The Death of Brittany Murphy: Natural Causes or Toxic Mold On the morning of December 20, 2009, the world lost a very respectable and talented actress. At about 8:00 a.m. that morning the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a medical request at the home of Brittany Murphy and her husband Simon Monjack in Los Angeles. She collapsed in her bathroom where her mother was holding her in her arms and urged Simon to call 911. She was then taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where she was pronounced dead at 10:04 a.m. after going into cardiac arrest. Murphy’s primary cause of death was said to be pneumonia with anemia and drugs as contributing factors by the L.A Coroner’s office. Britney Murphy was a well-known American actress who starred in a number of different films from Clueless, Happy Feet, Just Married, Uptown Girls, and 8 Mile just to name a few. She was always known for her charismatic and bubbly personality. She starred in films where she could play a comedic role and in other films where she played a dramatic role. She had many talents besides acting such as singing and dancing as Penny Marshall said, “who directed her in Riding in Cars With Boys: “Her timing was impeccable. She could be funny. She could be dramatic. She was a terrific actress (Block).” According to an article written on People magazine online, titled Britney Murphy Died of Drug Intoxication and Pneumonia, by Ken Lee, he stated that, “Brittany Murphy died from multiple drug intoxication, pneumonia and "iron deficiency anemia" in what the coroner has concluded was an accidental death.” She was found in her peach colored bathroom floor. As investigators progressed their investigation they found, “A number of prescription meds were reportedly found by investigators on her nightstand. (Lee)” This was seen as a major factor to the death of the star. Late Lee states, “ Simon says his wife was taking the painkiller Vicoprofen and the antidepressant Fluoxetine (also known as Sarafem) to deal with severe menstrual cramps, and that many of the other meds found were for his own use due to a seizure he recently suffered.” This came to show that many people started to believe she was a woman who had a drug problem and abused the use of prescription drugs even those that were not hers. Although the world believed that this beautiful young actress died due to the abuse of drugs and pneumonia and many believed she was anorexic because of her petite figure, her parents and husband and those who knew her very well knew she was not the drug abuser that society had claimed she was. After doing some research there were many controversial articles stating other claims on how Brittany Murphy had died. Some believed it was due to the poor construction of her Hollywood home and her parents kept demanding for answers. The new demand to find answers about what caused the death of Brittany Murphy was immediately made soon after the death of her husband just five months after to similar causes. Simon Monjack was found dead at the same Hollywood home that himself and Brittany shared after his mother in law, Murphy’s mother, called 911 on May 23, 2010. According to an article on cnn.com, Coroner finds Simon Monjack's death was similar to Brittany Murphy's, by Alan Duke, “Simon Monjack's death two months ago was caused by acute pneumonia and severe anemia, according to a Los Angeles County coroner spokesman. "Just like Brittany," Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said, referring to actress Brittany Murphy, Monjack's wife, who died five months earlier.” This came to show that her death and her husband’s death were very similar. Her mother, “Sharon Murphy issued a statement saying the preliminary findings should "stop the reckless innuendos that my daughter and son-in-law misused any kind of prescription medications." This led to have Brittany Murphy’s death re-investigated. As the years passed leading to earlier this year, Murphy’s parents had been filing against the LA coroner’s office. In an ante-narrative article, “Brittany Murphy’s death case plagued by cover-ups and controversy,” by Julia Davis, it states, “On January 11, 2012, Brittany Murphy’s grieving father filed a lawsuit against the Office of the Coroner and the Los Angeles Police Department, seeking the release of specimens of his daughter’s hair and tissues (LA Superior Court Case No. BC476868). Deputy Chief Coroner Ed Winter publicly admitted that the Office of the Coroner did not test Brittany Murphy’s hair or tissues for toxins or poisons. The LAPD collected Brittany’s hair samples, but also failed to test them. Mr. Bertolotti and a team of his supporters firmly believe that Brittany and her husband, Simon Monjack, did not die of natural causes.” Angelo Bertolotti is Brittany Murphy’s biological father who in fact had faced many obstacles in getting answers to his daughter’s wrongful death. He was then denied the release of the specimens of his late daughter which not only himself and the rest of the world questioning as to why they did not want to release them. He stated in the same article, ““Why would the LAPD and Office of the Coroner have such a problem with independent testing of Brittany’s specimens, if they had nothing to hide? Wouldn’t they be eager to prove me wrong, if there was no foul play involved in the demise of my daughter and her husband? Brittany’s hair and tissues were about to be destroyed by these entities, if it wasn’t for my efforts to have them preserved. Neither the LAPD nor Office of the Coroner had any plans to conduct their own testing, so there is no legitimate reason for their interference with my intent to do so through an independent laboratory. I wonder if they’ve quietly conducted some tests before releasing the specimens to me and have changed their mind based on the outcome. Frankly, at this point I wouldn’t be surprised.” This comes to show that if in reality, if there were nothing to hide then why would the LAPD and the LA coroner’s office want to hide and not release Murphy’s specimens to her father for him to conduct a further investigation?
In addition to all of this controversy, Murphy’s mother wasn’t satisfied with the outcome of her daughter’s death. In an article on Huffing Post, Brittany Murphy’s Cause of Death: Actress Killed by Toxic Mold Says Mother, it stated, “Brittany Murphy's mother claims toxic mold found in her daughter's Hollywood home is to blame for both Brittany and her son-in-law's Simon Monjack's deaths.” Her mother claimed that the builders of her daughter’s home are to blame for the wrongful death of her beloved daughter. She had recently filed a suit against her previous lawyers for misleading her and tricking her into giving up her rights to sue the builders for wrongful death. Within that same article, it read, “Murphy's mother says her lawyers convinced her to accept a settlement offer for the construction problems in January, but they didn't explain that the settlement included a stipulation so that she would never be able to sue the builders for their alleged role in her daughter's death.” This came to show how her mother was trying to just get justice for her daughter’s death.
So what really caused not only Brittany Murphy’s death but also the death of her husband? It is still unknown but with enough controversial articles and her parents constantly searching for answers and wanting nothing but justice it is clear to say that she did not die to due to intoxication of prescription drugs and natural cause of pneumonia, but in fact was poisoned by the toxic mold that was growing within her home. How was it that just five months after she died, her husband died as well in the same home to similar causes? He died due to pneumonia, which mad everyone wondering what caused them both to die so soon? Obviously they both died to the toxic mold in their Los Angeles home and not from abuse of prescription drugs or unhealthy eating. It was even said that, two days before her death, “ Late Friday afternoon of her final weekend, she made a doctor appointment for Monday. She never got there. (Block).” She obviously knew she was very ill and she never was someone who would abuse prescription drugs yet overdose on any kind of drug. Sadly the world lost a remarkable and talented actress and all we seek is justice of her wrongful death.

Works Cited
Block, Alex B. "The Final Difficult Days of Brittany Murphy." The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Jan. 2011. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. .
Davis, Julia. "Brittany Murphy's Death Case Plagued by Cover-ups and Controversy." Examiner.com. Clarity Digital Group, 3 Aug. 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. .
Duke, Alan. "Coroner Finds Simon Monjack's Death Was Similar to Brittany Murphy's." CNN. Cable News Network, 21 July 2010. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. .
Lee, Ken. "People." PEOPLE.com. PEOPLE, 04 Feb. 2010. Web. 16 Dec. 2012. .
Marcus, Stephanie. "Brittany Murphy's Cause Of Death: Actress Killed By Toxic Mold
Says Mother." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 19 Dec. 2011. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.