Matthew Perry: How did the investigation unfold into the death of Friends actor?

Actor Matthew Perry (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) An investigation into Matthew Perry's death from an accidental ketamine overdose last October has led to five people including his assistant and two doctors being charged. It is claimed that Perry first went to a clinic for depression and anxiety, and became "addicted to intravenous ketamine", and when he asked for an increased dosage, he was refused. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) claims he then turned to "unscrupulous doctors who abused their position of trust".

Here is a look at how events unfolded: - November 2022: Perry releases the book Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing, in which he says he was on the brink of death, aged 49, when his colon burst from drug abuse. Perry also discloses he spent two weeks in a coma and five months in hospital and had to use a colostomy bag for nine months. He says he is in "sobriety".

- Late September 2023: According to the indictment, Dr Salvador Plasencia, 42, of Santa Monica, learned Perry "was interested in obtaining ketamine". Plasencia then allegedly contacted Dr Mark Chavez, 54, of San Diego, to supply Perry with the anaesthetic medication. - September and October: It is claimed that Plasencia used Perry's live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, 59, of Toluca Lake, to distribute approximately 20 vials of ketamine to the actor.

- Mid-October: It is alleged Iwamasa began also to buy ketamine for Perry from Erik Fleming, 54, of Hawthorne, and Jasveen Sangha, 41, of North Ho.