The death of Matthew Perry of "Friends" last October, which was ruled to have been caused by the acute effects of ketamine, may soon result in criminal charges against several individuals, Entertainment Weekly reports. The Los Angeles Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are coordinating the investigation into the actor, who died on October 28 at the age of 54, and one police official told People that the authorities' investigation is "nearing its conclusion."

The source added that the U.S. Attorney's Office would make the final decision on whether to press charges.

Perry was found unresponsive in the bathtub of his L.A. home and was pronounced dead on the spot. Then, in December 2023, an autopsy report revealed that Perry died of ketamine, with drowning, coronary artery disease, and buprenorphine (a drug used to treat opioid use disorder) also contributing factors. Entertainment Weekly wrote, "The autopsy report also noted that Perry was receiving intravenous ketamine treatment around the time of his death, but because ketamine has a short half-life, traces of the substance in his system could not have come from that treatment session."

Although there were no indications of foul play at the time of his death eight months ago, Los Angeles Police Department Captain Scott Williams told Entertainment Weekly last month that the investigation into Perry's death is not over: "Based on the findings of the medical examiner , Los Angeles Police Department, with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, continues to investigate the circumstances of Perry's death," Williams wrote in an email to the magazine.

A year before his death, Perry opened up about his struggle with addiction in his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. Perry told People in 2022, "I wanted to share when it was safe so I wouldn't go to the dark side again." 'I had to wait to write it all down until I was fairly safe and sober, away from the disease of alcoholism and addiction. I was convinced that doing so would help people."

He also told podcaster Tom Power that he would rather be remembered for helping people, especially those struggling with addiction, than for his acting career, especially his role as Chandler Bing on the hit NBC show Friends. When I die, I don't want 'Friends' to be the first thing people talk about," he said. 'I want to make sure that helping people is the first thing people talk about. And I'm going to live the rest of my life to prove it."