Was Brittany Murphy murdered? Father suspected foul play but her death is unsolved even after a decade
It has been more than 10 years since one of Hollywood's rising leading ladies, Brittany Murphy, died. Her death was shrouded in mystery and even now, it continues to haunt us. Investigation Discovery's latest special, 'Brittany Murphy: An ID Mystery' aims to uncover secrets behind the actress's death.
At the time of her death, Murphy was living with her husband, Simon Monjack, and her mother Sharon Murphy. Monjack was an English screenwriter, director, producer and make-up artist. The actress remains best-known for her work in 'Clueless' (1995) and '8 Mile' (2002) with Eminem, 'Girl, Interrupted' (1999), and she also led the romantic comedies 'Little Black Book' (2004) and 'Just Married' (2003), in which she starred alongside her real-life boyfriend at the time, Ashton Kutcher.
On the morning of December 20, 2009, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to calls from Murphy's home in the city. Murphy had collapsed in a bathroom and firefighters attempted to resuscitate her on the scene. Later, she was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she died after going into cardiac arrest. Murphy was only 32 years old. According to reports, Murphy had battled flu-like symptoms for a few days before her death.
While her autopsy initially stated the cause of death to be "deferred", it was later modified in February 2010 that the primary cause of Murphy's death was pneumonia, with secondary factors of iron-deficiency anemia and multiple drug intoxication. A few days later, the coroner released a report stating that Murphy had been taking a range of over-the-counter and prescription medications, with the most likely reason being to treat a cold or respiratory infection.
While there were rumors of Murphy's drug use throughout her adult life, it was never confirmed. In interviews after Murphy's death, Monjack refuted reports that she was addicted to prescription drugs, despite the numerous pill bottles found at the scene. "My wife was not abusing prescription drugs that I was aware of," he told People at the time. Five months after Murphy's death, Monjack was found dead at the home he shared with Murphy. Like Murphy, the cause of his death was acute pneumonia and severe anemia. Following Monjack's death, it was reported that the Los Angeles County Department of Health had considered toxic mold in their house as a possible cause of death. However, this was later dismissed, with Murphy's mother stating that the Health Department never requested an inspection of the house.
However, in December 2011, she changed her stance, announcing that toxic mold was indeed what killed her daughter and son-in-law, and filed a lawsuit against the attorneys who represented her in an earlier suit against the builders of the home where her daughter and son-in-law died.
In 2013, Murphy's father, Angelo Bertolotti, ordered an independent toxicology report, which found high levels of toxic metals including ingredients used in rat poison in Murphy's hair. Bertolotti initially thought Monjack was to blame, but he later pointed the finger on Murphy’s mother when Monjack died. He surmised that she was the only one poised to gain financially from the couple's death. However, Murphy's mother refuted the independent report in an essay written for the Hollywood Reporter. She wrote, "Angelo has shown he only wants to trade on Brittany's life, career and good reputation — even at the cost of putting a cloud over her memory."
While it's still possible that Monjack's and Murphy's deaths were strange coincidences, we can't deny that it continues to be bizarre. Murphy's death was "accidental but preventable", Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter stated at the time. "She had been sick for at least two weeks. Had they taken her to a doctor or a hospital, it would have been treatable."
'Brittany Murphy: An ID Mystery' will air on ID on May 26 at 9/8c.