Matthew Perry died at the age of 54 on Saturday, October 28; the Friends actor was found unresponsive in his hot tub after an apparent drowning.
But no cause of death has officially been released, with the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office updating its online record on Sunday (October 29) listing the cause as “deferred”. This happens when the cause of death “cannot be determined at the time of autopsy”, according to the LA coroner.
The site explains: “A deferred certificate will be issued until additional studies have been completed.” Examiners are currently awaiting the results of a toxicology report, the autopsy already having been conducted on the star’s body. But the latest reports could take weeks to complete.
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A source told CNN that investigators are seeking to find out if any “foreign substances” contributed to the actor’s death. At the moment, no foul play is suspected, and his remains are ready to be released to his next of kin.
(Image: Getty Images)
According to reports emerging out of the US, the post-mortem proved “inconclusive”, with his official cause of death not expected to be released for a few more weeks.
Reports emerged that the actor died of an accidental drowning in his hot tub, with a 911 call coming in on Saturday afternoon for a “water rescue emergency”. A 15-second audio clip from the call hears a first responder say: “Agent 23. Rescue 23. EMS 9 on the radio. In response to the drowning.” The code, Emergency Medical Situation 9, refers to a drowning.
The star had been candid about his lifelong struggle with addiction, battling alcohol and drug dependency as well as other health problems. No narcotics were found at the scene, however – only prescription drugs for anti-depressants, anti-anxiety drugs and medication for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
His family released a statement to People magazine after his tragic death, which read: “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our beloved son and brother. Matthew brought so much joy to the world, both as an actor and a friend.
(Image: GC Images)
“You all meant so much to him and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of love,” the statement concluded.
His parents, Suzanne Morrison and John Bennett Perry, along with his step-father Keith Morrison, all attended his property shortly after Matthew’s death, looking distraught and dazed as they headed to the scene. Just hours before, Matthew had been playing pickleball with a friend, and appeared “fatigued”.
Meanwhile, his 17-year-old neighbour said he “saw too much” at the scene, telling The US Sun: “[His siblings] were outside my neighbour’s door. I didn’t think much of it at the time until police started arriving and everything. They didn’t hammer the door, they kept silent.
“I saw everything, I feel bad for my younger siblings. I was very sad. At the same time, I did kind of expect it in some sense, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon. He’d not lived there long.”
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Perry was candid about his health struggles in the past, recalling being in and out of rehab when filming Friends. In his memoir, he wrote: “I married Monica and got driven back to the treatment centre — at the height of my highest point in ‘Friends,’ the highest point in my career, the iconic moment on the iconic show — in a pickup truck helmed by a sober technician.”
In 2019, Perry had a near-death experience when his colon burst from opioid overuse. He underwent a seven-hour emergency surgery and was given just a two percent chance of surviving the night. Afterwards, he fell into a coma for two weeks and was hospitalised for five months, relying on a colostomy bag for almost a year.
His heart stopped for five minutes when he was in rehab in Switzerland, when he was up all night taking hydrocodone before a surgery. Medics treated him with propofol – the drug that killed Michael Jackson. The man administering CPR to restart his heart broke eight of the actor’s ribs.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
