Stock image of police lights. (Douglas Sacha/Getty Images)
(PHILADELPHIA) — One person is dead and another two remain unaccounted for after a seven-story parking garage under construction in Philadelphia partially collapsed, officials said.
A search and rescue operation is ongoing for the two individuals following Wednesday’s partial collapse, in what Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker called a “complex process” due to the instability of the structure.
“We will not rest until everyone is accounted for from this tragedy,” Parker said at a press briefing late Wednesday.
Three people were rescued from the scene, according to Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Jeffrey Thompson. One was critically injured and died at a hospital, he said. The two others were treated and have since been released, he said.
The incident occurred around 2:17 p.m. Wednesday, according to Parker. A subcontractor was in the process of installing precast concrete floor decking and roof segments at the time, she said.
“After placement, a precast roof segment failed and fell to the level below, literally triggering a progressive collapse of connected sections across all seven levels,” Parker said.
Thompson said engineers and others are evaluating the building so that a safe search and rescue operation can occur.
“We will not stop until we have looked through every part of this affected structure to ensure that everyone is accounted for,” he said, noting that this process will “take time.”
“This building that has been impacted is unstable. It has to be secured,” he said. “We have to very carefully and methodically deconstruct this building for the safety of the people working on it, and ultimately, for the safety of the first responders who will continue the search.”
The owner of the parking garage is the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and the contractor for the project is based in Exton, Pennsylvania, according to Parker.
“We are prioritizing the safety of the construction workers at this time and working closely with the City of Philadelphia and our construction partners,” the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said in a statement.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said his administration offers those on the ground “our full support as they continue rescue efforts at the scene and support the families impacted.”
Eight permits required for the construction were properly issued, and all inspections were up to date, according to Parker.
“The city will investigate this garage collapse thoroughly and efficiently to learn all of the relevant facts of this terrible tragedy,” she said.
Rex A. Heuermann pleads guilty in court to the murders of eight women during a 17-year killing spree on April 8, 2026 in Riverhead, New York. (Photo by James Carbone – Pool/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Admitted Gilgo Beach, New York, serial killer Rex Heuermann was linked to one of his victims, Megan Waterman, by the distinct pattern on a Bounty paper towel, according to the district attorney.
In court on Wednesday, Heuermann changed his plea to guilty and admitted to the murders of eight women: Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Costello, Sandra Costilla, Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor, Maureen Brainard-Barnes and Karen Vergata.
Prosecutors said the New York City architect targeted sex workers, strangled them and dumped their bodies near Long Island’s Gilgo Beach from 1993 to 2010.
“This was his obsession,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney told ABC News. “With his internet searches and his thought process, this was what was driving him.”
A piece of evidence that would’ve been presented had the case gone to trial is a rolled up Bounty paper towel recovered from Waterman’s mouth, Tierney said.
Waterman, 22, went missing in June 2010 and her remains were found in December 2010 in Gilgo Beach, according to Suffolk County police.
The paper towel had a particular pattern that Bounty created specifically for the box store BJ’s Wholesale Club, and that pattern was only in circulation in 2010, Tierney said.
When searching Heuermann’s home, investigators found a BJ’s receipt for Bounty paper towels, and “the SKU [stock-keeping unit] number was for a Bounty paper towel with that same pattern,” Tierney said.
“And so we were able to show that this Bounty paper towel was purchased by the defendant,” Tierney said. “And inside his desk drawer was a square of that same paper towel that matched perfectly and that he had kept in his office since 2010.”
That paper towel square was a “memento” for Heuermann, Tierney said, adding that prosecutors “would have utilized [that] at trial to link him to the commission of that particular murder.”
Heuermann was arrested in 2023 and initially pleaded not guilty to killing seven women. He was set to go to trial in September.
On Wednesday, Heuermann agreed to serve three consecutive life sentences followed by four consecutive sentences of 25 years-to-life, prosecutors said. His sentencing is set for June 17.
Tierney said, from his “outside observation” as a prosecutor, Heuermann, 62, wanted to change his plea because “I think he was done.”
“He wanted this to come to a conclusion — that’s just my impression,” he said.
Waterman’s daughter, Liliana Waterman, told reporters on Wednesday that she accepts the guilty plea and is “very, very thankful.”
Part of the plea arrangement requires Heuermann to cooperate with the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit.
“I think it’s very important,” Tierney said.
“This is clinical,” he said. “So I think they’re going to, hopefully, gain insight into him, his motivations, you know, what created this need or desire in him. And hopefully we’ll gain insight, you know, for cases going forward.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs attends the 2022 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 15, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Nine months after a New York jury convicted Sean “Diddy” Combs of transporting prostitutes across state lines for drug-fueled sex parties, the hip-hop mogul is set to appear in a federal appeals court on Thursday to challenge his lengthy prison sentence.
Acquitted last year of the more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, Combs argues that the judge imposed an overly harsh sentence by considering the crimes for which the jury found him not guilty.
“He sits in prison today, serving a 50-month sentence, because the district judge acted as a thirteenth juror,” Combs’ lawyers wrote in their appeal.
A panel of judges on the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is set to hear the sentence challenge as well as Combs’ broader argument that he should not have been convicted because his sexual exploits are protected under the First Amendment.
His lawyers claim that Combs was merely “creating typical amateur pornography” by transporting escorts across state lines to engage in lengthy drug-fueled sex parties known as “freak offs.”
Lawyers with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, who initially asked for a 11-year sentence, argue the judge was correct in taking into account the violent way Combs treated his victims when handing down his sentence.
“According to Combs, the District Court should have closed its eyes to how he carried out his … offenses and abused his victims–violently beating them, threatening them, lying to them, and plying them with drugs,” prosecutors said in their appellate brief.
What was Combs found guilty of? After a two-month trial last summer, a jury reached a split verdict against Combs, acquitting him on the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering while finding him guilty of two lesser counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Though the jury determined that Combs did not coerce or exploit his victims — necessary elements to prove sex trafficking — they did conclude that he transported people across state lines for his “freak offs.”
Claiming legal victory, Combs’ lawyers unsuccessfully pushed for his release from prison, arguing he had already served enough time in prison while awaiting trial.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian rejected those arguments and handed down a 50-month sentence, saying Combs was able to get away with violent and abusive conduct for years.
“The court is not assured that if released these crimes would not be committed again,” said Subramanian, who added that a lengthy sentence was needed “to send a message to abusers and victims alike that exploitation and violence against women is met with real accountability.”
How much time does Combs have left in his sentence? After spending about 14 months in the federal jail in Brooklyn ahead of his trial and sentencing, Combs has been serving his sentence at the federal prison in Fort Dix, New Jersey. In addition to having those 14 months taken off his overall sentence, Combs is also likely eligible for a reduction in his sentence under the First Step Act and by participating in a drug rehabilitation program.
According to the federal Bureau of Prisons, Combs’ tentative release date is April 15, 2028.
What is Combs’ argument to reduce his sentence? Combs’ lawyers have argued his sentence is “unlawful, unconstitutional, and a perversion of justice” because it factored in conduct for which the jury acquitted Combs.
“The jury refused to authorize any punishment for coercive sex or conspiracy–because the evidence showed there was none,” his lawyers wrote in a reply brief. “The jury only authorized punishment for ‘prostitution.’ It never authorized a sentence four times the typical sentence for that crime.”
Prosecutors pushed back on those arguments, arguing that the federal sentencing guidelines allow the judge to consider relevant conduct, even if he was acquitted of those crimes.
“That is because ‘acquittal on criminal charges does not prove that the defendant is innocent; it merely proves the existence of a reasonable doubt as to his guilt,'” they argued.
How does the First Amendment apply to Combs’ conviction? Combs’ lawyers also asked the court to throw out the conviction altogether, arguing the prostitution at the center of his case was part of an effort to make “typical amateur pornography.”
“The encounters were highly choreographed performances involving costumes, lighting, and other staged effects. Later, Combs and his girlfriends often watched the films together. Such conduct is protected by the First Amendment,” his lawyers argued.
Prosecutors have told the court the transportation of sex across state lines “is not inherently expressive” conduct protected under the First Amendment.
“Combs’s intent to watch the sex sessions live cannot bring his interstate transportation of others to have sex for money within the First Amendment’s protection. Were it otherwise, any defendant who transported others to engage in prostitution could escape liability simply by watching or filming the sex,” prosecutors wrote in their brief.
Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) with chicks on the sea ice at Snow Hill Island in the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The status of several threatened species has been downgraded to endangered, and climate change is to blame, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The Red List of Threatened Species, which was updated by the IUCN on Thursday, now includes the Emperor penguin and Antarctic fur seal on its endangered list.
The IUCN is the world’s largest environmental network and provides scientific, data-driven expertise on biodiversity conservation.
The Red List of Threatened Species is a comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species. The species are listed in nine categories of risk: Not Evaluated, Data Deficient, Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, Extinct in the Wild and Extinct.
Climate change is altering ice conditions and impacting food availability for these species, researchers told ABC News.
Emperor penguins moved from “near threatened” to endangered, according to the IUCN.
Satellite images collected from the region since 2009 indicate that the population of Emperor penguins in Antarctica has been decreasing for about a decade, Phillip Trathan, member of the IUCN’s Penguin Specialist Group, told ABC News.
“Ultimately, there’s only one trajectory, and that’s downwards,” Trathan said.
The main threat the penguins are facing is lack of sea ice due to climate change, Trathan added. Since 2016, sea ice has been diminishing and changing the whole ecosystem in Antarctica, including the molting process — when penguins shed their old feathers — and foraging opportunities, he said. Emperor penguins mainly consume fish, squid and crustaceans in Antarctic waters.
Scientists also are seeing patterns and major population changes in pinnipeds, commonly known as seals, that are making them “very nervous,” Kit Kovacs, Svalbard program leader for the Norwegian Polar Institute and chair of IUCN’s Pinniped Specialist Group, told ABC News.
The Antarctic fur seal has declined “precipitously” — losing about 57% of the adult population in the last three generations, Kovacs said.
The IUCN moved the species from “least concern” in the last pinniped assessment — which happened in 2014 — to endangered.
“That doesn’t happen very often, that you jump so many categories at once,” Kovacs said.
Populations of the krill that Antarctic fur seals subsist on are also dropping, which is likely fueling the decline, she added.
“Krill seems to be the crux of everything in the Southern Ocean,” Kovacs said.
Another Antarctic species — the Southern elephant seal — is also now at risk of extinction due to bird flu, moving from least concern to vulnerable, according to researchers.
Three out of the four big groups of Southern elephant seals have been hit by avian influenza, Kovacs noted. Those seals breed on shore, and 2023 and 2024 saw a 90% pup mortality, according to Kovacs. Breeding females are down about 67%.
There is growing concern that disease-related mortalities of marine mammals will increase due to the climate change, the IUCN said in a release. The organization noted that polar regions, where animals have not had much previous exposure to pathogens, and animals that live close together in colonies, such as southern elephant seals, could be particularly hard-hit.
Antarctic sea ice is declining at record rates, according to climate scientists.
Antarctica has lost enough ice over the last 30 years to cover the City of Los Angeles area 10 times over, glaciologists at the University of California, Irvine, found in a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last month.
The regions losing ice the fastest are West Antarctica, the Antarctica Peninsula and parts of East Antarctica, the research found.
Glaciers all over the world — especially in Antarctica — are also retreating at a rapid pace, recent research shows.
Scientists have taken a particular interest in Antarctica’s western shelf due to its potential to cause a significant rise in sea levels. Thwaites Glacier, also known as the “Doomsday Glacier,” already contributes to 4% of overall sea level rise due to rapid retreat, while Pine Island Glacier is Antarctica’s fastest-melting glacier and has the potential to raise sea levels by 1.6 feet if melted.
Throughout the globe, climate-driven degradation to ecosystems is accelerating faster than conservation frameworks can respond, according to the IUCN.
Mountains outside Patterson, California. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(PATTERSON, Calif.) — The attorney of a man who was shot in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement-involved shooting in Patterson, California, is claiming ICE attempted to arrest his client based on wrong information.
The shooting occurred on Tuesday near the I-5, when ICE Director Todd Lyons said federal officers were attempting to arrest a man they claimed was an 18th Street gang member when he “weaponized his vehicle” and attempted to run over an officer.
Lyons claimed that the suspect, later identified as Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, is wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection with a murder.
Attorney Patrick Kolasinski said during a press conference Wednesday that he has obtained a document from the government of El Salvador that he claims proves Mendoza Hernandez was once arrested and accused of murder but was acquitted.
Kolasinski shared with reporters what appears to be a judicial document from El Salvador that says Mendoza Hernandez was acquitted of homicide in 2019.
ABC News has reached out to DHS for comment about Kolasinski’s claims. ABC News has not independently verified the authenticity of the document.
Kolasinski said Mendoza Hernandez’s family in El Salvador says he was never in a gang. The attorney also said his client has no criminal record in the United States except for a traffic ticket.
Following the shooting, Mendoza Hernandez was taken to a local hospital, according to DHS.
Kolasinski said law enforcement officials and hospital staff have not allowed him and Mendoza Hernandez’s fiancée to speak with him since the shooting.
A hospital social worker could only share that he’s in stable condition, but would not answer any other questions, they claimed during the press conference.
Matthew Perry attends the GQ Men of the Year Party 2022 at The West Hollywood EDITION on November 17, 2022 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for GQ)
(NEW YORK) — The woman reportedly known as the “Ketamine Queen” was sentenced to 15 years in prison for providing the drug that killed Matthew Perry.
Jasveen Sangha admitted in a plea agreement to working with another dealer to provide the “Friends” actor with dozens of vials of ketamine, including the dose that led to his fatal overdose in October 2023 at the age of 54.
Sangha pleaded guilty last year 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.
She faced a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
She was sentenced in Los Angeles federal court on Wednesday.
Prosecutors said in court filings ahead of Sangha’s sentencing that she should serve 15 years in prison for her “cold callousness and disregard for life,” and that she’s shown little remorse, pointing to recorded jail communications in which, they say, Sangha talked about “obtaining ‘trademarks’ and securing book rights on the events of the case.”
In a sentencing memorandum filed last month, prosecutors said Sangha ran a “high-volume drug trafficking business out of her North Hollywood residence,” where she stored, packaged and distributed drugs, including ketamine and methamphetamine, since at least 2019. Prosecutors said Sangha continued to sell “dangerous drugs” even after learning she had sold ketamine that contributed to the overdose deaths of two men: Perry and, years earlier, Los Angeles resident Cody McLaury. McLaury died hours after Sangha sold him four vials of ketamine in 2019, prosecutors said.
“She didn’t care and kept selling,” prosecutors wrote. “Defendant’s actions show a cold callousness and disregard for life. She chose profits over people, and her actions have caused immense pain to the victims’ families and loved ones.”
Sangha “had the opportunity to stop after realizing the impact of her dealing – but simply chose not to,” which warrants a “significant” sentence, prosecutors also said.
The defense, meanwhile, said Sangha, who has been behind bars since her arrest in August 2024, should receive a sentence of time served due to her “demonstrated rehabilitation.”
“She has maintained sustained and exemplary sobriety, and actively engaged in recovery-oriented and rehabilitative programming while in custody, and has tremendously strong family and community support to facilitate successful reentry and reduce the risk of recidivism,” her attorneys, Mark Geragos and Alexandra Kazarian, wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed last month.
In response to the defense sentencing memorandum, prosecutors continued to argue that Sangha has shown a lack of remorse and claimed she has attempted to minimize the harm she’s caused.
“For example, defendant harmed two overdose victims, but her sentencing briefing does not even mention Cody McLaury and only references Matthew Perry in passing, in the context of defendant attempting to downplay her role in his death and to heap the blame on others,” prosecutors wrote in their response, filed last week.
They also argued that Sangha “expressed a similar lack of remorse in recorded jail communications” – including one on Dec. 25, 2024, during which prosecutors said an individual stated, “We’re gonna sell those book rights,” and Sangha allegedly responded, “Oh I know, the plan is in, the f—— trademark is going down,” according to the filing.
“Even if said in jest, this conversation suggests defendant does not appreciate the severity of her offenses, and instead sees her crimes as a potential future revenue stream,” prosecutors wrote. “It also shows that time in custody has, thus far, failed in getting defendant to adequately reflect upon the grave harms she has caused.”
Geragos has previously said that Sangha “feels horrible.”
“She’s felt horrible from day one,” Geragos told reporters outside the courthouse last year following Sangha’s guilty plea. “This has been a horrendous experience.”
In a victim impact statement filed ahead of the sentencing, Perry’s stepmother, Debbie Perry, said the pain caused by the defendant is “irreversible.”
“Please give this heartless woman the maximum prison sentence so she won’t be able to hurt other families like ours,” she wrote.
In addition to Sangha, four other people were charged and pleaded guilty in connection with Perry’s death: the other dealer, Erik Fleming; Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s live-in personal assistant; and two doctors, Mark Chavez and Salvador Plasencia.
Prosecutors said Sangha worked with Fleming to distribute ketamine to Perry, and that in October 2023, they sold the actor 51 vials of ketamine that were provided to Iwamasa.
“Leading up to Perry’s death, Iwamasa repeatedly injected Perry with the ketamine that Sangha supplied to Fleming,” the DOJ said in a press release last year. “Specifically, on October 28, 2023, Iwamasa injected Perry with at least three shots of Sangha’s ketamine, which caused Perry’s death.”
Iwamasa pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 22.
Fleming pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death and is set to be sentenced on April 29.
Chavez and Plasencia have also been convicted for their roles in what prosecutors called a conspiracy to illegally distribute ketamine to Perry.
Chavez, who once ran a ketamine clinic, pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and was sentenced to eight months home confinement in December 2025.
Plasencia, who briefly treated Perry prior to the actor’s death, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to four counts of distribution of ketamine and was sentenced to 30 months in prison in December 2025.
The sun rises over Lake Powell in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, July 10, 2025, in Page, Ariz. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — March 2026 was a historic month for temperatures in the United States, fueled by an extraordinary and prolonged heat wave that shattered temperature records across much of the West, according to a new report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Last month not only shattered the previous March record set in 2012, but it also marked the first time any month has exceeded the long-term average by more than 9 degrees Fahrenheit.
Daily record highs were widespread and persistent, especially in the Southwest, where some locations saw over 12 record-setting days. Around one-third of the population, 130 million Americans, saw their single-warmest March day on record.
Remarkably, 10 states recorded their warmest March on record: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
Several major cities in the West and Southern Plains also experienced their warmest March on record, many of them by a wide margin, including Dallas, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Albuquerque, Denver, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Phoenix, Arizona, experienced nine 100 degrees Fahrenheit or greater days in March. Previously, the city had only experienced one triple-digit day in March since records began in 1895.
Human-amplified climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events, according to the Fifth National Climate Assessment. It is also causing seasonal shifts, including milder, shorter winter seasons and spring warmth beginning earlier.
For much of the country, March was not only exceptionally warm but exceptionally dry, ranking as the driest March since 2013 across the Lower 48. However, unusually dry conditions have plagued many areas since the start of the year and beyond, with January to March 2026 also ranking as the driest on record.
According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report released on April 2, nearly 60% of the contiguous U.S. is experiencing drought conditions, an increase of about 5% from the beginning of March. The Lower 48 now has the largest extent of drought since November 2022.
Widespread, persistent drier-than-average conditions in March led to drought expansion and intensification across parts of the country.
Drought conditions worsened significantly in Nebraska last month, contributing to the state’s largest wildfire on record. The Morrill Fire scorched more than 640,000 acres. Florida is enduring its worst drought in 25 years, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System, with the dry conditions contributing to a heightened risk of wildfires this spring and prompting water restrictions in parts of the state.
In the western United States, well-above-average temperatures occurred during periods of well-below-average precipitation, which has had dramatic impacts on seasonal snowpack and water resources. With mountain snowpack sharply reduced, the region’s water supplies are facing mounting challenges and wildfire risk is elevated earlier than usual.
The Colorado River provides water for more than 40 million people and fuels hydropower resources in seven states: California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. Major reservoirs in the Colorado River Basin remain well below average, the agency’s latest data shows, heightening concerns about water availability across the region.
Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir in the United States, is one of them. Water levels have dropped more than 10 feet so far this year and are forecast to continue a gradual decline through the months ahead. Despite the recent drop, the reservoir remains more than 8 feet above its record low set in April 2023. However, current projections suggest that level could be approached, or even challenged again, by late summer if dry conditions persist.
Over the next two weeks, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center says there is an increased likelihood of near- to above-average precipitation across a large portion of the country, including much of the West, Midwest and South. Near- to below-average precipitation is more likely along the East Coast.
The outlook also indicates an increased probability of above-average temperatures across much of the nation, with the highest chances along the East Coast and in the South.
Alleged serial killer Rex A. Heuermann appears inside Judge Tim Mazzei’s courtroom with his attorney Michael Brown at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead for a frye hearing on July 17, 2025 in Riverhead, New York. (Photo by James Carbone-Pool/Getty Images)
Heuermann, a New York City architect, was arrested in 2023 and initially pleaded not guilty to killing seven women whose remains were found on Long Island. His trial had been set for September.
Heuermann’s ex-wife, Asa Ellerup, and his daughter are at the courthouse for Wednesday’s high-stakes hearing.
Heuermann’s victims date back to 1993, when Sandra Costilla was killed. Her remains were found in North Sea on Long Island.
Valerie Mack was killed in 2000 and Jessica Taylor was killed in 2003. Partial remains of Taylor and Mack were found near Gilgo Beach and in Manorville on Long Island.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes was killed in 2007 and found near Gilgo Beach.
Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Lynn Costello were killed between 2009 and 2010 and also recovered near Gilgo Beach.
Alleged serial killer Rex A. Heuermann appears inside Judge Tim Mazzei’s courtroom with his attorney Michael Brown at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead for a frye hearing on July 17, 2025 in Riverhead, New York. (Photo by James Carbone-Pool/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Accused Gilgo Beach, New York, serial killer Rex Heuermann might change his plea to guilty and admit to the murders at his scheduled court appearance on Wednesday, sources familiar with the case told ABC News.
Heuermann, a New York City architect, was arrested in 2023 and has pleaded not guilty to killing seven women whose remains were found on New York’s Long Island.
His trial is set for September.
The first victim was Sandra Costilla, killed in 1993. Valerie Mack was killed in 2000 and Jessica Taylor was killed in 2003. Partial remains of Taylor and Mack were found near Gilgo Beach and in Manorville on Long Island, while Costilla was found in North Sea on Long Island.
Maureen Brainard-Barnes was killed in 2007 and found near Gilgo Beach. Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Lynn Costello were killed between 2009 and 2010 and also recovered near Gilgo Beach.
Matthew Perry attends the GQ Men of the Year Party 2022 at The West Hollywood EDITION on November 17, 2022 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for GQ)
(NEW YORK) — The woman reportedly known as the “Ketamine Queen” is set to be sentenced on Wednesday for providing the ketamine that killed Matthew Perry.
Jasveen Sangha admitted in a plea agreement to working with another dealer to provide the “Friends” actor with dozens of vials of ketamine, including the dose that led to his fatal overdose in October 2023 at the age of 54.
Sangha pleaded guilty last year 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.
Sangha faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday morning local time in Los Angeles federal court.
Prosecutors said in court filings ahead of Sangha’s sentencing that she should serve 15 years in prison for her “cold callousness and disregard for life,” and that she’s shown little remorse, pointing to recorded jail communications in which, they say, Sangha talked about “obtaining ‘trademarks’ and securing book rights on the events of the case.”
In a sentencing memorandum filed last month, prosecutors said Sangha ran a “high-volume drug trafficking business out of her North Hollywood residence,” where she stored, packaged and distributed drugs, including ketamine and methamphetamine, since at least 2019. Prosecutors said Sangha continued to sell “dangerous drugs” even after learning she had sold ketamine that contributed to the overdose deaths of two men: Perry and, years earlier, Los Angeles resident Cody McLaury. McLaury died hours after Sangha sold him four vials of ketamine in 2019, prosecutors said.
“She didn’t care and kept selling,” prosecutors wrote. “Defendant’s actions show a cold callousness and disregard for life. She chose profits over people, and her actions have caused immense pain to the victims’ families and loved ones.”
Sangha “had the opportunity to stop after realizing the impact of her dealing – but simply chose not to,” which warrants a “significant” sentence, prosecutors also said.
The defense, meanwhile, said Sangha, who has been behind bars since her arrest in August 2024, should receive a sentence of time served due to her “demonstrated rehabilitation.”
“She has maintained sustained and exemplary sobriety, and actively engaged in recovery-oriented and rehabilitative programming while in custody, and has tremendously strong family and community support to facilitate successful reentry and reduce the risk of recidivism,” her attorneys, Mark Geragos and Alexandra Kazarian, wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed last month.
In response to the defense sentencing memorandum, prosecutors continued to argue that Sangha has shown a lack of remorse and claimed she has attempted to minimize the harm she’s caused.
“For example, defendant harmed two overdose victims, but her sentencing briefing does not even mention Cody McLaury and only references Matthew Perry in passing, in the context of defendant attempting to downplay her role in his death and to heap the blame on others,” prosecutors wrote in their response, filed last week.
They also argued that Sangha “expressed a similar lack of remorse in recorded jail communications” – including one on Dec. 25, 2024, during which prosecutors said an individual stated, “We’re gonna sell those book rights,” and Sangha allegedly responded, “Oh I know, the plan is in, the f—— trademark is going down,” according to the filing.
“Even if said in jest, this conversation suggests defendant does not appreciate the severity of her offenses, and instead sees her crimes as a potential future revenue stream,” prosecutors wrote. “It also shows that time in custody has, thus far, failed in getting defendant to adequately reflect upon the grave harms she has caused.”
Geragos has previously said that Sangha “feels horrible.”
“She’s felt horrible from day one,” Geragos told reporters outside the courthouse last year following Sangha’s guilty plea. “This has been a horrendous experience.”
In a victim impact statement filed ahead of the sentencing, Perry’s stepmother, Debbie Perry, said the pain caused by the defendant is “irreversible.”
“Please give this heartless woman the maximum prison sentence so she won’t be able to hurt other families like ours,” she wrote.
In addition to Sangha, four other people were charged and pleaded guilty in connection with Perry’s death: the other dealer, Erik Fleming; Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s live-in personal assistant; and two doctors, Mark Chavez and Salvador Plasencia.
Prosecutors said Sangha worked with Fleming to distribute ketamine to Perry, and that in October 2023, they sold the actor 51 vials of ketamine that were provided to Iwamasa.
“Leading up to Perry’s death, Iwamasa repeatedly injected Perry with the ketamine that Sangha supplied to Fleming,” the DOJ said in a press release last year. “Specifically, on October 28, 2023, Iwamasa injected Perry with at least three shots of Sangha’s ketamine, which caused Perry’s death.”
Iwamasa pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 22.
Fleming pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death and is set to be sentenced on April 29.
Chavez and Plasencia have also been convicted for their roles in what prosecutors called a conspiracy to illegally distribute ketamine to Perry.
Chavez, who once ran a ketamine clinic, pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and was sentenced to eight months home confinement in December 2025.
Plasencia, who briefly treated Perry prior to the actor’s death, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to four counts of distribution of ketamine and was sentenced to 30 months in prison in December 2025.
