Matthew Perry's ex casts doubt on ketamine death as she says he was terrified of needles and 'would never' inject drugs

Matthew Perry's ex-girlfriend has cast doubt over his cause of death as drowning caused by a ketamine overdose as she claimed he was terrified of needles. 

The actor was reportedly injected dozens of times with ketamine infusions in the lead up to his October 2023 death, with five people charged this month with supplying or administering the fatal drug to the Friends star. 

But his ex-girlfriend and former assistant Kayti Edwards, 47, told The Mirror that he often said he would never try injecting drugs into his system as he was terrified of needles, a phobia that she says even stopped him getting tattoos. 

'This is the weird thing to me,' Edwards said. 'Matthew always, always told me that he would never, ever, use needles or inject anything into his body.' 

Matthew Perry's ex-girlfriend has cast doubt over his cause of death as a ketamine overdose as she claimed he was terrified of needles

The Friends star's ex-girlfriend and assistant Kayti Edwards alleged that Perry would tell her he would 'never, ever, ever' use needles 

Edwards continued: 'I would often see him very high and using lots of different drugs. I would always get so scared, and tell him that he had to stop mixing all this stuff, saying 'you're gonna die.' 

'But he was like…'You only die when you use needles…and I would never, ever, ever do that.' 

Edwards dated Perry in 2006, and although she also worked as his assistant for under a year in 2011, the paid remained close up until his shocking death last year. 

Perry's cause of death was found to have been a drowning caused by the 'acute effects of the drug ketamine' which caused him to lose consciousness in his hot tub. 

She said that when she received news of the actor's death, which allegedly came after his then-assistant Kenneth Iwamasa injected him with a fatal ketamine dose, she immediately doubted the circumstances. 

'When I heard that he let his assistant do it, I just couldn’t understand, especially as he had no medical training,' Edwards said. 

Iwamasa pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death, and faces up to 25 years in prison - with it later revealed that Perry told his assistant to 'shoot me up with a big one' before he was found dead at his $5.2 million Los Angeles mansion. 

Perry told his assistant to 'shoot me up with a big one,' shortly before he was found face down in the hot tub of his $5.2 million Los Angeles mansion, according to released documents

Perry's cause of death was found to have been a drowning caused by the 'acute effects of the drug ketamine' which caused him to lose consciousness in his hot tub 

Edwards said as she looked into the case, she was also disturbed by the lack of any drugs or paraphernalia found at Perry's home.  

'If you have given him a big shot, there would be a needle and evidence of ketamine in the house. Where did it all go?' she questioned. 

'Why did the assistant shoot him up with all those drugs and leave. I always stayed with Matthew if he was taking drugs as I didn’t want him to OD, or anything to happen. I could call 911. But why wasn’t his assistant there?' 

It comes as a newly released document alleged that another person charged over Perry's death, the so-called 'Ketamine Queen' Jasveen Sangha, would often refer to the actor by his on-screen characters. 

The nickname given by the alleged drug dealer was revealed as part of a plea agreement signed by Perry's friend Erik Fleming, who like Iwamasa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine earlier this year. 

It was claimed that Sangha 'used a name of a well-known character that (Perry) portrayed in a television series', implying she referred to him as 'Chandler.'  

Jasveen Sangha was named as one of five people charged over the actor's overdose death, and was allegedly nicknamed the 'Ketamine Queen'

Sangha has not entered a plea in relation to the charges. 

Two doctors have also been charged, with medic Mark Chavez pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute, while Salvador Plascencia, 42, has not yet cut a plea.

According to prosecutors, Sangha was not the only one to refer to Perry in communications, as the two doctors are accused of mocking the actor in text messages.

They allegedly questioned 'how much this moron will pay' for ketamine, adding: 'Let's find out.'