'Ketamine Queen' sentenced to 15 years in prison for actor Matthew Perry's death

WASHINGTON: Jasveen Sangha, known as the 'Ketamine Queen', was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the drug case that led to the death of Hollywood star Matthew Perry. The US court issued the sentence on Wednesday. She was the main suspect among the five people arrested in connection with Matthew Perry's death. Jasveen, 42, is a British-American citizen of Indian origin who regularly supplied drugs to Hollywood celebrities.

Jasveen, a London-born Punjabi drug dealer, was based in Los Angeles and was a dealer who only had customers in the elite clan, including Hollywood's wealthy and celebrities.

In 2023, Popular sitcom ‘Friends’ actor Matthew Perry was found dead in the hot tub of his luxury mansion. The cause of death was later confirmed to be a ketamine overdose. The prosecution found that in the months leading up to Matthew Perry's death, Jasveen had delivered 51 vials of ketamine. They had delivered the drug to the actor's assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, through a man named Eric Fleming.

After the news of the actor's death broke, Jasveen sent a message to Eric Fleming, asking him to delete all the messages. The conversations that took place via the Signal app were later recovered by the investigation team.

The court observed that Jasveen, who was highly educated and had a wealthy family background, entered the drug trade for money and glamour. The prosecution alleged that, in addition to Matthew Perry, the ketamine that Jasveen distributed also resulted in the death of another person, Cody McClury, in 2019. She continued to trade despite knowing that people were at risk of dying if they consumed the drug.

Although defence lawyers argued for leniency in the sentence, considering that Jasveen confessed to the crime and had no prior criminal record, the court rejected it. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Jasveen has been in federal custody since August 2024.