Police to quiz Murphy's husband after young actress's shock death
Screenwriter's objections to post mortem overruled
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Actress Brittany Murphy who died on Sunday aged 32.
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By Anita Singh in Los Angeles
Tuesday Dec 22 2009
The British husband of the Hollywood actress Brittany Murphy is to be questioned by police over her sudden death at the age of 32.
Simon Monjack is one of several people who will be interviewed about Murphy's final hours.
The actress, best known for her roles in 'Clueless', '8 Mile' and 'Sin City', was found unconscious in the bathroom of the couple's home on Sunday morning. She suffered a cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead two hours later.
Los Angeles police said there was no evidence of foul play and no illegal drugs were found in the house, but a number of different prescription drugs were discovered. Toxicology results will take several weeks.
Surprise
According to the celebrity website TMZ.com, Mr Monjack told hospital staff at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre that he did not want a post mortem to be performed. However, he was overruled by the coroner. Murphy and Mr Monjack married secretly in 2007, to the surprise of many in Hollywood.
A degree of mystery surrounds Mr Monjack's background and career.
He describes himself as a screenwriter, director and producer, but only two film credits appear on his CV. The last was the Sienna Miller film 'Factory Girl', which was released in 2006.
When the couple married, a number of stories appeared on the internet referring to him as "Conjack" and claiming he had left a string of debts in his wake. He was also involved in several lawsuits, reportedly being sued by banking firm Coutts for $470,000 (€328,900) in 2006.
He was briefly married to a British television presenter, Simone Bienne, which ended in divorce in 2006. She successfully sued him in the Los Angeles Superior Court for $50,000 (€34,900), which he owed as part of their divorce settlement.
Mr Monjack said the rumours were spread by "ridiculous people" and dismissed them as "nonsense".
Downward
Murphy's career had been on a downward trajectory in recent years amid rumours of drug use and eating disorders, which she denied.
Reports since her death claim she may also have suffered from diabetes and a heart condition.
Earlier this month she was allegedly fired from her latest film, 'The Caller', after producers lost patience with her "difficult" behaviour. Her agent said she left due to "creative differences".
She recently surprised fans at a fashion outlet opening in Los Angeles with looks that were even more gaunt than usual.
"I am a bit thinner now than what I would like to be," Murphy told a reporter at the opening on December 3.
Over the years, Ms Murphy had been forced to deny rumours about illegal drug use and serious eating disorders. As for the former, she said in 2005, that reports of her using cocaine were "pretty darned far-fetched".
Hollywood writer Michael Adams recalled that in a 2002 interview, Murphy told him that she had a serious heart condition.
He said he asked the same question about drug abuse. "She laughed and said even if she wanted to she couldn't take (illegal substances) because she'd had a heart condition since she was a little girl." (© Daily Telegraph, London)
- Anita Singh in Los Angeles
Irish Independent
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