Los Angeles’ Alleged ‘Ketamine Queen’ Agrees to Plead Guilty in Connection with Matthew Perry’s Death

Published: 19th August 2025. The English Chronicle Desk

In a dramatic legal twist, Jasveen Sangha, the woman infamously dubbed the “Ketamine Queen of Los Angeles,” has agreed to plead guilty to multiple charges linked to the death of actor Matthew Perry, just days before her high-profile trial was set to begin. The 42-year-old dual citizen of the United States and the United Kingdom had long maintained her innocence, pleading not guilty for the past year while remaining in custody since her arrest in August 2024.

Her case, which had been scheduled for trial on August 19 before being postponed to late September, has now taken a decisive turn as she struck a plea deal with federal prosecutors. Under the agreement, Sangha has accepted responsibility for five criminal counts: one of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three of distributing ketamine, and one of distributing ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury. The charges carry significant prison sentences, with up to 20 years for maintaining a drug-involved premises, 10 years for each ketamine distribution charge, and up to 15 years for the most serious count linked directly to death or serious harm.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Sangha worked closely with Perry’s admitted street dealer, Erik Fleming, 55, to supply the late Friends star with ketamine in the weeks leading up to his tragic death. Court filings reveal that in the same month Perry died, Sangha and Fleming sold him 51 vials of ketamine through his assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa. Both Fleming and Iwamasa pleaded guilty last August to their own charges in the case and are expected to be sentenced later this year in November.

Two medical professionals, Dr. Mark Chavez, 55, and Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 43, have also admitted guilt in relation to Perry’s death, further exposing a wide network of suppliers who played a role in the actor’s access to dangerous quantities of the drug. Perry’s official autopsy concluded that while ketamine was the central factor, buprenorphine, coronary artery disease, and drowning also contributed to his death. Buprenorphine is typically prescribed as part of treatment for opioid dependency, but in this context, it added to the complex toxicology findings.

Beyond Perry’s case, the plea agreement also acknowledges Sangha’s involvement in the 2019 overdose death of Cody McLaury, to whom she had also sold ketamine. This admission cements her reputation as a central figure in an underground drug operation that has left multiple victims in its wake.

The case has garnered worldwide attention not only because of Perry’s celebrity status but also because of the shocking details that emerged about the illegal ketamine trade in Los Angeles, a drug that is increasingly misused despite its legitimate medical applications. For prosecutors, the guilty plea represents a critical breakthrough in holding accountable those who exploited addiction and profited from supplying powerful substances that carried lethal consequences.

With Sangha’s agreement, all five defendants charged in relation to Matthew Perry’s death have now either pleaded guilty or struck deals with authorities. Sentencing proceedings are expected in the coming months, though the final prison terms will rest with the court. For Perry’s fans and family, the resolution may bring a degree of closure, though the tragic circumstances surrounding his final months continue to cast a long shadow.