Brittany Murphy: An ID Mystery – Was the death of a successful Hollywood actress murder?

Brittany Murphy was a successful actress, who had had prominent roles in major movies such as 1995s Clueless and 2002s 8 Mile, and many others. However, her life ended prematurely in 2009, when she was just 32-years old.

In December of 2009, Murphy collapsed in the bathroom of her Hollywood Hills home, where she lived with her husband, screenwriter, Simon Monjack, and her mother, Sharon Murphy. She was taken to hospital where she went into cardiac arrest and died a couple of hours later.

Initially, her cause of death was contributed to pneumonia, which was exacerbated by an iron deficiency and the multiple cold medicines she had consumed that further weakened her immune system.

However, the circumstances of her death have remained controversial, and many feel that the exact cause of her demise is yet to be revealed. The death of her widow, Simon Monjack, who died six months later in an almost identical fashion, has further fuelled suspicions.

Questions have been raised over the behavior of husband Simon Monjack in the months after his wife’s death. He raised eyebrows when he showed a magazine crew around his home and even showed off his deceased wife’s possessions and the bathroom where she had collapsed.

Brittany Murphy’s father and brother believe she was murdered

Murphy’s father, Angelo Bertolotti, and half brother, Tony Bertolotti, have made no secret of their dislike for Monjack and their belief that he was somehow involved in her death.

They believe that Monjack was an extremely controlling and possibly abusive, influence on Brittany. They point out that he had multiple problems with many of his business ventures having failed. He was allegedly heavily in debt, and as a British national, he faced deportation.

There are serious doubts over Monjack and Murphy’s relationship; despite being married for three years, Brittany did not include her husband in her will.

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There are allegations that Monjack and Sharon Murphy were sharing a bed. One theory posited is that Monjack and Sharon were the ones who were dating all along and that Brittany was murdered to pay off their debts.

In 2013, Angelo Bertolotti commissioned a toxicology report which discovered high levels of toxic metals in Brittany’s hair, including Barium, which is used in some rat poisons.

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Brittany Murphy: An ID Mystery airs at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery.