Simon Monjack, Brittany Murphy's Widower, Found Dead in Los Angeles

By PopEater Staff Posted May 24th 2010 08:00AM

Simon Monjack, the husband of late actress Brittany Murphy, was found dead Sunday night in his Hollywood Hills home, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He was 39. The screenwriter was reportedly found by his mother-in-law, Sharon, in the master bedroom of the house he once shared with Murphy.

"The preliminary cause of death is natural causes," Sgt. Louie Lozano told the Associated Press. Another police spokesman, Sgt. Alex Ortiz, said, "We concluded there were no signs of foul play or any criminal activity involved."

Ortiz said that the coroner's office was taking over the investigation because criminal activity had been ruled out.

According to his spokesman, Monjack was due for a heart bypass. "Simon needed a [heart] bypass. I was told he needed a bypass, and I said to him, 'Simon, you have so much going on, let's keep you healthy.' I said, 'You want to be healthy. Don't you?' He said yes, but he said, 'The bypass can wait,' " his rep told PEOPLE.

Officials told reporters that a 911 call for a medical emergency was placed at 9:46 PM Sunday night. When emergency responders arrived at the home, Monjack was pronounced dead. It's unclear if medics tried to revive him.

Watch the 'Today' Show Interview w/ Monjack:

No illegal drugs were found in the house, according to Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter.

Sharon Murphy, Brittany's mother, also lives at the home.

Brittany Murphy was found dead Dec. 20 in her bathroom by Monjack. The final coroner's report, released Feb. 23, states that she had "elevated levels" of Vicodin and drugs from over-the-counter cold medicine in her system, but no illegal substances. The office concluded Murphy's death was accidental, but likely preventable. She was 32.

In an interview following the results, Monjack said, "I took very good care of my wife ... She was on an antibiotic and she was taking cough medicine and doing all the right things."

At her funeral in December, a visibly emotional Monjack talked about their relationship and called her his best friend and soul mate. He had said that they had been planning a family and contemplating a move to New York.

Monjack and Sharon Murphy recently took the 8,000 sq. ft home off the market, reportedly because they did not feel comfortable showing the home to potential buyers. It went up for sale in March for $7.25 million.

Monjack -- who penned and produced 2006's 'Factory Girl' -- wed Murphy in 2007 in a small, private ceremony at their house. The marriage seemed to come out of nowhere, as the couple never announced their engagement and hardly ever made public appearances together.

Their nuptials came amid a swirl of controversy. According to an Us Weekly report -- which has since been taken off of their website -- Monjack, who is British, was on the verge of being deported because he overstayed his visa. He split from his ex-wife just months before marrying Murphy.

Tags: brittany murphy, simon monjack

Comments

(203)

Monday 24 May

By patty

High Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

and you know this how?

By Fran

Vote down Vote up Report this

THE POLICE SHOULD WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE...THE MOTHER INLAW SHOULD BE THE PRIME SUPECT...HELLO

By barb

Highest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

I totally agree!!!

By pofinnegan

VAL, the mother did not find both of them dead....He found his wife dead....NOT MOM!
It is a sad story, she had elevated levels of vicodin, other words, she took more then 1 pill. She was not a drug addict. He had a heart condition, so is a heart attach out of the question? I think not. People, get your minds out of the gutter. IT WAS SAD AND UNFORESEEABLE.

By strangedc

The truth is this. People live too fast...fast food, fast fun, fast money, fast cars..they abuse themselves, thinking that they are invincible...look how many young people have died this year, most of it tied to drugs. the rest of it, just foolishness...

By Shellfish789

The very sign of a Drug overdose....it will proabley be swept under the rug...the real cause......but it is very strange that both die at a very young age.....I say it was an drug overdose for both rather you like it or not.......

By GB

All this speculation is sickening-just like the grueling interview above. The officials will figure it out and you all will get your answers. May they rest in peace.

By montana

AWWWWW Thats sad, really it is. One never knows when their number is up . What is even sadder is the number of tards out there who instead of going to college and earning a degree sit pathetically at a keyboard and play Kojak . Get a Life People I AM TALKING TO YOU !! RIP to you both

By tmc

You'll prpbably see that he died of sudden cardiac death. He made mention in a interview with Matt Lauer that his heart once stopped. He's overweight, stressed out and doesn't appear to have used a treadmill in some time. I'm going with sudden cardiac death.

By Carol

Quick to point fingers at the only living person in the house. I wonder if anyone did any testing on the house to see if any potential health hazards are involved. Low levels build up in the system and can cause death. A lot of times coronors look for the obvious and not the obscure.

By dharma

how terrbily sad, i remember them saying on larry king live he had a bad heart and had almost died since the death of his wife. and sharon the mother in law said their prime need was to keep him alive now. i worry about sharon. RIP Simon Monjack

By Ninja Delusion

Nice witch hunt. This is why "innocent until proven guilty" is a joke. THE COPS DID NOT SUSPECT FOUL PLAY. Do you people know more than the police? Sometimes a bananna is just a bananna; and a coincidence a coincidence.

By wreckonice

I think U mean banana.

All the sleuths out there who pointed the finger at the grieving widow are now saying its the MOM . You're all losers . Go play in the street.

By Shagwell

This proves that her husband with a gigantic head was actually an unhealthy drunk who probably hastened his wife's death. Simon Monjack was a lazy slob -- he didn't work and sucked money out of his wife's career.

By plchom

That hasty discreet marriage to Murphy just a few short months after he divorced from his wife tells me it was not love on his part. It was for his residency papers in the U.S. Discreet ceremony and all...
Murphy may have thought he loved her, maybe he did but two deaths so close together in the same house raise a lot of questions.

By debi

here's what i want to know. why is he listed as 40 in the headline and only 39 in the story? if that doesn't match, i don't have much faith in the info in the story being truthful

By N2

YOU JR. DETECTIVES HAVE BEEN WATCHING TO MUCH TV. THE MAN LOST HIS WIFE (WHO HE LOVED). HER MOTHER LIVED IN THE HOUSE WITH THEM AND THEY TOOK CARE OF HER. HE KEPT HER THERE AS A GOOD SON-IN-LAW WOULD AND YOU MAKE UP STUPID SCENARIOS ABOUT WHY SHE LIVED THERE WITH HIM.
HE DID A GOOD THING AND HAD A GOOD MARRAIGE BY HOLLYWOOD STANDARDS. HE MAY HAVE DIED OF A BROKEN HEART!
GOD BLESS THE BOTH OF THEM AND HOPE HER MOTHER CAN REAMIN IN THE HOUSE HER DAUGHTER LEFT.

By martha wheeler

Who has the movie rites, because I'm sure there will be one!!!

By Sunshine

May they rest in peace.

It's seem to be odd that Brittany Murphy's mother who found both of them dead in same house... Just very eerie and spooky here.

Page 4 of 11