L.A. Drug Linchpin Jasveen ‘Ketamine Queen’ Sangha to Plead Guilty in Death of Matthew Perry
The Department of Justice said Monday that L.A.’s so-called “ketamine queen,” Jasveen Sangha, who played a key role in the October 2023 death of Friends star Matthew Perry, will plead guilty to five federal criminal charges.
The North Hollywood drug linchpin will plead guilty in the coming weeks to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury, according to an announcement from the Justice Department. Prosecutors have dropped the reminder of nine initial charges brought against Sangha at the time of her arrest and incarceration.
Sangha was arrested in August 2024 and has remained in a federal lockup as her legal case has played out with prosecutors. The 42-year-old — a dual citizen of the United States and the United Kingdom who sold the dangerous, powerful dissociative drug, as well as cocaine, methamphetamine and other drugs, out of her apartment — has been in federal custody since her arrest 10 months after the actor’s death.
Perry, who shot to fame at a young age as one of six main cast members of the global phenomenon sitcom, died Oct. 28, 2023, at his home in the Palisades. His body was discovered face-down in his backyard hot tub by his assistant, who was later charged in connection with his death. The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office eventually determined he had died of the “acute effects of ketamine.”
You Might Also Like
After an extensive probe into what led to Perry’s death, five individuals were charged in connection with Perry’s death. This included Hollywood linchpin Sangha, Perry’s personal assistant, two physicians and a lower-level drug dealer. One Sangha’s legal agreement is official; all five of those charged will have agreed to take a deal to lessen charges.
According to court records, Sangha — who lived a glamorous life in Hollywood, where she attended parties with famous actors and was in the orbit of rock stars, as could be seen on her Instagram — learned of Perry’s struggles with drugs and sought him out as a client. After sending some samples, via a doctor and the actor’s assistant, she sent two orders of 25 vials of ketamine to him; the ketamine in one of those vials is what led to the actor’s untimely death.
Sangha, according to court documents, also sold ketamine to another man, Cody McLaury, who reportedly died of an overdose shortly after it was purchased in August 2019; Sangha will admit to this as part of her plea deal, prosecutors said.
Sangha’s sentencing is expected to take place in the coming weeks. She faces up to 45 years in prison for her crimes.
