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Friends star’s alleged ‘Ketamine Queen’ given trial date

Friends star's alleged 'Ketamine Queen' given trial date

A woman charged with selling Friends actor Matthew Perry the dose of ketamine that killed him will go on trial next month.

The trial of Jasveen Sangha, allegedly known as the Ketamine Queen, will begin on 23 September after an order from a Los Angeles judge on Tuesday.

She is the only defendant standing trial over Perry’s death after four others reached plea agreements with prosecutors.

The 42-year-old, who has pleaded not guilty, is charged with five counts of ketamine distribution, including one count of distribution resulting in death.

Sangha’s trial has been postponed four times after her lawyers said they needed longer to go through the prosecution’s evidence and to finish their own investigation

Perry died in his home in October 2023, aged 54, after getting ketamine from his regular doctor for treatment of depression, which is an increasingly common use for the surgical anaesthetic.

The actor was taking ketamine six to eight times a day before he died, according to court documents.

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Prosecutors say Perry illegally sought more ketamine from his doctor, Salvador Plasencia, after he wouldn’t give him as much as he wanted.

They allege he then sought more from Sangha, who allegedly presented herself as “a celebrity drug dealer with high-quality goods”.

Perry’s assistant and friend admitted to buying large amounts of ketamine for him from Sangha, including 25 vials for $6,000 in cash, a few days before his death.

Prosecutors allege that purchase included the doses that killed Perry.

Plasencia pleaded guilty to ketamine distribution last month along with Perry’s personal assistant, his friend, and another doctor.

None have been sentenced yet.