Brittany Murphy was suddenly found dead in her home on December 20, 2009, but it's still hard to believe that she's actually gone. For someone who lived such a short life, she managed to impact so many people with her work. For me, watching some of my favorite movies, like Clueless and Uptown Girls, is truly not the same knowing Murphy's no longer with us. But now, Lifetime is attempting to bring Murphy back to life with their unauthorized biopic, The Brittany Murphy Story — and the results are probably going to be disastrous.
And despite the fact that Murphy's father, Angelo Bertolotti, is furious that the movie has been made, even to the point of unrightfully harassing Amanda Fuller, who plays Murphy in the film, it's still happening. There's no telling how accurate (or not) the movie might be, especially since it was created without the help or approval of those close to the beloved actress. So before the movie premieres on Saturday and gives its version, here's everything we know for sure about Murphy's death.
Murphy's death was sudden & unexpected
Murphy was only 32 when her mother, Sharon, found her unconscious in the shower in the early morning of December 20, 2009. Murphy's mother immediately called 911, and the heartbreaking audio of the call was released later. Despite the attempts of Murphy's mother and husband to revive her, Murphy was pronounced dead at 10:04 a.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Murphy suffered from anemia and was battling a case of pneumonia at the time, which would later be ruled the official cause of her death.
The coroner's report showed no alcohol abuse or illegal substances in her system
Two months after her death, autopsy results done by the Los Angeles Coroner confirmed that her body showed no signs of alcohol abuse or illegal substances at the time of her death, and that there could be no other cause for her death than pneumonia. According to People, they did find elevated traces of Vicodin and over the counter cold medicine — unsurprising, considering that Murphy wasn't feeling well at the time of her death. The coroner called her death "accidental but preventable," and stressed that there was no evidence of foul play.
Murphy was laid to rest in a small, private funeral
On Christmas Eve 2009, a small group of Murphy's closet family and friends came together to say goodbye at Hollywood Hills' Forest Lawn Memorial Park, where guests sang "Amazing Grace." Murphy's husband, Simon Monjack, spoke tribute, and family friend Alex Ben Block gave the eulogy.
Murphy's husband, Simon Monjack, died just five months later
Shockingly, Monjack was found dead on May 23, 2010 at his Hollywood home after the Los Angeles County Fire Department was called. At the time of his death, Monjack was only 40, and his mother, Linda Monjack, had told People earlier in the year that he had suffered a heart attack shortly before Murphy's death. Later that year, the assistant chief coroner announced that Monjack's death was ruled "pneumonia, just like Brittany."
Monjack was later buried beside Murphy, and a rendition of "Smile" sung by Murphy with Monjack accompanying her on the piano played as they closed the casket. It's difficult to imagine a more heartbreaking scenario for their friends and family to have to deal with.
Coroners Have No Plans To Reopen Murphy's Case.
Bertolli obtained DNA samples from Murphy for further testing and reportedly received results that said there were 10 types of heavy metals found in Murphy's system at the time of her death. "It's very suspicious," Bertolli said, according to CNN. "I feel she was poisoned and there's no question about that. She was murdered."
However, the Los Angeles Coroner told the Huffington Post that they plan to stand by their original reports. As of November 2013, the coroner's office had never been sent any third-party lab results, and so her case remains closed.
Buried Evidence
Brittany had died of ‘natural causes’ following an autopsy performed on December 21st 2009, even though certain toxicology samples were not examined, most notably her hair, tissue and fingernails. In addition, we learned that a Mees’ line examination was not conducted during the autopsy due to the polish that was still present on Brittany’s fingernails.
Mees’ lines, are prominent horizontal marks that can appear on a person’s fingernails when they’ve died due to toxic heavy metal poisoning. It is often listed that renal failure (kidney failure) has occurred when Mees’ lines are present on a body after death, particularly, acute kidney failure giving a person the appearance of ‘shock kidneys’ from the traumatic septic shock they have undergone.
Even though Brittany is said to have suffered from diabetes and hypoglycemia, it is clearly listed in the apparently leaked autopsy report, that she had shock kidneys according to the coroner, suggesting the strong possibility that she could have died from poisoning.
If Brittany did display acute trauma to her kidney’s, why wouldn’t the coroner perform a Mees’ lines examination, as the sudden shock to her kidney’s could have suggested a different cause of death?
In February of 2010 the The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner once again concluded that Brittany died of community acquired pneumonia, citing – pneumonia, iron deficiency anemia and multiple drug intoxication. It should be stated that No illegal drugs were found in her system, as the substances in her blood were consistent with medicine taken for cold and respiratory infections. Here is a passage from the apparent autopsy report that confirms the types of over-the-counter medications in her system at the time of her death:
If this autopsy passage above is real, then what was behind the massive push to portray Brittany as a drug addict, claiming she was hooked to a number of illegal substances, surely the coroner’s office could have set the media straight with these facts following her death?
It’s well-known that the dead circus that is Hollywood media, likes to cook-up trashy headlines and bloated tabloid features – but in the case of Brittany Murphy, it appears as though there was a blatant disregard of facts contained within her autopsy.
The House and Molding - The Story
Brittany’s mother, Sharon Murphy sold the Hollywood Hills property formerly owned by the film star, which narrowly avoiding foreclosure after claims of toxic mold being in located somewhere in the house. She subsequently filed suit against her attorney’s after apparently not being made aware of the possibility that Brittany and Simon Monjack could have died from mold.
What’s odd here, is that L. A. County coroner Ed Winter, put the toxic mold queries to rest following Brittany’s autopsy, stating they specifically looked for evidence of mold in the death of both celebrities and did not find that it was a factor in either person’s death.
You have to wonder why was Sharon trying to sue for wrongful death, when there clearly seemed to be no case for it?
And why has she tried to put to rest theories about her daughter’s death, when there seems to be evidence of foul play?