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Nancy Grace
This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.
Andrea Gunning
This is Andrea Gunning from Betrayal Weekly. This is a stunning story based on the hit true crime podcast Betrayal. He was a tall, handsome police officer, the man of her dreams. Caroline knew right away he was the man she would spend her life with. But then she got a text that changed everything. The man she loved was having affair after affair with so many different women in his cop car while on duty. I implore you to watch Betrayal Dirty Secrets now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney.
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Amazon Pharmacy Presents Painful Thoughts it's been
Wendy Patrick
a long, bumpy road dealing with yet
Nancy Grace
another bladder infection and driving to the
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pharmacy to pick up meds.
Nancy Grace
I went over a pothole and a little pee came out, so now I get to stand in line with pee pee pants.
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Troy Millings
This is Troy Millings from Earn your leisure. When traveling for events or festivals throughout the country, every dollar matters. We compare flights, prices, hotel rates and restaurant options. So why wouldn't we compare rides? Personally, I always check Lyft before booking a ride. Prices can change throughout the day depending on traffic, weather and what's happening in the city. If you're headed to a concert, out to dinner, or catching up with your friends on a Friday night, taking a few seconds to check Lyft could leave you with more money to enjoy the experience. Save money. Check Lyft.
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Nancy Grace (Crime Stories Segment)
Friends star, TV and movie icon Matthew Perry's sisters blast Perry's assistant who they say, quote, repeatedly injected him with ketamine, leaving him in a hot tub to die. I'm Nancy Grace, this is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. That's right, Matthew Perry's sisters call out Perry's assistant Kenny Iwamasa for, quote, repeatedly injecting him with ketamine that turned deadly on the day the Friends star died in his own hot tub. According to Madeline Morrison, Perry's sister, quote, he injected my brother with a lethal dose of ketamine and left him in a hot Tub to die. She goes on. It's difficult to put into words the sense of betrayal I felt when I found out what Kenny had done. These are, according to court filings, what happened to Matthew Perry.
Nancy Grace
Let me start with the 911 call. Listen.
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Engine 23, Rescue 23, EMS9. Agent 23 Rescue 23, EMS9. All on radio respond to the drowning process serve few drive. Engine 23, Rescue 23, EMS9.
Nancy Grace
You can't tell a lot, but I learned something significant. Let's hear that one more time.
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SID 23, EMS 9. Engine 23 Rescue 23, EMS 9 all in radio respond to the drowning cross the circuit. Engine 23 Rescue 23, EMS 9.
Nancy Grace
Now, some of those numbers are universal. Sometimes you hear numbers across a police ban or on an EMS that are specific to that region. But what I'm hearing that really jumps out at me is response to the drowning. So at the beginning it was believed that the friends start died of drowning because that's what was reported to them. But what do we really know? Take a listen to our friends at Crime Online.
Nicole Parton
The Los Angeles medical examiner determined that 54 year old Matthew Perry died from the acute effects of ketamine. Other contributing factors listed were drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine. Buprenorphine is used to treat opioid use disorder. The manner of death has been ruled an accident.
Nancy Grace
Okay. See, I'm a trial lawyer and that is why the medical examiners and everybody at the crime lab would go hide under their desk when they saw my beat up Honda pulling up because they knew I was going to go through it line by line literally to make sense of what they wrote down in their scientific findings. What acute effects of ketamine. Other contributing factors were drowning, coronary artery disease, bupr used to treat opioid disorder, manner of death, accident. There's so much there. I could do a whole flowchart on that to try to explain all that to a jury. Luckily, we have experts with us. But first I want to go to a special guest joining us, Miguel Melendez. Joining us, senior writer for etc. Entertainment Tonight. Miguel, what a pleasure to have you on. Man, this sent shock waves through not only Hollywood, but across our country because I'm going to follow this up with our shrink, Karen Stark. We think we know Matthew Perry. Why? Because we've seen him on the big screen, we've seen him on the little screen, we follow him in the tabloids. We think we know him and about his life. We've been following his struggle with addiction. And, and a lot of people can identify with that if you haven't had that struggle and somebody, you know, somebody close to you has had that struggle. So Matthew Perry was kind of like every man that was struggling with a lot. But to you, Miguel Melendez, I want to go. Before I get into Matthew Perry himself and how it ended up this way, I want to talk to you about what happened, what surrounded the discovery of Matthew Perry dead in a hot tub leading up to that. Tell me about the discovery and what came out at the time that he was first discovered dead in the hot tub.
Miguel Melendez
Right. So what we know, the timeline is that at 11am Matthew had played pickleball. At 1:37pm is when Matthew was last known to be alive by his personal live in assistant who lived with him in the Pacific Palace. He's home. He was off to run errands. At 1:37pm the Living Assistant returned home and found Matthew floating face down in the Jacuzzi. The assistant jumped into the pool, moved Matthew into the sitting position on the steps of the pool and found him, by the way, on the heated side of the pool. Called 911. Paramedics arrived and they moved and they pulled Matthew out of the pool.
Nancy Grace
Okay, hold on, Miguel. You're giving me so much information so quickly. I'm drinking from the fire hydrant because, Miguel, you know, I like to dissect every single sentence. And I loved everything you just said. As far as factually what I'm learning. Could you say it again and very slowly? Okay. Did you say the live in assistant found him?
Miguel Melendez
Yes.
Nancy Grace
Okay. Why did Matthew Perry have a live in assistant?
Miguel Melendez
That I can't answer you, Nancy. I don't know the exact circumstances of what led to that. I do know that the live in assistant, based on this report, is that he administered the detox drug on Matthew twice a day.
Nancy Grace
That's important. Miguel Melendez. Hold on, Miguel. Hold the thought. Guys with me. Senior writer for Entertainment Tonight. You all know him, Miguel Melendez, giving us everything we need to know to analyze this drug, ketamine, that claimed the life of Matthew Perry. Karen L. Stark, Joining me, renowned TV radio trauma expert@karenstark.com, karen with a C, if you're trying to find her. Karen. So is it like a minder you have with a. That. I don't think they call it a mind or they call it something else. Someone that checks in on you. It's like your partner, your buddy, that kind of. That's who you call when you have a problem or you're going to relapse. Is that what you think is happening here? He had somebody to help him.
Karen Stark
It's called a sponsor. And his assistant. She was his sponsor, she was his. Mind her, as you said, Nancy. So she was there. She could not stop him from taking something, but certainly was trying, that was her role, to make sure that he was on the straight and narrow and sticking to his determination to stop. And he was very open about it. But he really did want to stop taking drugs recreationally.
Nancy Grace
He really did. And he made no secret about it. What led up to that moment? Miguel Melendez is describing. But first, again, Miguel, could you tell me, the assistant comes in. You said he was near the heater end of the hot tub.
Miguel Melendez
Correct. So at 4pm the live in assistant walks in from running errands, finds Matthew Perry floating face down in the Jacuzzi in the heated end of the pool. The assistant jumped into the pool, moved Matthew into the sitting position on the steps of the pool and called 911. Paramedics soon arrived, pulled Matthew out of the pool onto the grass, where he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Nancy Grace
You know, I think I had it bass ackwards. Miguel Melendez. I was saying hot tub because I've read Jacuzzi, but was the Jacuzzi or the hot tub part of the pool? Was he in a pool or was he in a hot tub or Jacuzzi?
Miguel Melendez
It looked like it was a long pool that has a Jacuzzi in it. They're not two separate.
Nancy Grace
Okay, that makes perfect sense. Okay, guys, what led up to this moment? Take a listen to our friend Nicole Parton.
Nicole Parton
Matthew Perry went to his country club to play a game of pickleball with friends around 11am Perry returned to his home after the game and was seen by his assistant who was leaving the house to run errands at 1:37pm At 4:00pm the assistant returned to the home. Investigator Jennifer Herzog says the assistant found Perry floating face down in the heated end of the pool. The assistant jumped into the pool and moved him into a sitting position on the steps and called 911. Paramedics responded, pulled Perry out of the pool and onto the grass and pronounced him dead on the scene at 4:17pm his stepfather, Keith Morrison, is listed as the informant, which means the Dateline host is who identified Perry to authorities.
Nancy Grace
Oh my goodness, that must have been so hard. Horrible on the stepfather to have to do that after the struggle he, Matthew Perry, went through so publicly against substance abuse. Mike McCormick joining me out of LA. Owner lead investigator, MCM Investigations, Mike McCormick. Thank you for being with us. I'm very curious. Matthew Perry had been so open and public about his battle with addiction. Who I mean, even I know about that 2,000 miles away. Who would be supplying him drugs? Ketamine and all the other things in his system.
Miguel Melendez
It was either prescribed to him, the ketamine was prescribed, or he's getting it off the street. There's only several ways of doing it. My understanding is that the from his assistant or past girlfriend, Ms. Edwards, that she's been involved with him off and on from about 2006 and she used to purchase his drugs off the street for him. So the ketamine and other drugs he may have been taking could come from either source.
Andrea Gunning
This is Andrea Gunning from Betrayal Weekly. This is a stunning story based on the hit true crime podcast Betrayal. He was a tall, handsome police officer, the man of her dreams. Caroline knew right away he was the man she would spend her life with. But then she got a text that changed everything. The man she loved was having affair after affair with so many different women in his cop car while on duty. I implore you to watch Betrayal. Dirty Secrets now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney.
Ryan Reynolds
Hi, Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Are you looking for a beach read this summer? May I suggest your big wireless bill? It's got suspense, mystery, a slightly flat emotional arc, and a shocking twist where you realize you've been overpaying the entire time. Fortunately, though, Mint's story is better. Every plan $15 a month, even unlimited. That's it. Happy ending, zero tears. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment
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Nancy Grace
Thoughts I I can't stop scratching my downtown. Mm, yeah, but I'm not itching to go downtown and tell a receptionist I'm here to talk about my downtown. Some things you'd rather type than say out loud.
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Nancy Grace
Grace
Nancy Grace (Crime Stories Segment)
Friends Superstar Matthew Perry is dead and seemingly everyone involved in his death is getting slaps on the wrist. The so called assistant Iwamasa allegedly lied to Perry's alums. The so called personal assistant Iwamasa allegedly lied to Matthew Perry's relatives about what happened the day Perry died in his Pacific Palisades home. Perry's sister Madeline says, quote, everything I believed about the day Matthew died, everything Imamasa told us was a lie. She went on, the idea someone my brother considered family could betray him in such an unimaginable way is something I could never have conceived. Why is she so angry? With facts like these, what sister wouldn't be?
Wendy Patrick
This is Wendy Patrick. It looks like the assistant that was living with Matthew Perry at the his death as a man named Kenny Awamasa.
Nancy Grace
Right.
Wendy Patrick
Not, not the prior, not a prior girlfriend or a female assistant.
Nancy Grace
You're right. Wendy Patrick. Guys, you're here in California. Prosecutor and author of why Bad Looks Good? Wendy patrick@wendypatrickphd.com the Star of Today with Dr. Wendy on KCBQ. I was just coming to you, Wendy, on another point, a legal point, and that is I saw the trial go down. I don't know if you remember Archie Bunker of All in the Family. When his son died of an overdose, he went after the supplier in the Fulton County Courthouse. And I was just wondering, Wendy, about people knowing about his public struggle against addiction. I mean, he wrote about it, he talked about it, very open about it. Who would supply someone battling addiction with drugs?
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Yeah, it's a great question.
Wendy Patrick
When you have, when you're talking about somebody that's supposed to be a confidant, a sponsor, a helper, a minder, we have all these terminology, these terms that we use. It's very different than a Michael Jackson situation where you actually have somebody medically administering a drug who would do it. I would have to say, Nancy, as you and I and our listeners know the same people that are selling drugs to begin with, maybe some, somebody that doesn't know him well enough or because it was prescribed lawfully for a medicinal purpose, somebody that honestly, although mistakenly thought that he needed it or could handle it in different doses. You know, ketamine, if it's being supervised, is used certainly not very, not as often as many other drugs. But you have to believe whether or not somebody thought they might be doing him a favor. If he was depressed, if he was
Nancy Grace
suicidal, they could not have been more wrong. And if it comes out that we can find the supplier or someone who aided or abetted him, I want you to just think about this. Wendy Patrick, about criminal charges. Joining me right now is the expert in this field, as far as I'm concerned, The preeminent expert, Dr. William Maroney, medical examiner, toxicologist, pathologist, opioid treatment expert, author of American Narcan, which is on Amazon. Dr. Maroney, take a listen to what we've learned about the autopsy.
Nicole Parton
Matthew Perry's autopsy report doesn't say how or when Perry used ketamine prior to his death, but the coroner ruled out the ketamine treatments he had a week and a half before his death because ketamine has a half life of three to four hours or less. The report notes at the high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression. Drowning contributes due to the likelihood of submersion into the pool as he lapsed into unconsciousness.
Nancy Grace
And that's not all, Dr. Maroney. Wait for it. I would never have imagined this goes into the cocktail.
Nicole Parton
The autopsy report noted Matthew Perry's history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema and diabetes. The report mentions Perry's past drug use, but notes Perry had reportedly been clean for 19 months. The new York Post reports that in the autopsy report, a comment is made about Perry undergoing ketamine infusion therapy, most recently one and a half weeks before his death. The report states ketamine treatments are for anxiety and depression, but ketamine in the system couldn't be from the infusion therapy. Dr. Bankhole Johnson, one of the leading neuroscientists and physicians in the field, tells the New York Post that ketamine in Perry's system is more likely from recreational use.
Nancy Grace
Male hormone testosterone injections. And there's one more ingredient. Why was Matthew Perry getting injections of the male hormone and testosterone? Listen.
Narrator (Celebrity Stories)
According to Matthew Perry, he had been clean for 19 months. But the Daily Mail reports the actor died from an overdose of the party drug ketamine. According to the autopsy report, a detective who attended the scene of Perry's death said, during my investigation, no alcohol, illicit drugs or drug paraphernalia were found. The Daily Mail also claims the 54 year old was getting injections of the male Hormone, testosterone. And an unnamed female associate claimed the injections were causing him to be angry and mean for the last couple of weeks.
Nancy Grace
From my point of view, Dr. Maroney, as a lay person and not a doctor, an MD like you, if something causes you to be angry and mean, it makes me wonder if it also didn't jack up his heart rate, this male testosterone injection. But, I mean, I don't know what to make of it, Dr. Maroney, because you've got ketamine, you've got testosterone, you've got the opioid treatment drug. There's so much going on there.
Amazon Pharmacy / Amazon Health AI Announcer
What you have is a cocktail of disaster because you probably are dealing with multiple doctors that are not communicating. Nobody's coordinating his care. And if he's getting ketamine, as it said in the autopsy, there's ketamine contents in the stomach. That would be ketamine pills. That's a rogue doctor. Somebody, outside of good practice guidelines, giving pills they have no business giving in addition to ketamine treatments.
Nancy Grace
I mean, isn't ketamine used by vets so animals don't have pain during operations?
Amazon Pharmacy / Amazon Health AI Announcer
Yeah, it helps with anesthesia for your cats and dogs, but at low doses, it's been shown to be beneficial in massively unstable major depressive disorder. But guess what? That acceptable therapy is nasal. It's a nasal spray with your psychiatrist.
Nancy Grace
Wait, what? You're saying ketamine, which many people believe is just used by veterinarians, now people are using it, and you're saying that the only approved way for it to be used by people is by a nasal spray?
Amazon Pharmacy / Amazon Health AI Announcer
The acceptable FDA approved, supervised ketamine treatment is to go see your psychiatrist, have an appointment, get a nasal spray, and stay until you're stable and have a counseling session. What you have here is somebody keeps saying, well, he's in treatment, he's in recovery, he's not getting enough psychosocial therapy because he's impaired, he's impulsive, he's. He's processing poor decisions because he doesn't have that counseling part linked to all this medicine.
Nancy Grace
What is ketamine?
Amazon Pharmacy / Amazon Health AI Announcer
Ketamine is a class of medicine that works on transmitters called glutamate.
Nancy Grace
Oh, dear Lord in heaven. Speak English, man. What? Speak English. I mean, is this something I've got to worry about? They're going to have in the halls of my twins high school. I mean, I hear about ecstasy, coke, marijuana, blah, blah, blah, blah, but ketamine.
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Ketamine's been abused for 20 years in drug culture and drug use.
Nancy Grace
But is it Traded freely on the street.
Amazon Pharmacy / Amazon Health AI Announcer
It is on the street. You can buy it. If you can ask for it from your dealer, they'll get you some. But it's FDA approved as a nasal spray and he's not getting the FDA approved version.
Nancy Grace
Okay, I heard somebody jumping in. Is it Wendy or Karen Stark?
Karen Stark
Karen. It's used as a club drug. It started years ago, Nancy, but it's continuing. People do use it recreationally, but it's exactly. There are a lot of trials going on where they are psychedelics to stop addiction, just the opposite of what we have here and for depression. And that has to be a trial because it's not FDA approved.
Amazon Pharmacy / Amazon Health AI Announcer
These are rogue doctors in rogue clinics. The only doctor that's probably legitimate here is the one giving the buprenorphine. That's the hardest word to say. But in order to do that you have to have training. The rest of these people doing ketamine, rogue, they're outside the law, they're outside good practice. We saw this with Anna Nicole Smith, Michael Jackson, Prince, all these rogue doctors treating all these celebrities and you don't know who's around them.
Nancy Grace (Crime Stories Segment)
The so called personal assistant Iwa Masa allegedly lied to Matthew Perry's family about what happened the day the Friends star died. Sister Madeleine says the person responsible for my brother's death stood up and addressed the people who loved him most. That is like a cruel joke I still struggle with. He didn't just take my brother's life. He tainted our final memories of saying goodbye. Perry's sister Caitlin states she would never know if the lethal dose of ketamine was only lethal by accident. What happened the night beloved star Matthew Perry died in his own hot tub?
Nancy Grace
Ketamine has been around and being abused for a long time. We just don't know that much about it and we don't see it as much. We don't. It's not soaked into our national understanding as well, but as far as I can remember, it's been called baby food bump, cat killer, cat, Valium, Fort Dodge, green, green, K, K, land, K hole. There's a million slang words for ketamine and the first time I ever saw that was when I was prosecuting and somebody had it as an aside drug. They were dealing heroin and they also had vitamin K. And you're going to laugh at this, Mike McCormick. I said, so what's wrong with vitamin K? Because I didn't know what the vitamin K was, Ketamine. And that was, oh gosh, I was prosecuting a dope lord and he had a stash of vitamin K. That's the first time I heard about ketamine.
Miguel Melendez
And Matthew Perry was, was not the first celebrity to be open about the ketamine therapy sessions. I mean, weeks before he died on December 1, Chrissy Teigen was very open about the fact that she underwent academy therapy session to celebrate her birthday. And she said on Instagram how she saw space and time and her late son Jack is someone she saw during this therapy session. So ketamine has kind of like sort of has come into the conscience as of late and now more because of Matthew Perry's death that you're seeing the horrible side effects that it can have.
Nancy Grace
So Miguel Melendez from ET Joining us, you're saying that it's common use among celebrities to what, fight depression?
Miguel Melendez
To fight depression, to figure themselves, to use them, to use it as a form of therapy. Chrissy Keehan is far from the only celebrity who has been open about taking or undergoing academy therapy sessions. You have the likes of Sharon Osborne and Pete Davidson who have been open about, about this. But again, academy therapy session is not dangerous if it's done under supervision. As our esteemed doctors here have said, when you go rogue, and in this case it seems to indicate that's what Matthew Perry did, you're going to see the fatal consequences. Consequences. And that's just, that's exactly what happened here.
Nancy Grace
You're hearing MIGUEL Melendez, SENIOR writer, ET And I've got to get everything he said, which is all correct, by the way, explained to me medically. Dr. William Maroney, renowned expert in this field. So when you have ketamine treatment with a doctor, you're saying ketamine is ingested nasally, like through Dristan, the spray into your nose. And if it's used any other way, then it's rogue. Do I have that right?
Ryan Reynolds
Maroney?
Amazon Pharmacy / Amazon Health AI Announcer
The reason why it's rogue is the FDA approved spray comes with specific conditions that you're observed, that they follow instructions and that your safety comes first. And you really can't even drive to and from your session. You're supposed to have somebody take care of you. As soon as you let somebody take ketamine pills, well, it's unobserved, it's uncontrolled, and it's clear there was ketamine in his stomach and his level in his blood was exactly halfway between low anesthesia and high anesthesia. You don't have those levels when you're supervised. And the whole idea that ketamine therapy is matched to a psychosocial treatment A behavioral counseling session. That's where you make the changes. You have better insight, you have better processing of stress and you're not impulsive. The last thing you want with impulsive behaviors with somebody in addiction is to put them on testosterone. That's insane. Well, everybody knows it makes you feel really good as a man. You're 60 years old, suddenly you feel 36. Okay, but it comes at the price of frustration and anger and really short tempers. Add that to the impulsivity of substance use disorder and you could have, you know, a dark rabbit hole, a hidden monster in the shadows and somebody who's not going to listen to somebody when they say, oh, you know, taking a few too many ketamine pills. Ketamine spray is not something you do every day. It's once or twice a month with counseling sessions.
Nancy Grace
And because he had the pills in his stomach still at the time of autopsy, we know it was Rog Ketamine. And not the type used for infusion treatment. And of course you've got the other factor weighing into Matthew Perry's death and that is with all these drugs in his system, he gets into the pool, the hot tub. And it's not the first time. Take a listen to our cut 13 now.
911 Dispatcher
An emergency. Hi, how you doing? This is security from Beverly Hilton. Hi, what's going on? I need a paramedics. Apparently I got a 46 year old female found in the bathroom. That's all I've got right now, but they're requesting paramedics. Okay, female found the bathroom. What room is she in? I'm not sure. She fell or she was in the bathroom with the water. 434. I'm sorry, that's room 434? Yes. Okay, that's not east, west or anything else. It's room 4343. Yeah. Okay, and you don't know if she was conscious of breathing at all? Apparently she wasn't breathing. And she's 46 year old. She was not breathing? Yes. Okay, but she is breathing now? I don't know. She was. The person that called me was sky rating much out of there. Okay, I've got security going there now. Okay, we'll send police and fire over there with a person not breathing. Does it sound like the person was still not breathing? Yeah, that's correct. Okay, we'll get in there for not bringing is anyone can give me to the room so I can try to do cpr. Yeah, we're going there now. Can you get me into the room so I can try to Get CPR instructions. Oh, I'm sorry. No. Because she kept hanging up on us. Kept hanging up on you. Yeah. Okay. All right, we're good now. Units over there. Okay. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Bye.
Nancy Grace
And there was water in Whitney Houston's lungs, indicating she was alive when she was submerged underwater. But according to what we learned, the level of cocaine in Whitney Houston's body was not lethal, but it was enough to make her unaware of the fact she was going underwater. And in an eerie twist, the same thing happens to her daughter. Take a listen to our cut 16.
Narrator (Celebrity Stories)
The only child of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, Bobbi Kristina Brown wanted to follow her mother's footsteps as a singer and actress. Tyler Perry cast Bobbi Kristina Brown in his television series For Better or Worse and had high praise for her work in her personal life. She became engaged to Nick Gordon, a friend of the family who lived with them from the age of 12. Never officially adopted by Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, Bobbi Kristina Brown referred to him as her big bra Online. Their engagement shocked many. On January 31, 2015, Nick Gordon found Bobbi Kristina face down, unconscious in a bathtub in her home in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Nancy Grace
And then just recently, we lose another celebrity and Aaron Carter in our cut 21.
Narrator (Celebrity Stories)
As the younger brother of Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, Aaron Carter had a connection to the big time. He could sing, he could dance, and he had the look. As with most teen idols when their 15 minutes is up, Aaron Carter struggled. His first stint in a treatment facility was announced by his manager when the singer was just 23. Then a year later, it was announced that he completed a 28 day rehab stint at the Betty Ford Center. On November 4, 2022, Aaron Carter's housekeeper found his body in the bathtub at his home. The Los Angeles County Department of medical examiner coroner ruled cause of death was attributed to drowning after inhaling difluoroethane and taking the generic form of the brand name Xanax. The report also indicated that Carter was incapacitated while in the bathtub due to the effects of the drugs he took, which contributed to his death by drowning. Aaron Carter was 34.
Nancy Grace
You know, Wendy Patrick, California prosecutor and authority. So many people, not just celebrities, die in pools and hot tubs after too many drugs or too much alcohol.
Wendy Patrick
Yeah, it's so unfortunate. You know, we only hear about some of these famous people because they're famous. Think about how many men and women, friends, neighbors, family members die in the same way. But maybe don't just grab headlines it's one of the reasons we always want to reach out sooner rather than later for people that are struggling. And I like the way in that last clip they talked a little bit about what happens after the fame. You know, one of the things that Matthew Perry said, he said taking K is like being hit in the head with a giant happy shovel. But the hangover outweighed the benefits. And that's part of what I think celebrities are getting better at explaining and that yes, perhaps they're self medicating, but it's not worth it in the end. And that's one of the messages that Matthew Perry wanted to leave us.
Nancy Grace
With Karen Stark joining us, a renowned psychologist. And Karen, we know that Matthew Perry told everyone he had been clean going on two years. Is that common for addicts to insist they're clean?
Karen Stark
It's tremendous amount of denial, Nancy, because they really are struggling in most cases to be clean. They don't want to be addicted, but they're very, very susceptible. And when you think about somebody who's famous like that, there are always people around who are will to oblige them with drugs and tempt them with drugs because they want to make them happy. They want to be around a celebrity. It's something that happens all the time. So I am sure he was trying, but obviously not defeating or that ketamine would not have been there.
Nancy Grace
He had really been through a battle. I want you to take a listen to our cut 4 our friends from crime online. Something I didn't know until after Matthew
Lady Luck / Podcast Host
Perry passed away after years of addiction. Matthew Perry spent five months in the hospital after his colon burst from prolonged opioid abuse. Perry says he was in surgery for seven hours, in a coma for two weeks and doctors told his family he had a 2% chance of survival. After leaving the hospital, Perry used a colostomy bag for months.
Andrea Gunning
This is Andrea Gunning from Betrayal Weekly. This is a stunning story based on the hit true crime podcast Betrayal. He was a tall, handsome police officer, the man of her dreams. Caroline knew right away he was the man she would spend her life with. But then she got a text that changed everything. The man she loved was having affair after affair with so many different women in his cop car while on duty. I implore you to watch Betrayal Dirty Secrets now streaming on Hulu and Hulu
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Ryan Reynolds
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Lady Luck / Podcast Host
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Nancy Grace (Crime Stories Segment)
Sister Caitlin joins Madeline Morrison stating, I know when Kenny left the house he was doing one of two things, either escaping from something he knew he had done or willfully abandoning a vulnerable person in a dangerous situation. How did Matthew Perry die?
Nancy Grace
Dr. William Maroney joining us, the preeminent expert in this field, Dr. Maroney I believe that if my colon had burst from prolonged drug use, I would go through hell and high water not to get addicted again. But see, that's me on the outside looking in because I'm not addicted. Addicts tell me that they can't stop themselves.
Amazon Pharmacy / Amazon Health AI Announcer
What it is, is there is an insight issue that comes with substance use disorder and the only way you can rewire the brain. It's like rewiring a vacuum cleaner, rewiring a radio or, you know, rewiring a power strip. You rewire the brain not by feeding the body drugs just as a substitute, but in depth therapy, making selections, looking at the trauma in your life, choosing not to be impulsive, choosing to process your stress. You have to do that with another person face to face. It's not always about the drugs. He may have been clean from heroin for two years, but his brain was not Done processing that impulsivity and impulsivity, poor processing and lack of insight. Those are the three things that substance use disorder people suffer with every single alcohol, heroin, cocaine. Those are the three things. And the only way through that rewiring is with another person in a chair, face to face. And that's just not being done today. Everybody wants a pill. They want a quick fix. And these rogue doctors are not getting people the therapy they need. In the end, the same thing is going to happen. Somebody's going to be investigated by the medical board. There'll be another trial in a year. Somebody's going to lose their license. And it's so sad that Matthew Perry had to die this way.
Nancy Grace
Same thing with Michael Jackson. Conrad Murray. There was a trial. He gets convicted. In the end, he walks free and Michael Jackson's still dead. Same thing with Matthew Perry. A bright light has been extinguished because of ketamine. And I want to follow up with Miguel Melendez, senior reporter, Entertainment Tonight. Miguel I had no idea that Matthew Perry had been through so much in his battle, even having his colon burst from prolonged opioid abuse. But there's more. Miguel. Let's now cut five.
Lady Luck / Podcast Host
Two years after his near death experience, Matthew Perry goes to a rehab facility in Switzerland. He wrote that he faked pain symptoms to get OxyContin during COVID He was also getting daily Ketamine infusions. While at the facility. Perry needed to have surgery and was given Propofol. When he woke up 11 hours later, he found out his heart had stopped for five minutes. And during the long CPR process, eight of his ribs were broken. The doctor then refused more meds.
Nancy Grace
So this guy, Matthew Perry, I mean, we look at him, Miguel, and we think, wow, he's famous. He's a star. He's got all this money and this beautiful home. This guy was in a living hell that nobody knew about. I mean, he had his colon burst from opioid use. Then he dies, essentially during a surgery, and all eight of his ribs are broken during cpr. And yet he went back to his own hellhole. He couldn't stop himself.
Miguel Melendez
Miguel yeah, I mean, it's tragic. All these near death experiences rooted from his need of these substances. And he wrote in his book that he thought that the only reason why he was revived and given CPR in such aggressive manner was because the person performing the CPR said, I can't let the guy from Friends die on my table. That can't happen on my watch. So in retrospect, Perry asked himself, had I not Been on Friends, would they have stopped giving me CPR after three minutes? Instead, they went five minutes.
Nancy Grace
Wow. Wow.
Miguel Melendez
And you talk about these drugs in his system. And even when he was detoxing. In the final episode of Friends in 2004, when the episode ended and it all came to a close and everyone felt emotional, not just the cast and the crew, but everyone who was tuned into that show. Perry himself said in his book that he felt nothing because the detox drug that was in his system at the time made him feel numb. So even in the happiest moments, or what should have been the happiest moments of his life, he felt nothing. And again, it's all rooted because of these substance issues that he's had for so long.
Nancy Grace
Miguel, you are bringing up a whole nother issue. Not only the battle against addiction, but how it affects your life day to day. He couldn't even feel regular emotions. I mean, you know, this morning when I was driving the twins to school, I was so happy just being with them. What a loss in your life not to be able to feel all those wonderful things. Guys, we're finding out now how his ketamine addiction began. Take a listen to our cut six, our friend, investigative reporter Nicole Parton.
Nicole Parton
Matthew Perry wrote about the ketamine infusions he received at the Swiss clinic. He explained in his memoir that ketamine quote, has my name written all over it. They might as well have called it Maddie. The New York Post reports that Perry described the drug as a giant exhale and said he would be blindfolded and listening to music when he got his injection. Perry also said he would disassociate during the infusions and often felt as if he were dying. Perry said he kept signing up for it because it was something different. And anything different is good. Taking K is like being hit in the head with a giant, happy shovel. But the hangover was rough and outweighed the shovel. Still, in his memoir, Perry says ketamine was not for me.
Nancy Grace
You know, Dr. Maroney, ketamine is my new nightmare. My new nightmare because I've never known of it actually killing anyone until now.
Amazon Pharmacy / Amazon Health AI Announcer
Well, I think the ketamine awareness has went from 0 to 100 on our national barometer. But the whole idea is effective, evidence based. FDA approved ketamine treatment comes with counseling. And where we have rogue doctors and really dark rabbit holes is people are going to look for this stuff and not match it to the counseling. The lack of feeling that he had meant that he was just altered by drugs. Seeing People having emotions. You know, you talked about your kids. I got kids the same age. Where's the celebrities with taking their kids to school? They miss all that stuff. They're in clinics, they're in rehab, their homes are in the hills and nobody has families out there. Let's get back to simple things. If you're gonna do ketamine, you're gonna seek it out. Seek out the FDA approved ketamine. The counseling, the psychiatrist, behavioral health clinic.
Karen Stark
Not the rogue.
Amazon Pharmacy / Amazon Health AI Announcer
Rogue leads to death.
Nancy Grace
You know one thing that Matthew Perry said, he said that when I ever die, I'm probably going to be remembered from my role in Friends. But what I want to be remembered for is how I helped people and maybe helped them get out of or avoid addiction. And he has done that. He has helped so many people and he's helping us now. Spreading the word about ketamine.
Nancy Grace (Crime Stories Segment)
It's not over yet. This whole group are like wet cats in a barrel, fighting and clawing for a way out. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace Crime Stories Signing off.
Miguel Melendez
Goodbye.
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You want to advance your education, but not on a traditional path. At Rasmussen University, you'll find flexible and engaging online experiences, tuition savings options if you qualify, exceptional student support and so much more. You may also qualify for a brand new laptop when you enroll in select online or on campus programs. Enroll in a fully online program or at one of their 20 campuses across six states. Start when you're ready and get the support you need. Visit Rasmussen.
Nancy Grace
Edu.
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Amazon Pharmacy / Amazon Health AI Announcer
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Narrator (Celebrity Stories)
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Nancy Grace
This is an I Heart podcast, guaranteed human.
Episode: 'FRIENDS' STAR MATTHEW PERRY'S SISTERS BLAST 'FRIEND' WHO 'INJECTED' HIM & LEFT
Date: August 8, 2026
Host: Nancy Grace
Notable Guests: Miguel Melendez (ET), Dr. William Maroney (Medical Examiner & Addiction Expert), Karen Stark (Psychologist), Wendy Patrick (Prosecutor/Legal Analyst), Nicole Parton (Crime Online)
This gripping episode delves into the suspicious circumstances of "Friends" star Matthew Perry's tragic death. Nancy Grace and her expert panel explore the family’s explosive accusations that Perry’s assistant, Kenny Iwamasa, repeatedly injected him with the anesthetic/party drug ketamine and left him for dead. The conversation spans from the details of Perry's final day and toxicology, to the broader issues of addiction, “rogue medical care” for celebrities, the deadly intersection of drugs and mental health, and the heartbreak of those left behind. The episode also draws parallels to the overdoses of other stars, like Whitney Houston and Aaron Carter, and the epidemic of accidental celebrity deaths.
[02:29] Nancy Grace brings the breaking story: Matthew Perry’s sisters have accused his assistant, Kenny Iwamasa, of injecting Perry with ketamine and abandoning him in a hot tub, leading to his death.
"He injected my brother with a lethal dose of ketamine and left him in a hot tub to die."
[03:34-04:47] 911 call reveals that emergency responders originally believed Perry’s death was from drowning, but the medical examiner later found ketamine toxicity to be the primary cause.
[04:47] Nicole Parton summarizes the autopsy:
[07:08–10:48] Miguel Melendez (ET) outlines the timeline:
[10:57] The assistant was responsible for administering the detox drug buprenorphine, which complicates their role.
"Everything I believed about the day Matthew died, everything Iwamasa told us was a lie… The idea someone my brother considered family could betray him in such an unimaginable way is something I could never have conceived." ([15:25])
“I would never know if the lethal dose of ketamine was only lethal by accident.” ([25:23])
[18:55–22:46] Experts weigh in:
"What you have is a cocktail of disaster because you probably are dealing with multiple doctors that are not communicating. Nobody's coordinating his care." ([21:39])
[23:04–24:09] Dr. Maroney explains:
[27:10–28:38] Celebrity culture and ketamine use:
[35:22–36:16] Karen Stark (Psychologist) addresses the challenge of addiction:
[36:26–46:18] The history and toll of Perry’s addiction:
“So many people, not just celebrities, die in pools and hot tubs after too many drugs or too much alcohol.” ([34:24])
[17:26] Wendy Patrick (Prosecutor): Explores whether “helpers” or “friends” administering drugs could face charges, referencing Michael Jackson’s doctor, Dr. Conrad Murray, who served prison time but now walks free.
[41:49] Dr. Maroney: Warns this pattern will recur. Without true therapy and oversight, more celebrity deaths will occur, and only after-the-fact prosecutions and license revocations will follow.
Madeline Morrison (sister, court filing):
"He injected my brother with a lethal dose of ketamine and left him in a hot tub to die." ([02:29])
Nancy Grace:
"Matthew Perry was kind of like every man that was struggling with a lot." ([05:07])
Dr. Maroney:
"What you have is a cocktail of disaster because you probably are dealing with multiple doctors that are not communicating. Nobody's coordinating his care." ([21:39])
Karen Stark (on denial and addiction):
"It's tremendous amount of denial, Nancy, because they really are struggling in most cases to be clean. They don't want to be addicted, but they're very, very susceptible." ([35:39])
Matthew Perry, memoir quote, cited by Nicole Parton:
“Taking K is like being hit in the head with a giant, happy shovel. But the hangover outweighed the benefits.” ([45:31–46:18])
Miguel Melendez:
"He couldn't even feel regular emotions... He felt nothing. And again, it's all rooted because of these substance issues that he's had for so long." ([44:11]) “Still, in his memoir, Perry says ketamine was not for me.” ([46:18])
Dr. Maroney:
"The only doctor that's probably legitimate here is the one giving the buprenorphine... Rogue leads to death." ([24:52] & [47:39])
| Timestamp | Segment / Highlight | |---------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | [02:29–03:33] | Perry's sisters' public blast at assistant; summary of family accusations | | [03:34–04:47] | 911 call and initial confusion regarding cause of death | | [04:47–05:07] | Autopsy findings; ketamine identified as main cause | | [07:08–10:48] | Detailed timeline of Perry’s final day, as recounted by Miguel Melendez | | [15:29–16:20] | Family's anger at assistant Iwamasa; direct sister quotes | | [18:55–22:46] | Expert medical explanation of ketamine, autopsy analysis, and drug cocktail implications | | [23:04–24:52] | Ketamine’s legal, therapeutic use vs. “rogue” administration | | [27:10–28:38] | Celebrity use of ketamine therapy; danger of unsupervised usage | | [31:25–34:24] | Discussion of other celebrity bathtub/pool deaths (Whitney Houston, Bobbi Kristina, Carter) | | [35:22–36:16] | The psychology of denial in addiction; why “clean” isn’t always true | | [36:26–46:18] | Perry’s gruesome medical history; addiction’s costs; revealing memoir details | | [47:38–48:15] | Perry’s legacy and desire to help others; warning for listeners |
| Name | Role/Relation | Key Points/Quotes | |-----------------------|---------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Nancy Grace | Host | Drives the narrative, demands accountability, highlights systemic issues | | Madeline Morrison | Perry’s sister | Accuses assistant of betrayal, laments tainted final memories | | Caitlin | Perry’s sister | Raises doubt about “accidentality” of lethal dose | | Kenny Iwamasa | Perry’s assistant | Accused of repeatedly injecting Perry with ketamine, lying to family | | Miguel Melendez | ET reporter | Provides detailed timeline and context; underscores Perry’s long, painful struggle | | Dr. William Maroney | Medical examiner/expert | Diagnoses Perry's "cocktail of disaster," explains dangers of unsupervised ketamine | | Nicole Parton | Reporter | Summarizes autopsy, memoir, and ketamine details | | Karen Stark | Psychologist | Explains addiction, denial, role of enablers | | Wendy Patrick | Legal analyst | Discusses accountability, legal parallels to other celebrity deaths |
The death of Matthew Perry, as explored by Nancy Grace and her guests, is a tragic convergence of addiction, failed medical oversight, complicated relationships, and the vulnerabilities of stardom. The episode investigates not just who may be criminally responsible but also what systemic and personal failures set the stage for this loss—and how others might avoid the same fate. By sharing Perry’s struggle and the controversy around his assistant and treatment, “Crime Stories” seeks to extend Perry’s legacy of helping others find hope and caution in the ongoing battle against addiction.