Brittany Murphy's suspicious death is still a mystery to many of us. The 32-year-old collapsed in her West Hollywood home on December 20, 2009. According to a coroner, the cause of death appeared to be "natural."
But the clues around her death didn't make sense. It's not natural for a 32-year-old without any known health conditions to just suddenly die in her home.
Her death happened shortly after her husband, Simon Monjack, fell ill and needed CPR while traveling. Since he was often villainized in the news, the story quickly made headlines. But it was Brittany's health that would soon dominate tabloids.
Soon after that incident, she felt sick with a case of laryngitis that didn't go away for weeks. Despite feeling sick, Brittany was still there for both her husband and her mom, Sharon, who was in the midst of a fight with breast cancer.
She reportedly told her mom that she knew she was going to die shortly after she collapsed. Her lips were reportedly turning blue, and by the time 911 got there, it was too late. Simon stuck by the story that Brittany had died of a broken heart after being fired from a film and having rumors swirl about possible drug use. But just five months after her death, he also died from the same strange symptoms.
The documentary What Happened, Brittany Murphy? tells more of a full story of Brittany's final days. And it's not afraid to dive in deep when it comes to Simon Monjack and the way he was able to manipulate Brittany during their relationship.
The two-part documentary, produced by Blumhouse Television, actually goes so far as to interview Simon's family, including his mother. The director also dug deep and found Simon's former fiancée, Elizabeth Ragsdale, who goes on record to say that Simon wasn't who he often appeared to be. According to People, Elizabeth claims that Simon lied to her.
Elizabeth says that while they were together, she became pregnant with Simon's baby. After Simon convinced her to give birth in the United States, he paid for her plane ticket and arranged for her to stay in a studio apartment. But when she arrived, he completely blocked contact with her, leaving her alone in a foreign country while four months pregnant.
That heartless act only exposes his character even more. The director of the documentary, Cynthia Hill, learned a lot about who he really was while putting the pieces of the Brittany's life together.
"He was a disturbed individual who was used to conning people and Brittany was one of his last victims," she revealed.
Makeup artist Trista Jordan also appears in the documentary. She worked with Brittany on one of her last films prior to her death and says that Brittany's physical appearance during those days had looked unhealthy.
"Her eyes were so sunken, and she just seemed so sad," Trista said. "She wasn't herself. She was in so much pain. She had Bambi legs and couldn't stand up."
There was one thing that was apparent in every interview Cynthia did regarding Brittany. Every person she talked to couldn't stop talking about how kind, sweet, and professional the young star was. That's something that makes the untimely loss even more sad — she was a gift to the industry and had so much potential to become a huge star.
"Everyone was so consistent when they would describe her," said Cynthia Hill. "She was so generous, caring and always thinking about everybody else and I think sometimes that gets forgotten because of all the mystery surrounding her death. She was loved by everyone."
After Brittany's death, she had one person in her life who was sure that foul play was involved. And that was her biological father, Angelo Bertolotti. Angelo wasn't in Brittany's life throughout a large chunk of her childhood, so some sources at the time didn't take his concern seriously. Instead, they felt like he just wanted a moment of her spotlight. The relationship between Angelo and Brittany's mother was so rough that at one point she claimed he wasn't Brittany's dad, despite being on her birth certificate.
Angelo believed that Brittany was poisoned. He ordered additional toxicology reports that found 10 heavy metals in her system. But her mom, Sharon, was quick to dispute those findings.
"His claims are based on the most flimsy of evidence and are more of an insult than an insight into what really happened," she said, per Biography. "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." Angelo's involvement officially ended when he died in 2019.
It's unclear whether or not Sharon has involvement in this new documentary, but her insight would be best. She knew both Brittany and Simon well, and surely she'd offer plenty of stories, having been there the night Brittany died. Yet still, surely the experience is also haunting and something she might not want to relive after all of these years.
While it seems as if there's more to her death than the coroners could reveal, it's a mystery to know whether or not she could have been saved had she seen someone for her illnesses sooner. While the press hounded her and made accusations about drug use, they should have tried to figure out if she was OK. The world lost an incredible talent, and hopefully, her story can be accurately told.
