Hollywood Babylon: The Strange Death Of Brittany Murphy Revisited – Part One

“You do not need to accept everything as true, you only have to accept it as necessary.”
― Franz Kafka, The Trial
Shawn Helton
21st Century Wire

What happened to Brittany Murphy?
To this day, events surrounding the strange and untimely death of Brittany Murphy have remained an enigma. We've been told she died of 'natural causes' though there were many anomalies in the case of her death.

There are several people involved in this mystery and after looking at the evidence you can decide for yourself what really happened to her.
This is the strange death of Brittany Murphy revisited and the circumstances which led up to her final days...

Brittany Murphy was at one time a Hollywood darling and is perhaps best known for her role in the 90's cult-film Clueless, a film partially based on Jane Austen's 1815 novel Emma, she also had notable performances in the dark psychological drama, Girl Interrupted as well as Sin City, the graphic-crime-comic that came to life in a neo-noir style film in 2005. Over the years Murphy was seen as a bit of a chameleon, wildly changing her looks whether she was behind the camera or not and despite her sugary persona, her life on-screen seemed to capture a more serious note showcased in recent films like The Dead Girl and the as of yet unreleased thriller Something Wicked, her final role. Ironically, the film's plot involves the suspicious death of a loved one.

Brittany was born in at Atlanta, Georgia and after her parents separation at two years of age, she moved to New Jersey with her mother.

From an early age the young Brittany Anne Bertolotti (her birth given name) appeared to have her sights set on the Hollywood dream, attending the Verne Fowler School of Dance and Theatre Arts in Colonia, New Jersey, in 1982.

In 1991 she was said to have relocated to Los Angeles at 13 years old, specifically to pursue a future in acting. After a short time she quickly rose to fame in the acting world, also becoming known for her voice work as well as her singing, even managing to garner a hit-club single called 'Faster Kill Pussycat' with trance DJ Paul Oakenfold.

To live and die in L.A

The well-known Hollywood actress Brittany Murphy was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on the morning of Sunday, December 20th, 2009 from cardiac arrest. Her failing body was discovered by her mother Sharon Murphy, apparently after collapsing in the shower of her Hollywood Hills home, a home she shared with her husband Simon Monjack, as well as her mother.

IMAGE: These are apparent aerial and interior photos of Brittany Murphy's Mediterranean-style home built in 1998. It has been reported that she bought the house for $3.85 million from Britney Spears in 2003.


IMAGE: Murphy's Hollywood Hills home - Police arrive at the scene after an 8 minute 911 call by her mother Sharon on December 20th, 2009 - a call that the L.A. County Coroner claimed was '10 minutes too late.'


IMAGE: Brighter Days: Brittany seen here with her mother Sharon Murphy.


IMAGE: Murphy with her husband, British Screenwriter and filmmaker Simon Monjack.

An autopsy turns cold

Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter concluded Murphy died of 'natural causes' citing,  pneumonia, iron deficiency anemia and multiple drug intoxication as the main causes of death. According to Brittany's father, Angelo Bertolotti, her case was 'opened and closed on the same day' without the conclusion of toxicology results from hair and tissue samples.

Bertolotti has maintained that the LAPD and L.A. coroner have refused to complete the toxicology portion of Brittany Murphy's autopsy, prompting him to file a suit against both entities in 2012 to obtain samples to be independently tested. Shamelessly, other more salacious outlets have implied that he was suing for some kind of monetary gain or publicity. There seems to be no validity to this claim however, and he has apparently been funding his own private investigation into her death.
The purported autopsy of Murphy does in fact appear to be incomplete, as an examination of her nails was apparently not performed. Evidence collection for hair samples were also said to have been completed on December 21st, 2009. However, the results of the toxicology tests are not listed in the final autopsy by the L.A. County coroner even after being reviewed in January of 2010.

Murphy's autopsy report listed her as dying specifically of - community acquired pneumonia. While pneumonia is listed as the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, its effects can be mimicked by toxic metals, in addition to toxic gases, so it should be stated that it can often be misdiagnosed as the main cause of death.

It's important to note that the autopsy report mentions Murphy as having hypoglycemia, a condition indicative of a drop in glucose within the bloodstream which has been known to cause anxiety, nausea, seizures and in severe cases, a coma. However, this was not listed as the cause of her death. The report lists a section called 'current medications,' naming off prescriptions to reduce anxiety, antibiotics, cold medicine, a glucose elevator,  sedatives, anti-seizure medication and high-blood pressure pills. Aside from the high-blood pressure medication, most of what was listed could fit Murphy's health profile ( note Murphy had just been to the doctor for a recent bout with laryngitis ) and someone with hypoglycemic history. Simon Monjack also needed anti-seizure medication as he had  been suffering from grand mal seizures due to a fall  he had while working on a photography session some two and a half years before his death.

According to reports, it seems that Murphy's prescriptions have been lumped in with those of Simon's and Sharon's, creating a confusing atmosphere as to whether the star herself abused drugs or was tasked as the caretaker for her ailing husband and mother, both of whom seemed to be grappling with their prescription issues.

Murphy is alleged to have used different aliases to purchase certain prescriptions at Eddie's Pharmacy for herself , Monjack and her mother Sharon.


IMAGE: Eddie's Pharmacy - prescriptions abound for Hollywood's brightest

Eddie's is a trendy drug haven for the celebrated and is said to be a reputable operation but why would they allow any of their clients to purchase prescription drugs under different names, it seems unlikely that they wouldn't have recognized such a well-known celebrity, especially one that apparently purchased 200-400 pills per month?
There have been reports from other Hollywood news outlets that seemed to place the blame on Dr. Richard J. Kroop, who allegedly had a violation of keeping up to date medical records for patients, while still prescribing medicine. However, other than the usual gossip columns that strangle Hollywood reports, I haven't been able to find any other stories confirming Dr. Kroop's involvement with Brittany.

Was Eddie's deflecting some of the blame here, conveniently shifting public opinion towards an allegedly unscrupulous doctor?

"The family trio purchased prescription drugs monthly from Eddie's, usually 200 pills that in some months doubled to 400. Murphy used several aliases including Lola Manilow Murphy, Kathelyn Moore, Trevor Williams, and Faith Gosselin. How did Murphy choose her aliases? Check it out at the end of this article."

It should be stated that the autopsy unequivocally asserts that Brittany had no history of drug and alcohol abuse.
I cannot verify the validity or authenticity of the autopsy screen shots below but if they are real - they could provide a potential window into the forensic side of Murphy's case.

Please note this is not her entire autopsy below, I merely highlighted a few key areas in the nearly 20 page report.













The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner issued another report in February of 2010 claiming that Brittany had been taking a range of  over-the-counter drugs and other prescription medications but when listening to the 911 call by her mother Sharon, she clearly says "no" when asked if her daughter had been taking any medication. This is an important statement even if Sharon was unable to think clearly, as she repeats her answer a couple of times.

Listen to the traumatic 911 call of Sharon Murphy, while Simon Monjack attempts to resuscitate the 32 year-old actress in the background.

Reports state that Murphy's husband Simon had initially tried to stop the autopsy performed by L.A. County. Simon would later die of the exact same causes as his wife some five months later. According to his apparent autopsy he had suffered a mild heart attack a month prior to Brittany's death. It is also stated that Sharon Murphy waited at least 45 minutes to call 911 while Simon was unresponsive and his "lungs filled up with fluid," for approximately seven hours. The coroner's report noted, he could have been dead for hours.

Why did Sharon delay in getting help?



Shockingly, there was also a disturbing part that was redacted in Monjack's autopsy report suggesting that Sharon had been sleeping in his bed prior to his death.

According to L.A coroner's on the scene, they had been combing through Monjack's bedroom and belongings and stated the following:

"As I go through (The name was whited out) tells me that this is "her" side of the bed and all the prescription and items on top the nightstand belong to her."

Sharon Murphy was the only other person living at the Hollywood residence and the only family member to be on the scene with the coroner at the time of Simon Monjack's death.

What kind of relationship did Sharon and Simon have?


IMAGE: Celebrity Death Spokesman:Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter

The L.A. County Department of Coroner has been refered to by some as an 'old haunted house' as its seen a host of bizarre and tragic deaths for decades, including many Hollywood cases. In recent years, the L.A. corner's office has conducted many high-profile autopsies including that of  pop icon Michael Jackson, actor Corey Haim, Brittany Murphy, as well as investigative journalist Michael Hastings and actor Paul Walker. While many have been suspicious of both the death of Haim and Jackson for potential information they may have known about the entertainment business and Hollywood, there was also a strong motive to silence Hastings, as he was said to be working night and day on another groundbreaking story involving apparent government corruption. It has been said that he had reached out to Wikileaks attorney Jennifer Robinson, just hours before his death.

The L.A. County coroner's office also came under fire after an 'open and shut,' autopsy that was performed on conservative publisher and commentator Andrew Breitbart, who was just 43 at the time of his death. It was stated he died of natural causes, then listing heart failure as  the final cause in the updated autopsy report. He was a regular on Fox news as well as other talk shows and was apparently about to blow the lid off of Obama's presidential run in 2012 with damning new evidence that was to derail the campaign. Allegedly the autopsy was conducted by Michael Cormier, 61, an L.A. County Coroner, who was said to have died of arsenic poisoning a month and three weeks later after Breitbart's suspicious death. Cormier subsequently died upon the release of the final version of  Breitbart's autopsy.

Mainstream media outlets have been eerily silent since Breitbart's sudden death. We should remember that a coroner certifies the death of an individual working as a government official. The public is very aware of the government's hold on media and other government agencies.

Did someone much higher up influence the coroner's final report?

Ed Winter has stated that "Mr. Cormier was not the attendant on Mr. Breitbart’s case, nor did he do any of the handling nor any of the investigation," conflicting reports that Cormier had performed the autopsy.

IMAGE: The Early Years: Brittany and her father Angelo Bertolotti

The fear of the truth

Many entertainment media outlets have sought to defame Murphy's father Angelo Bertolotti, using his former connections to organized crime as a way to discredit him but decades have passed since he served time in a federal penitentiary and was said to be a part of a criminal enterprise. While he has a checkered past, we should look at his investigation of Brittany's death objectively.

Bertolotti recently addressed the slander he has received at the hand of those in media:

“I’ve ( Angelo Bertolotti )been attacked and slandered for my attempts to expose the truth about the way my daughter and son-in-law were treated before and after their deaths. Justice will no longer be obstructed through name-calling and media cover-up. The day of accountability is near. The world will know the truth about what really happened to Brittany, whatever it takes."

What father wouldn't want to know the truth about the death of their daughter?

Bertolotti has often asserted his quest for justice over his daughter's peculiar death:

“Years after my daughter’s untimely death, toxicology testing on her hair still has not been completed. Office of the Los Angeles Coroner and the Los Angeles Police Department admitted that such tests were not done and refused to conduct them. At this point, I am asking the court to intervene and allow me to get the specimens independently tested. Brittany’s hair and tissues were about to be destroyed, but I’ve paid to have them preserved, so that they could finally be examined. I’m not going to rest until my daughter’s untimely demise is properly investigated, which hasn’t happened so far. Her case deserves more than a superficial glance."

Since then Bertolotti has had two independent tests( that's right, two separate tests concluding that Murphy could have died by criminal intent) conducted, both have revealed that there was as much as 9 times the reasonable levels of harsh metals and toxins in Murphy's body, strongly suggesting that she could have been poisoned, here is an excerpt from the Carlson Company report:

"we have detected ten (10) heavy metals at levels above the WHO high levels recommendation. If we were to eliminate the possibility of a simultaneous accidental heavy metals exposure to the sample donor then the only logical explanation would be an exposure to these metals (toxins) administered by a third party perpetrator with likely criminal intent."

According to Los Angeles Attorney Mychal Wilson, "The Los Angeles County Coroners Office will most likely have to re-test on their own. Apparently, the LA County Coroner’s Office never tested for heavy metal poisoning."

Rat Poison, Family Feuds, Secrets: The Tragic Death of Brittany Murphy

12

Brittany Murphy, the actress perhaps best known for her work as the lovable Tai in Clueless, died on December 20, 2009 at the young age of 32. At the time, her death was breathlessly reported; despite the fact that her career had taken a bit of a hit in her final years and persistent rumors of her having possible substance abuse issues, Murphy was young and vibrant enough that no one was prepared for her to die. So when news broke earlier today that she actually might have been poisoned, it was just the latest bizarre twist in a saga that's clearly not ready to be put to bed just yet.

Brittany Murphy May Have Been Poisoned, According to New Report

This is really sad and shocking: although the LA Coroner ruled that both Brittany Murphy and her… Read more

The circumstances surrounding Murphy's death took many weird turns: her husband died mysteriously just a short time later and in the years since, both of Murphy's parents have filed lawsuits related to her passing. Herewith, a timeline of an unusual tragedy.

April 2007: Murphy marries British writer/director Simon Monjack

Murphy and Monjack marry in a small ceremony at her home after less than a year of dating, though they had known each other for more than a decade. There are reports that the pair planned to work together on an adaptation of D.M. Thomas' The White Hotel, but as Vanity Fair later reported, the project seemed doomed from the start and never materialized. Director George Hickenlooper, who allegedly worked with Monjack on his movie Factory Girl, writes an extensive comment on the website Hollywood Elsewhere claiming that Monjack had nothing to do with Factory Girl and was a con man. Hickenlooper also writes that he had "warned" Murphy about Monjack:

The last thing I told Brittany is "Do you know who this guy is? I mean do you really know him. Do you know what you're doing by marrying him?" At this point Brittany became angry and told me she knew Monjack better than anyone and then hung up on me. A few months later I tried to call her to see if she was alright and Monjack would not let me speak to her. I so so feared something bad would happen. I thought he might take her for all her money. Little did I know she would end up dead. Now I am not saying Monjack has anything to do with this. I wouldn't know. And I'm sure the guy is in deep mourning. But one can sure speculate that his clear lack of character and background couldn't have led to the most healthy environment. I really feel bad for Brittany. She was a sweet sweet angel and didn't deserve anything bad to happen to her ever. May she rest in peace. I will miss her. We will all miss her. She was the most talented and underrated actresses working in film.

December 20, 2009: Murphy is found dead

The LAFD is summoned to Murphy and Monjack's home in West Hollywood (which she had purchased from Britney Spears in 2003) at 8:00 on a Sunday morning. Murphy is taken to the hospital after she reportedly collapsed in the shower and was found by her mother Sharon, but doctors are unable to revive her; she is pronounced dead two hours later from cardiac arrest. The Los Angeles coroner says they believe the cause of death "appears to be natural" but is uncertain of what, exactly, ended Murphy's life.

December 2009: Monjack denies Murphy was anorexic or addicted to drugs

During "a sometimes tear-filled interview" Monjack tells People magazine that Murphy was suffering from "laryngitis and flu-like symptoms," for which she was taking antibiotics, when she died. "She was on herbal remedies that wouldn't speed up her heart," Monjack said. "There was nothing here that could endanger her; there was prescription medication in the house for her female time and some cough syrup. That was it." He notably mentions how he "couldn't bear" the idea of cutting Murphy open for an autopsy.

February 2010: Murphy's death partially attributed to cold medicines

A report from the coroner indicates that Murphy's death was still not the result of foul play, but an accident spurred by medications she was taking to combat pneumonia and an iron deficiency. "Multiple medications were present in the blood, with elevated levels of hydrocodone, acetaminophen, and chlorpheniramine. L-methamphetamine was also present," the report said, noting that the drugs involved are used in Vicodin and other over-the-counter medications. Murphy also apparently suffered from heavy periods that would account for her iron deficiency and lead to a "weakened state of health" that "would increase her vulnerability to infection." The coroner says her death could have been prevented if she had gone to the doctor.

The same month, a foundation started in Murphy's name by Monjack and her mother is deemed a fraud

TMZ reports that The Brittany Murphy Foundation, started by Monjack and Sharon to celebrate children's arts education, "is not registered as a charity with the IRS or the state of California, as required by law. The California Secretary of State's office told TMZ there are no records for The Brittany Murphy Foundation. The state Attorney General's office also has no record of the organization as a nonprofit group — and the IRS says the foundation has not filed for a non-profit license." After TMZ's story broke, the foundation's website was shut down; shortly after that, they announced they'd had started the organization as a private one "with plans to apply for non-profit status," but that they'd be returning donations "until we have our non-profit status approved before proceeding to insure that we can truly honor Brittany's charitable desires."

March 2010: Murphy's mother puts Brittany's house on the market for $7.25 million

April 2010: Murphy's mother takes the house off the market

Monjack tells TMZ that the house is no longer for sale because Sharon felt uncomfortable showing it with Murphy's belongings still inside.

May 23, 2010: Monjack is found dead

Like Murphy, Monjack is found suddenly dead at the home he shared with Murphy. The LAFD was on the scene after responding to a call at 9:24 pm on Sunday night for an "unspecified medical aid request;" CNN later reports that Monjack was planning on having triple-bypass surgery after the summer, and had delayed the surgery until after a planned fundraiser for the Brittany Murphy Foundation. He is buried next to Murphy at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, near the the home they shared together.

July 2010: Monjack's death is found to be similar to Murphy's

The LA coroner's report indicates that Monjack also died of pneumonia and anemia – "just like Brittany," in the words of Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter. Monjack was found with prescription drugs in his system, and his mother-in-law stated for the record that there was no drug overdose. All involved parties denied rumors that toxic mold contributed to either Monjack's death or Murphy's; Sharon's lawyer said that any rumors to the contrary could have stemmed from a lawsuit filed the previous year against a contractor who had done shoddy work, which required a full investigation into the house.

January 2011: Murphy's house is put back on the market

Despite reports indicating that the property had gone into foreclosure, Murphy's mother begins to attempt to sell the house for a steal at around $5 million.
The Hollywood Reporter publishes a piece entitled "The Final Difficult Days of Brittany Murphy" indicating that the couple were incredibly paranoid that they were being watched.

April 2011: Murphy's mother puts her belongings up for auction

Interested parties find that they can bid on costumes from movies like Uptown Girls, art and even the late actress's passport; Julien's Auctions' consignment director Michael Doyle tells Yahoo! Shine that he and Sharon pent two years deciding which items she should sell. A Tumblr called Justice for Brittany calls the decision "disgusting."

July 2011: Murphy's home is sold for $2.7 million

December 2011: Murphy's mother files a lawsuit over toxic mold

Apparently changing her mind about the role that toxic mold played in her daughter's death, Sharon Murphy files a lawsuit against her attorneys for not telling "her about a possible wrongful death suit due to mold in the house," reports the Hollywood Reporter:

Sharon Murphy charges the firm of Steiner & Libo with legal malpractice, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty for not properly informing her that in January 2011 — when she accepted the final settlement of that earlier lawsuit — she was giving up her right to sue for the wrongful death of her daughter due to the presence of mold in the 13-year-old, 8,000-square-foot-home.

January 2012: Murphy's father sues the Los Angeles coroner

Angelo Bertolotti files suit against the LA coroner and police because he believes that they did not test hair samples he submitted to them that would prove Murphy did not die from the mix of cold medicines she was on but due to toxic mold in the house. "...there has been no investigation, none of the potential witnesses and/or persons of interest have been questioned and only the very basic autopsy procedures/toxicology testing has been performed," Bertolotti's complaint said, adding that Murphy's "hair was never tested for poisons, toxins or heavy metals." A submitted "hair kit" included samples of Murphy's natural head hair, hair from her weave/extensions, facial hair, arm hair and pubic hair. Bertolotti requests the return of the hair samples so he could have them tested himself. The corner's office says that they did not test the samples "because there was nothing that led us to believe that [she died of arsenic poisoning]," the LA Times reports.

July 2012: Judge dismisses Murphy's father's lawsuit

After Bertolotti and his attorney apparently failed to show up in court or file any follow-up claims, a judge dismisses the suit.

February 2013: Murphy's mother settles her lawsuit

After her former lawyers alleged that Sharon's settlement agreement about the home wouldn't have prevented her from filing a wrongful death suit, Sharon's new attorneys file papers indicating that the case had been settled and should be dismissed. No terms of the settlement are revealed.

November 3, 2013: Murphy's father relaunches the Brittany Murphy Foundation

"Brittany Murphy suffered an untimely death, under highly suspicious circumstances," a press release on the Foundation's site reads. "On the anniversary of Brittany Murphy's Birthday, her father continues to seek justice for his daughter and honors her memory with a foundation that will keep her legacy alive and ensure an opportunity in the field of Arts and Entertainment for underprivileged children. The foundation epitomizes Brittany's generosity of spirit, fulfilling her dream to help others realize their full artistic potential." The site holds no other information.

And then, a report finds Murphy may have been poisoned

After securing the release of Murphy's hair samples, Bertolotti tests the samples and a lab report concludes that:

Ten (10) of the heavy metals evaluated were detected at levels higher that the WHO [The World Health Organization] high levels. Testing the hair strand sample identified as" back of the head" we have detected ten (10) heavy metals at levels above the WHO high levels recommendation. If we were to eliminate the possibility of a simultaneous accidental heavy metals exposure to the sample donor then the only logical explanation would be an exposure to these metals (toxins) administered by a third party perpetrator with likely criminal intent.

The Examiner claims that both Murphy and Monjack displayed symptoms that would result from this type of poisoning. "Vicious rumors, spread by tabloids, unfairly smeared Brittany's reputation," said Bertolotti. "My daughter was neither anorexic nor a drug junkie, as they repeatedly implied. Brittany and Simon were ridiculed by The Hollywood Reporter, when they complained of being under surveillance and in fear for their lives. I will not rest until the truth about these tragic events is told. There will be justice for Brittany."

Brittany Murphy's late husband may have drained her finances

Murphy's former business manager is claiming that her late husband withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars before his death in May

The controversy surrounding the death of Brittany Murphy has taken a grim turn with an allegation by Murphy's former business manager that her late husband, Simon Monjack, may have drained Murphy's savings by 80 percent before his own death in May.

People.com spoke with Jeffery Morgenroth, Murphy's former business manager, who added that the withdrawals have left Sharon Murphy, Brittany's mother, financially insecure.

"There were huge amounts of money in (Brittany's) pension plan and bank account, and all of that's gone," Morgenroth told People.com. "There was money being withdrawn by Simon, hundreds of thousands."

Linda Monjack, Simon's mother, denied that her son would have taken money. "If there is money missing, I have no idea where it is," she told People.

Sharon Murphy, who lived with her daughter and son-in-law, is, according to Morgenroth, having a hard time believing allegations that Monjack could have drained Murphy's accounts.

"She'll say, ‘I can't talk about that now," Morgenroth said. "She needs guidance on how to deal with things."

Brittany Murphy likely poisoned, lab report says

A new laboratory report lends credence to what actress Brittany Murphy’s father has long suspected: that she and her husband died not of natural causes, but of poisoning by someone out to kill them.

“It’s a bona fide report,” the lab’s general manager, Denny Seilheimer, told TheWrap. “It was our client’s prerogative to release the report. That’s all I can tell you.”

Murphy’s father, Angelo Bertolotti, didn’t accept the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Officeconclusion that the “Clueless” star and husband Simon Monjack died of natural causes — pneumonia and anemia — five months apart. He sued to gain access to her hair samples, and hired Seilheimer’s private lab, the Carlson Company, to look for signs of poisoning.

The lab found evidence she was was poisoned — probably by “a third party perpetrator with likely criminal intent,” according to the report, which was authorized by Seilheimer.

Coroner’s spokesman Ed Winter said his office has not been in touch with Murphy’s father and had no updates Monday.

“We have no comment on that and our report stands as of now,” he told TheWrap.

Bertolotti told TheWrap he was not immediately available to comment Monday. Murphy died in 2009, and Monjack in 2010.

LAPD spokesman Officer Cleon Joseph said it would be up to the coroner’s office whether to take further action.

“Whatever the findings, if there was something to report, they would report it to us,” he said.

The report found that Murphy’s body had dramatically elevated levels of aluminum, manganese, barium and other metals.

Brittany Murphy's late husband may have drained her finances

Murphy's former business manager is claiming that her late husband withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars before his death in May

The controversy surrounding the death of Brittany Murphy has taken a grim turn with an allegation by Murphy's former business manager that her late husband, Simon Monjack, may have drained Murphy's savings by 80 percent before his own death in May.

People.com spoke with Jeffery Morgenroth, Murphy's former business manager, who added that the withdrawals have left Sharon Murphy, Brittany's mother, financially insecure.

"There were huge amounts of money in (Brittany's) pension plan and bank account, and all of that's gone," Morgenroth told People.com. "There was money being withdrawn by Simon, hundreds of thousands."

Linda Monjack, Simon's mother, denied that her son would have taken money. "If there is money missing, I have no idea where it is," she told People.

Sharon Murphy, who lived with her daughter and son-in-law, is, according to Morgenroth, having a hard time believing allegations that Monjack could have drained Murphy's accounts.

"She'll say, ‘I can't talk about that now," Morgenroth said. "She needs guidance on how to deal with things."

The Final Difficult Days of Brittany Murphy

A year after her death, Alex Ben Block details her struggles to revive her once-promising career -- and, for the first time, shares his interviews with her late husband and mother.

[Editor's Note: In Nov. 2013, Brittany Murphy's father requested a new toxicology report that suggested that his daughter may have been poisoned. In an interview on Good Morning America,  he said: "I have a feeling that there was definitely a murder situation here. Yeah, it's poison. Sharon Murphy, Brittany Murphy's mother, disputed that claim in an open letter to The Hollywood Reporter."]

The following story appears in the new issue of The Hollywood Reporter on newsstands Wednesday.

When the final curtain came down for Brittany Murphy on Sunday morning, Dec. 20, 2009, the drama played out in the one room in her Hollywood Hills mansion that had become her refuge: her bathroom. This tiled, peach-colored sanctuary was where she went to get away from the mounting pressures of her life: a house she hated, a city where she no longer wanted to live, a career that was imploding and the constant burden of being a caregiver. 

Even though she didn’t feel well herself, Brittany was there to care for her mother, Sharon Murphy, a breast cancer survivor suffering debilitating neuropathy, and her ailing husband of three years, 39-year-old Simon Monjack. For nearly a year, the England native had been having seizures and a month earlier suffered an apparent heart attack. When he had a seizure, his arms and legs flailing on the big four-poster bed, Brittany would rush to his side. Although weakened by anemia and gasping for breath from her own ailments, Brittany held his 300-pound body down, using a spoon to keep him from swallowing his tongue.

Simon joked that his wife’s bathroom was “her comfort zone.” He called it the “Brittany-sized room,” reflecting her diminutive 5-foot-2 stature, and recalled how she spent hours sampling the cosmetics and perfumes that crowded every inch of counter space, critically studying her body image, sometimes singing to herself or writing bits of poetry in a journal, listening to music or paging through magazines from which she would tear out pages with clothes she just had to have.

While Brittany dozed on the big bed beside him after midnight, Simon and Sharon talked about the practical aspects of their plan to move to New York. They discussed selling the big house Brittany had purchased in 2003 for $3.9 million, fully furnished, from Britney Spears, who had lived there with Justin Timberlake. Brittany always felt the tri-level Mediterranean at the top of Rising Glen Road was unlucky. She wanted to start fresh in 2010 in New York, where they could start a family, Simon would find work as a screenwriter and director and she’d star in independent films that would revive her career.That Saturday night was chilly and windy. The electric power kept going out, and the backup generator failed. They used flashlights when it went dark, afraid to light candles near the wheezing oxygen machine Simon relied on to ease his sleep apnea, bouts of asthma and frequent respiratory infections.

“She absolutely hated the Rising Glen house,” Simon told me in January 2010. “Every time we would drive up Sunset, Brit would say, ‘Please, can we stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel?’ I’d say: ‘Honey, you’ve got to be realistic. We have our house, a 10,000-square-foot home. We’re going to stay in it.’ ”

As it turned out, it was where Brittany and Simon were to die, in surprisingly similar ways, only five months apart.

I first met Brittany in 1992 in L.A., when she was 14. She had become close friends with my daughter, who was also an actress and singer. Brittany and her mother became part of our extended family in those years, often sharing dinners, holidays and birthdays. At times, Brittany turned to me as a father figure, and we talked about her life and career. She lacked higher education, but behind the giggles, Brittany was a sponge who soaked up knowledge. She educated herself and had interests ranging from politics to science to the intricacies of show business. We spent many happy times sharing thoughts.

I hadn’t seen a lot of Brittany after she married Simon in 2007, but when the news flashed of her unexpected death, I went with my wife and daughter to her house to try and comfort Sharon and Simon. I helped them deal with the media onslaught in those first days and, at their request, gave the eulogy at Brittany’s funeral on Christmas Eve.

In those first weeks after Brittany died, as Simon lay on the bed, rarely rising or bathing, he encouraged me to write an independent book about Brittany that would tell her true story. He and Sharon gave me a series of on-the-record interviews, which are quoted throughout this article. Only later would I realize that much of what Simon told me — about his family, education, marriage and career — was exaggerated or simply fabricated.

Simon wanted the book because he was convinced — before the autopsy report on Brittany came back — that she had literally died of a broken heart caused by the shoddy way she had been treated in Hollywood. He wanted to expose the studios, producers and talent reps he believed had used rumor and innuendo — about her alleged lateness, inability to remember lines, drug use and partying — to destroy her career. “I honestly think Brittany’s life has to serve a purpose,” Simon told me. “Her true fans, and young people coming off the bus, deserve to know the bubble can burst.”

Simon was especially bitter at Warner Bros. because Brittany had been dropped as a voice actor on Happy Feet 2 after stories about illegal drug use appeared on tabloid websites. He recalled Brittany crying for hours about her stalled career. She hadn’t starred in a studio movie since 2004’s Little Black Book, and Simon believed there had been a conspiracy against her among former agents and managers. That was a major motivation to move away from Hollywood.

“It wasn’t about the money,” he told me. “She wasn’t going, ‘Oh, I’m not being offered $10 million to do a movie.’ It was: ‘I’m not getting offered anything where I can really show what I can do. I can sing. I can dance. I can do all these things I was put on Earth to show the world,’ and somehow she was being blocked from doing it.”

The irony, Simon insisted, was that Brittany literally could not do drugs. In her early teens, she had been diagnosed with a heart murmur, so Brittany knew illegal drugs could endanger her life. That fear, Sharon said, that made it impossible for Brittany to use cocaine or stimulants.

The tabloid noise had increased over the years as Brittany got thinner and blonder in a quest for leading roles in movies, which also raised the specter of anorexia, which haunts many Hollywood actresses who feel the need to be thin. Brittany was 115 pounds when she died, a healthy weight for her height, even though she looked fragile and her limbs were reed-thin. “She had curves in all the right places,” Simon said. “She was just miniaturized. She ate whatever she wanted when she wanted.”

Still, Brittany had self-image issues. “The thing she was very conscious of was her height,” said Martha Coolidge, who directed Brittany in the 2009 Lifetime movie Tribute. “She felt she was short, so one reason she controlled her weight was the thinner you are, the taller you look. She was knowledgeable about her body and what would exaggerate her height.”

In the meantime, Brittany had learned to live with physical pain: Ever since a car accident shortly after Clueless came out in 1995, she had coped with a recurring ache in her jaw. Sick or well, she struggled to keep going and keep working. She was the family breadwinner. But after becoming a name-above-the-title star in such movies as Just Married and Little Black Book, things weren’t going well with her once-promising career. In the months leading up to her death, she had seen the end of her lucrative, long-running voice role as Luanne on King of the Hill and, in addition to losing roles in Happy Feet 2 and 2008’s Tinker Bell, had been dropped from The Expendables.

“The nature of this town is exploitive,” Simon told me. “Brittany would be alive today if she was a housewife in Edison, N.J.” — where she grew up — “or a successful person in another business.” But showbiz had been her dream since she was a small child pointing to a TV screen and telling Sharon she wanted to be on television some day. 

It was wonderful that Brittany never lost her childlike innocence and sense of wonder, or that infectious giggle. But what worked for her as an actress made for a troubled life: She never learned to drive or balance her own checkbook. She looked to her mother, business managers and finally Simon to care for her. It was the need for a father — her biological father was rarely part of her life — mentor, teacher and anchor that led her to Simon.

Brittany had an unusually close relationship with her mother. Sharon told me they “grew up” together. I was able to witness firsthand their unique bond. They referred to each other as “soulmates.” Ever since Brittany came to Hollywood at 13, with her mother following shortly thereafter, Sharon had dedicated herself to her daughter. In turn, Brittany had put her career on hold twice when Sharon had bouts of breast cancer shortly after the making of Clueless and again in 2003, when Brittany camped out in her mom’s hospital room and I was among the many friends she recruited to donate blood on Sharon’s behalf.

Sharon “worked hard being a single mother,” her sister Deborah “Debba” Murphy told me shortly after Brittany died. “I don’t think she forced Britty into the showbiz stuff. Britty wanted to do it.” JoAnne Colonna, Brittany’s agent or manager for a decade, recalled meeting her when she was 16 and being struck by her energy, talent and how close she was to her mother. “They were adorable together,” she said. “They finished each other’s sentences. Both were bright and bubbly, and that relationship never changed.”

Brittany Murphy's Mother Breaks Silence, Disputes Poison Claim in Emotional Open Letter (Exclusive)

"She was my baby, and we stood together throughout Brittany's life. Now I must stand up for her again," writes Sharon Murphy exclusively for The Hollywood Reporter days after the late actress' estranged biological father claimed a new lab test showed evidence of possible foul play.

I have chosen to stay out of the limelight since the tragic and sudden death of my wonderful, talented, loving daughter four years ago this Dec. 20.

From the day of her birth, Brittany was my precious, more dear to me than anything or anyone in the universe. I have been devastated by her loss and that of my son-in-law [Simon Monjack] and have remained in seclusion in my mourning.

I have no choice now but to come forward in the face of inexcusable efforts to smear my daughter's memory by a man who may be her biological father but was never a real father to her in her lifetime. Angelo Bertolotti has relocated to California in his old age to claim he is here for Brittany, as he never was in life. He has made outrageous statements over the past few years, culminating in this latest madness: that my darling daughter was murdered.

His claims are based on the most flimsy of evidence and are more of an insult than an insight into what really happened, as I will explain to you shortly.

First, I want you to know a little of the real story. I raised Brittany alone. We didn't have much at first, but we always had each other. My daughter and I were our only family, and we were inseparable and always there for each other in good times and bad. She never left my side as I battled cancer twice, and I was there for her through the trials and tribulations of her beautiful life and career.

Angelo was not there at all after age 1. He certainly wasn't around during the 12 years he spent in prison on three criminal felony convictions. Throughout her childhood, I was Brittany's only parent and sole support. No bond could have been stronger.

Angelo did come out of the woodwork when Brittany was a teenager and found success in a number of TV shows just before she was in Clueless. But she quickly saw him for who he is -- and didn't want anything to do with him. He now claims to have had a few meetings with Brittany over the years where he took the occasional photograph, but those must have been brief moments because I was there with her most of the time at home and when she was working -- and he was never, ever around. He has admitted he did not see her at all during the final three years of her too-short life.

It sends pain through my heart when I read [in recent reports about Bertolotti's lab testing results] that "the family said" -- meaning Angelo -- because he was never her family in reality. She and I and our extended family and close friends were her family, and as she grew in years and professionalism, she was beloved by many, many people, including fellow performers and the great artists in Hollywood.

In light of the recent publicity about a lab test Angelo had done, I have asked some knowledgeable people, and they tell me that an analysis from a sample of hair is not considered dependable unless it is backed up by tests of tissue and blood and other analysis -- which he did not do (the coroner did, but they show no similar results). I am also told one lab may give different results than another lab in terms of heavy metals, and the proper method requires multiple tests before any results are released.

The lab Angelo used, if you can call it that, is an Internet site that farmed out the actual testing and then wrote horribly untrue things under the guise of "analysis." It mentioned rat poison as a possible cause and claimed to be able to say that a third party murdered my beloved daughter.

To even mention that the heavy metals that were listed in his test are in rat poison, leading to articles suggesting Brittany ingested that or anything like it, is absurd. If she had, don't you think it would have shown up in the coroner's test of her blood and tissue? A reputable expert will tell you that what this lab did is an ethical violation of the highest order; to even pretend to be able to draw such conclusions on unreliable evidence is the real crime.

This report conveniently ignores what any good scientist will tell you: A hair sample can be affected by many outside factors, including hair dye, hair spray, prescription medications, foods, smoking the occasional cigarette and environmental factors. One cause we now know may have been toxic mold that was eventually discovered in that house -- which may have been what really killed her.

We will never know for sure. However, we do know the Los Angeles County Coroner did extensive tests and found that she died of natural causes. And now she is a real living angel in heaven.

Angelo has also formed the Brittany Murphy Foundation, as if he is fit to carry on her memory. Like everything else Angelo and his collaborator Julia Davis have done, this is calculated to make them money and bring them the fame they desperately crave. They say they want to do a documentary and write a book, and this whole stunt is merely publicity to fuel their aspirations.

I can only imagine the horror that would be in that book and documentary, based on what has been said in Davis' earlier work, The Terror Within. Davis and Angelo have told bald-faced lies in order to promote their products by falsely associating my daughter and son-in-law in their story.

Let me be clear: I am quite confident Brittany never cooperated with Julia Davis, never signed any statement in support of her, never met with her and barely knew she existed. Davis did try to contact Brittany through her agent, but all she got back was a letter from CAA -- then Brittany's talent agents -- which we have, telling Davis that their client knew nothing about her claims and would not meet with her.

Davis' grievances with the government agency she worked for may be real -- and if so, I feel bad for her -- but she has no right to drag my daughter's memory into it to serve her agenda.

I am sorry to be so forthright in saying this, but the time has come to bring out into the open the lies Angelo and Davis have told now that Brittany can't defend herself. They did it simply to promote their interests, their book, Davis' documentary and career. The time has come for their false statements to be exposed and rebuked.

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. His actions have hurt the people she actually lived with, loved and considered her dearest friends and family. I have heard from many of Brittany's closest friends about the awful things said on the Internet or in the media about them when their only crime was to truly love Brittany. This has been done by people willing to perpetuate awful lies for their own personal aggrandizement and enrichment.

Angelo and Davis will do what they do, but I can no longer remain silent. I must speak the truth. I want my Brittany to be remembered as the darling person she was, for the giant talent she showed the world (and left behind in her movie and TV appearances) and for the friendships and loving relationships that really were part of her life.

She was my baby, and we stood together throughout Brittany's life. Now I must stand up for her again. It is time for those who really knew and loved her to put those who want to exploit her on notice: Your lies will no longer be tolerated, and as long as I live will continue to be exposed.