday alleges Perry turned to Los Angeles doctor Salvador Plasencia when his regular doctors refused to give him more ketamine. Prosecutors allege Plasencia cashed in on Perry’s desperation and addiction, getting him to pay $55,000 in cash for large amounts of the drug in the two months before his death.
“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia texted a co-defendant, according to his indictment.
He pleaded not guilty to seven counts of distribution of ketamine in an appearance in federal court on Thursday afternoon.
Plasencia’s attorney, Stefan Sacks, said outside court that he “was operating with what he what he thought were the best of medical intentions,” and his actions “certainly didn’t rise to the level of criminal misconduct.”
Prosecutors allege Jasveen Sangha, whom they describe as a drug dealer known to customers as the “Ketamine Queen,” provided the doses of the drug that actually killed Perry, injected into the actor by Iwamasa with syringes supplied by Plasencia.
Sangha also pleaded not guilty. Her attorney Alexandra Kazarian derided the “queen” moniker as made-for-media consumption during the hearing. The lawyer declined comment on the case outside court.
Prosecutors say the other doctor in the case, Chavez, helped Plasencia obtain the ketamine he gave to Perry, while Perry’s acquaintance, Fleming, helped get ketamine from Sangha to Perry.
Chavez could get up to 10 years in prison, Iwamasa up to 15 years and Fleming up to 25 years.
Multiple messages seeking comment from attorneys for the three men were not returned.
Looking ahead to trial
Sangha could get life in prison if convicted as charged, while Plasencia could get up to 120 years. Each has a trial date in October, but it is highly unlikely any would be facing a jury by then, and the two may be tried together. They also could face testimony from the co-defendants who reached plea agreements.
Magistrate Judge Alka Sagar ruled Sangha should be held without bond while awaiting trial, citing prosecutors’ contentions that she had destroyed evidence and funded a lavish lifestyle with drug sales even after Perry’s death.
The judge agreed to release Plasencia after he posted a $100,000 bond.
His attorney argued the Perry case was “isolated” and the doctor should be allowed to treat patients who depended on him at his one-man practice while awaiting trial.
“I’m not buying that argument,” Sagar said, but agreed Plasencia could see patients so long as they signed a document in which he acknowledged the charges.
“People have probably already heard about it from the amount of press,” Sacks told the judge, noting if they hadn’t, they would soon.
Records show Plasencia’s medical license has been in good standing with no records of complaints, though it is set to expire in October and he could face action. He already has surrendered his federal license to prescribe more dangerous drugs.
Pushing back against ketamine
Prosecutors and police presented the Perry case as part of a major pushback against a rise in the illegal use of ketamine that has shadowed the broadening of its legal use.
Los Angeles police said in May they were working with the U.S. Drug Enforcment Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with a probe into how Perry got the drug. His autopsy, released in December, found the amount of ketamine in his blood was in the range used for general anesthesia during surgery.
“As Matthew Perry’s ketamine addiction grew, he wanted more and he wanted it faster and cheaper. That is how he ended up buying from street dealers and stole the ketamine that ultimately led to his death,” U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrator Anne Milgram said Thursday. “In doing so, he followed the arc that we have tragically seen with many others. The substance use disorder begins in a doctor’s office and ends in the street.”
Perry had years of struggles with addiction dating back to his time on NBC’s megahit sitcom, “Friends,” for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. Playing Chandler Bing, he became one of the biggest television stars of his generation alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer.
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Box Office: ‘Backrooms’ Scares Up $38 Million on Friday, Already Shattering Record for A24’s Best Opening Weekend
Kane Parsons’ “Backrooms” has already shattered the record for A24’s best opening weekend.
Adapted from Parsons’ viral YouTube series, “Backrooms” earned $38 million domestic on Friday from 3,442 theaters, and is projected to gross $85 million to $90 million through the weekend. That’s more than triple the previous record holder, Alex Garland’s thriller “Civil War,” which earned $25.5 million in 2024 to claim the title of A24’s best debut.
“Backrooms” follows a small-town furniture store owner who discovers a portal to an otherworldly dimension in his showroom. Cast members include Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve and Mark Duplass. James Wan, Shawn Levy and Osgood Perkins serve as producers. Chernin Entertainment was the co-studio and co-financier of “Backrooms.”
This weekend’s other newcomers include Nate Bargatze’s family comedy, “The Breadwinner,” and Focus Features’ war drama, “Pressure.” “The Breadwinner” fared the best of the two, grossing $2.75 million on Friday from 3,525 North American theaters for a fifth-place finish. By Sunday, it should make $7.5 million.
TriStar Pictures’ “The Breadwinner” follows Bargatze as a dad who is forced to take charge of his chaotic household when his wife leaves on a month long buiness trip. Other cast members include Mandy Moore, Stella Grace Fitzgerald, Birdie Borria, Charlotte Ann Tucker, Colin Jost and Zach Cherry.
“Pressure” landed at No. 6 on Friday with $2.46 million domestic from 1,829 screens. It’s expected to pull in $5.4 million by the end of the weekend. The WWII thriller stars Brendan Fraser as Dwight D. Eisenhower, who must decide whether or not to launch D-Day in the face of brutal conditions. Other cast members include Andrew Scott, Kerry Condon, Chris Messina, Damian Lewis and Tamsin Topolski.
Friday’s silver medal went to Curry Barker’s “Obsession,” which made $8.1 million on its third Friday in theaters. After a stellar $28 million over Memorial Day, the indie horror is expected to make another $28 million by Sunday. That’s a 19% uptick from the $22 million it earned over last weekend’s three-day frame.
“Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” took third with just $6.5 million on its second Friday in North American cinemas, an 70% drop from its opening day. While initial projections saw the Lucasfilm western grossing $40 million by Sunday, that number now looks closer to $25 million, according to rival estimates. That figure would push the film’s domestic total to $136 million through two weekends.
Lionsgate’s “Michael” finished in fourth, adding $3.5 on Friday. It should collect $12.7 million by Sunday, which would bring its domestic earnings to $340 million in six weekends of release.
World
Hamas struggles to fill leadership ranks as Israel hunts Oct 7 terrorists
Gazans react to the killings of Hamas terror leaders
Interviews with Gazans expressing frustration with Hamas leadership after Israel’s killing of senior commanders, as many residents say civilians — not Hamas leaders — have paid the price of the war (Credit: Jusoor News)
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Just before celebrations for Eid al-Adha, a major Muslim holiday, began in Gaza, an Israeli airstrike hit a building in Gaza City, killing Mohammed Odeh, the newly appointed head of Hamas’ military wing, according to Israeli officials and later confirmed by Hamas.
Reports from regional media said members of Odeh’s family were also killed in the strike. Two hours later, Gaza’s markets were full.
Fox News Digital reviewed video filmed in Gaza showing crowded Eid streets, children shopping and families gathering, with little visible reaction to the killing of the Hamas commander Israel described as one of the architects of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
The contrast underscored what many Gazans and analysts describe as a growing disconnect between Hamas leaders and civilians exhausted by nearly three years of war, which has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry — figures that do not distinguish between civilians and combatants — and displaced most of Gaza’s population.
ISRAEL ANNOUNCES IT KILLED ONE OF THE ARCHITECTS OF THE OCT. 7 ATTACKS
Palestinians shop at a crowded Eid al-Adha market in Gaza hours after Israel announced the killing of Mohammed Odeh, the newly appointed head of Hamas’ military wing, in an airstrike in Gaza. (Jusoor News)
Hadeel Oueis, editor-in-chief of Jusoor News, told Fox News Digital the assassinations are creating “a clear vacuum” inside Hamas and weakening coordination between leaders in Gaza and abroad.
“With the deaths of its leaders and the collapse of strong centralized command, Hamas is turning into a smaller militia competing with other armed groups operating in Gaza,” Oueis said. “Hamas is now fighting for survival.”
In a joint statement issued Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said Odeh, who had replaced senior commander Izz al-Din al-Haddad only days earlier, was “one of the architects of the October 7 massacre.”
“Sooner or later, Israel will reach all of them,” Netanyahu and Katz said.
Palestinian Hamas terrorists stand guard in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Feb. 22, 2025, during the handover of hostages held since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack as part of a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner swap deal with Israel. (Hatem Khaled/Reuters)
Inside Gaza, several residents interviewed by Jusoor News said they no longer viewed the deaths of Hamas leaders as personal losses.
“Of course we didn’t feel anything when Haddad, Sinwar, or others were killed,” one Gazan activist and former political prisoner told Jusoor News in an on-camera interview, speaking with his face blurred for safety reasons.
The activist was referring to Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the Hamas military commander Israel said it killed earlier in May, and Yahya Sinwar, the former Hamas leader and chief architect of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, who was killed by Israeli forces in southern Gaza in October 2024.
“Ordinary people are the ones who paid the price, not the leaders who made reckless decisions without thinking,” the activist said.
“As a result, Gaza today is almost completely destroyed,” the activist said. “There are families who have lost everything, while the remaining leaders abroad and inside continue to gamble with our lives constantly.”
GRASSROOTS PUSH FOR FREEDOM GROWS IN GAZA AS HAMAS TIGHTENS ITS DEADLY GRIP
Palestinians shop at a crowded Eid al-Adha market in Gaza hours after Israel announced the killing of Mohammed Odeh, the newly appointed head of Hamas’ military wing, in an airstrike in Gaza. (Credit: Jusoor News)
A Gaza-based journalist echoed the frustration.
“When we heard about the killing of Izz al-Din Haddad or others, we were not affected,” the journalist said. “What is even more painful is that the children of the leaders live outside Gaza, in Turkey and Qatar, driving luxury cars and living comfortable lives, while people here have almost gone back to the Stone Age.”
Another Gaza journalist and human rights advocate told Jusoor Hamas had harmed Palestinians as much as Israelis.
“I do not see the deaths of the leaders as losses for the Palestinians, because we ordinary people are the ones who paid the price,” the advocate said. “Honestly, Hamas did not only hurt the Israelis — they hurt us as well.”
At the same time, Israeli analysts caution that the repeated assassinations do not necessarily mean Hamas is close to collapse.
Michael Milshtein, an expert on the Palestinian arena, told Fox News Digital that Hamas unquestionably has suffered severe damage since Oct. 7, 2023, particularly with the deaths of veteran commanders who helped build the organization’s military structure and doctrine.
ISRAEL, HAMAS CEASEFIRE DEAL COULD ENABLE REARMING OF GAZA TERRORISTS
Palestinians shop at a crowded Eid al-Adha market in Gaza. (Jusoor News)
“Almost nobody remains from the core group that planned and led the October 7 attack,” he said.
But he noted that Odeh himself had been viewed largely as a second-tier figure before the war rather than an obvious successor to Hamas’ historic military leadership.
“The people replacing them are far less experienced, less capable and far less charismatic,” Milshtein said.
Still, he argued, Hamas continues to maintain functioning chains of command and ideological cohesion despite the losses.
“People know they are likely going to die, and they still compete for these leadership positions,” he said.
The debate over Hamas’ future comes as international efforts to shape a postwar political framework for Gaza accelerate.
TRUMP-BACKED BOARD OF PEACE, ISRAEL ‘WILL TAKE ACTION’ IF HAMAS REMAINS OUT OF COMPLIANCE: NETANYAHU ADVISOR
Hamas militants carried coffins believed to contain the bodies of four Israeli hostages during a handover to the Red Cross in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on Feb. 20, 2025. (Eyad Baba/AFP)
Nickolay Mladenov, who was appointed High Representative for Gaza under the Board of Peace initiative, published the core elements of a proposed 15-point “Roadmap to Complete the Implementation of President Trump’s Gaza Comprehensive Peace Plan.”
The proposal includes a phased Hamas disarmament process, internationally supervised security reforms and the establishment of “one authority, one law, one weapon” inside Gaza.
“Gaza cannot recover while armed groups simultaneously operate as governing authorities,” Mladenov wrote while outlining the proposal on social media.
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Displaced Palestinians, including families and children, wait in line to receive hot meals distributed by charities ahead of iftar in Khan Yunis, Gaza. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu)
For many Gazans exhausted by years of war, displacement and destruction, the deaths of Hamas leaders now appear to carry less emotional weight than the hope that the conflict itself could finally end.
“Gaza cannot remain hostage to the idea of permanent war while civilians alone pay the entire price,” one activist said.
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