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I have been listening to the Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club, which actually Elena recommended to me.
She did not listen to it, but she said, girl, this title sounds so you.
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Hey weirdos, I'm Elena. And I'm Ash. And this is A Mini Morbid.
Mini, mini, mini, mini, mini morbid. Mini morbid, mini morbid, mini morbid.
And it's ash-centric. Ash-centric. Basically, like Elena said, it's a mini morbid.
So, you know, we just get right into those.
I know. We don't really have a lot to... There's really not a lot to say.
All the big announcements came, you know, earlier in the week and last week.
Yeah. Yeah. And normally we save like any kind of announcements for the main episode, which will be Elena's.
Yeah. On Saturday. Got you to it. Beat you to it.
You did. I was like, what? Today is really gray and gloomy and I love it.
I do too, but it's also I'm exhausted because it was littlest one's first birthday.
Yeah, it was. Happy birthday, littlest. HPD, little.
HPD. And although we couldn't have like the blowout party I usually have for all the kids for their birthdays.
We had a fucking party. we tried we gave it our best shot yeah you know ash really did the damn thing ash and annie were like the heroes of the day Well, because we don't have kids, so we don't have a lot to do.
But regardless... the littlest one was not exactly exhausted at the end of the day.
Oh, so she didn't have a cake crash? Yeah, she had the cake crash, which then turned into, like...
Oh, no, I'm overtired. So we were up all night.
I'm exhausted. I'm not a real person right now.
So like pair that with the gloomy day and I'm just not awake.
My cats kept waking me up last night. Oh, so it's not the same as kids, but like at least it doesn't crawl onto your face.
That was literally the best. My cats kept me awake last night.
If anybody has cats, then you understand.
They jump on your freaking head and they meow in your goddamn ear.
Yeah, it's the exact same thing. It's the same as kids.
Yeah, totally. Like... Don't they just like jump on your face and meow in your ear?
Yeah, absolutely. The same. Anyways, that has nothing to do with what we're talking about today.
Today we are talking about... What are we talking about?
The late Brit Murph. Britt Murph. Brittany Murphy.
Yes. Thanks for buying me a Coke. No. man i'm just kidding i want the vanilla kind oh so good i like the cherry one I think we're also a little slap happy because yesterday was a lot, you know, cats and kids.
Yeah, you know, cats and kids and whatnot.
We have too many things. Um, so yeah, so no, I w the reason that I wanted to do this as one, I feel like this is like a highly requested one in the inbox. yeah of uh morbid podcast at gmail.com and then also i started watching sister sister on netflix Yeah, you sure did.
And wow. Wowzers. She's... Britney plays Sarah in...
Oh, yeah. And she's like kind of like a bad girl in that show.
I forgot that she's in like a lot of the like she's in Boy Meets World.
Yeah, I read. Reference that later. We should play like Trini.
Trini. Exactly. I literally referenced that later.
I love that. So, yeah, this case is a little wild.
I will maybe let you know my opinion at the end.
Maybe I won't. I don't know. It depends on how you're feeling.
Yeah, it just depends on how I'm feeling.
So let's get into this. If you're feeling vulnerable at the end and you want to just let it all out.
Yeah, I'm not often feeling vulnerable. Well, Brittany Murphy was born on November 10th, 1977 to her parents.
A month from now. Yeah, shit. I didn't even think of that.
Today is the 10th. It's me and Annie's anniversary today, technically.
Look at that. The three-ish years, lol. Anyways, her parents were Sharon Murphy and Angelo Bertolotti.
And I think I said that right, but probably not.
If you see a picture of Britney's dad, Angelo, it's like really scary because, well, it's scary in like a cute way because they have the exact same eyes.
Definitely. looking this up. Yeah, because Brittany's eyes are Angelo's eyes.
It's the craziest thing. He gave her his eyes.
He did. So Sharon primarily took care of Brittany because her father was in and out of jail. for basically like the first two years of her life.
He was connected to the mob. And he would be in jail for things like counterfeiting or like racketeering.
Wow. You know, that fun stuff. That high end crime.
That mob life. That mob life. Did you get a picture yet?
I did. And now I'm freaking out because he really does have the same eyes.
Like that's Brittany Murphy's eyes. But really it's his eyes because he had them first.
Her fiancé keeps coming up and that's...
That's a lot. Yeah. We're going to get into that because like what happened there?
What? happens. It's a ride, guys. Well, Brittany was like wicked, wicked close to her mom because like I said, she was primarily the one that was there for her.
Yeah. And like her dad was kind of like in and out.
They had a super, super close relationship.
A lot of people said it like bordered codependency.
Makes sense. Or a little too close. A little too close.
It happens, you know? It does. Especially in those kind of situations, it happens.
Right, exactly. And I think like... even like as she gets older and like becomes like a star I think that kind of adds to it a little more yeah because you know how they always say like those kind of like famous men and women who are like, yeah, I'm surrounded by people all the time, but I'm super lonely.
So I think you cling to like the one thing that you know is real.
Right. And the one person you think will be there, you know.
Exactly. And like loves you for you. Yes, precisely.
You know, you know. Well, people said also that they were like way more like sisters than they were mother and daughter. think even they kind of said that like yeah like where i think they literally called each other like their soulmates Which is, like, really sweet.
That's really sad. I know. So, Sharon and Angela divorced when Brittany was two.
And afterwards, Brittany and Sharon moved from Atlanta, Georgia.
Fun fact, that's where she was born. Atlanta.
I didn't know that. Isn't that crazy? Huh.
And they moved to New Jersey. I don't know where I thought she was from, but... Dude, me either, but I was like, Georgia, really?
Yeah, I was like, I didn't see that coming.
Because she kind of has like a New Jersey accent.
She does. Yeah. So. So it was super clear from a young age that Britney loved to be in the spotlight.
Anytime a camera was on her, she was like, I'm about to put on a performance.
Like, everybody, let's get it. So any chance she got to be in that spotlight, she was going to take it.
And she was good at it. And she would like point at the TV and be like, I want to be on the TV someday.
Oh, that would scare me. Yeah. My children did that.
I'd be like, no, sorry. Especially now what we know about Hollywood.
Yeah, definitely. No. Well, her mom was like, okay, you're good at this.
Let's do it. It was a different time back then, too.
We hadn't seen all these like childhood stars kind of. go off the deep end.
Yeah. I don't know. Well, they move out to Hollywood. in 1990.
And Britney got her first role as, I don't know if you've ever seen this, Brenda in Drexel's class.
Oh, yeah. I had never heard of that. Wait, I do know what that is.
I didn't. Oh, that's weird. It's about like a principal, I think like a high school principal and like her home life, like her family.
Yes, that just brought up like weird nostalgic memories.
You're welcome. Whoa. The show is only on for one season.
But Brittany found other really good roles.
Like I said, Sarah in Sister, Sister. You said Trini in Boy Meets World.
Yeah. Abby on Party of Five. Did you watch that?
I watched a little bit of Party of Five.
Not enough to see her. Yeah, I never watched it.
And then in 1995, she got what is probably her most famous role in the movie Clueless as Ty.
Ty. And seriously, I'm going to go on a quick tangent.
If you have never seen Clueless, you need to stop.
Like, turn this off right now. Go watch Clueless.
It's the best movie in all of ever. And then come back.
And then come back to hear what happened to Ty.
Yeah. Cause Ty's the best guys. Oh, she is.
Annie always says that I remind her of Cher in that movie.
You do. Yeah, I am sure. So, but Ty, Brittany Murphy was supposed to be like the chubby frumpy girl that Alicia Silverstone, a.k.a.
Cher makes over. Way harsh tie. Way harsh tie.
Then she, after that movie, lost a lot of weight.
To the point where people were like, is she on cocaine?
Like, everybody said that she had a cocaine addiction.
Or like, um. like an eating disorder. People were like, is she anorexic?
Because she did lose a lot of weight. Oh, she became scary.
Kind of skeletal. Yeah, a little concerning.
But she also, when she was younger and like throughout her life, was a ballerina. so people she like said she was like that it does like crazy things to your body oh for sure And later on when she does die, they said there was no signs of an eating disorder.
Well, there you go. So there's that. Yeah.
And she said that she had never done cocaine because she was too afraid to because when she was younger, she found out she had a heart murmur.
And she wasn't going to do anything to fuck with that.
No, which you shouldn't. No, definitely not.
Don't do that. Well, back to Clueless, because all roads lead back to Clueless.
I was literally It was a huge hit. That's why I urged you to turn this off and go listen to it and then come back.
Sure was. And after that, that was like Britney's big break.
Like she got roles in 8 Mile with Eminem.
Oh yeah, I remember. remember that sin city did you say that yep oh she was great in sin city i never saw that she's great Girl Interrupted.
So good. Such a good movie. Uptown Girls, which Elena has never seen.
No, and I have no desire to see that movie.
It's so good, but I can see why you wouldn't have a desire.
But yeah, so she got like really, really great roles after that.
And actually, fun fact. Little Black Book.
You know, I saw that movie when I was like seven.
Wow. Far too young. Yeah, a little too young.
But it's really good. And while she was filming 8 Mile, she really hit it off with Eminem and they dated briefly.
Oh, I remember that because I remember her.
I remember when the VMAs were like a thing you walked.
Remember we used to watch them together all the time.
Because they were an event. Yeah. Because there was actual like. good music and there was like there was performances there was actual rock bands You knew who everybody was.
I knew who people were. Now I would watch it and I would have no idea.
I'd feel like I was on Mars. I'm 24 years old and I recently watched the VMAs and the entire time I was like, Who's that?
I would have no idea who anyone was or what anything I wouldn't know what anyone was talking about.
But back then I remember, because I think if I remember correctly, because I can see it in my head right now.
It was when he did the performance Eminem where he had like a billion clones of him come in and he wanted the real Slim Shady to stand up.
Exactly. And he had all these clones come into the place and it was like this big event.
And they kept panning back to Brittany Murphy in the audience and she was like, jamming i love it and that's when everybody was like oh my god they're dating like that was when everybody was like holy shit they're definitely dating because she was like clearly like into it yeah i love that and i just like picture it in my head That actually reminded me.
She also said she was like, people always think that I'm fucked up because, like, I'm always the girl dancing at, like, a party.
Yeah. But she's like, I just love to dance.
Like, I'm never that fucked up. She seems like she was just that person that was just like hyper yeah and like very over the top like just a good fucking time yeah And she was like, I'll have like a glass of champagne from time to time.
But other than that, like, no, like I'm not as crazy as you think I am.
Why are there ridges on Risa's peanut butter cups?
Probably so they never slip from her hands.
Could you imagine? I'd lose it. Luckily, Reese's thought about that.
Wonder what else they think about. Probably chocolate and peanut butter.
The town of Agde in France is famous for sun, sand, sea and sex.
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The town's mayor, a respected pillar of the community, has been arrested for corruption.
His wife claims he's been bewitched by a beautiful clairvoyant.
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As the mayor is unable to carry out his duties, I would like to address you all.
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So yeah she dated Eminem. She also dated Ashton Kutcher while she filmed Just Married.
Oh Just Married. I forgot about that one.
I've never seen that one. John and I used to watch that like all the time.
Really? Yeah. I don't know why, but we did.
I love that. Before we got married, we used to watch that all the time.
I need to watch it. It's on Amazon Prime.
And somehow after watching it, we still got married.
Well, there you go. So you wouldn't know, but after watching it, you're like, um, I know I was like that.
So yeah, she had some whirlwind romances with her co-stars.
Get it, girl. But then in 2006, she met screenwriter Simon Monjock.
And after just a year of dating and they dated like very quietly and They got married in a small Jewish ceremony.
A ceremony, if you will. A ceremony. that shocked the tabloids because they were like wait a second we didn't even know she was fucking engaged like wait is she dating someone like what she was like yeah i was oh well And a lot of people in Hollywood were shocked when it got out and people were like a little bit pissed off like. they thought stars should date stars, which is a little bit ridiculous.
Wait, people were pissed off? Yeah. What?
No, genuinely, people were mad. That's so weird.
I read an article about it. And also they said... Stars should date stars, man.
Keep it within Hollywood, motherfucker. What?
But what about Matt Damon? He married a waitress.
What about like many people? And he has many, many kids with her.
Yeah. Like the cutest. I love that. I love it.
But yeah, but also people were mad too because Simon didn't exactly have like the best reputation.
No. Brittany was his third wife. Which like, whatever.
Yeah, like it happens. His first wife said that she owed him or he owed her $50,000.
That's a pretty sizable debt. He also had some weird fraudulent past where...
He seems a bit of a con man. He seems a little fraudulent.
Yeah, exactly. He's got an air of fraudulence about him.
He was a bit of a con man. And people had warned Britney about marrying or even just being involved with him.
They were like, yeah, like. don't do that.
Uh oh. No thank you. But they said that once the two got involved Simon was very controlling and And he would tell Brittany who she was going to talk to and who she wasn't going to talk to.
Oh, no. So we see where this is going. But Britney stuck by his side.
And, you know, it's like people... People can say what they want to and I feel like there's so many rumors about like Hollywood romances and you just really never know. so i don't know but she's stuck by a side and kind of almost to a fault because on the set of the movie the caller do you ever see that one No, I didn't see that one either.
But Simon stumbled in drunk on set while they were filming.
And the director was like, Brittany, get him out of here.
And she wouldn't. So she got fired. Oh, yeah.
I mean, that's your, what, fiance or husband at that point?
Right. Come stumbling into your workplace drunk.
Because that's the thing. You have to remember, that's a workplace.
That is what you do for work. That's literally what you do. you do for a while.
The disrespect there is... like astronomical huge right exactly like that's a that's a crossing a line And it was said that like that once she kind of started dating him, she also went downhill.
Yeah. She got a little wrapped up in that.
Oh yeah. I mean, if he's stumbling and drunk in the middle of something, probably in the middle of the day.
Right. That's bad news bears. What's going on there?
He was like, I never did that. That's not true.
Oh, OK. Obviously. But we just have to say both sides.
So on the contrary of many. like, unhappy opinions.
Sharon loved him. So her mom was like, her mom is like her biggest supporter and she's like, I really like him.
Wow. Sharon and Brittany had always lived together and that didn't change when Simon entered the picture.
They all just live together. Okay. Which is, like, live your life.
Yeah. They lived... Okay. Yeah. I'm sure.
KK. Like I want to, it's funny because like on the surface, I'm like, yeah, totally.
Like that happens all the time. But this particular instance, I'm like, it feels weird.
Something's weird. And it feels weird for a good reason.
I don't know why. We'll get to it. It's stinky.
So actually, this is funny. They lived in Britney Spears's old home in the Hollywood Hills.
Britney Murphy. bought the home from Britney Spears in 2003.
And I hope a Britney still lives there because I feel like that should just be like a running theme.
That needs to be like a Britney dynasty house.
Like, it's Britney, bitch. It's Britney, bitch.
Sorry. All the time. So, yeah, they all live together.
And according to Simon's own mother, the way that they live together was not really healthy.
No. Because she went as far as calling them hoarders.
Oh. And describing some of the windows as boarded up.
She said there was like no airflow in the home and that there was mold in the home.
Like, in the windows. And we're going to get into it later, so I'm just going to briefly say this.
Like, Simon gives... like a home tour later on after Brittany dies.
And he's like, and these are all her clothes.
And You can't tell what the room is, but according to his mom, it's the living room or the dining room.
I forget which one she said, but it's literally like. the entire room it looks like a like a big closet oh but it's either the living room or the dining room she's like yeah they were all hoarders Oh, I hate that.
That actually gives me anxiety just thinking about it.
And then they show the bathroom in the whole thing. and there's just like so many products, like tons and tons of products everywhere.
And it doesn't look... dirty like i wouldn't say it looks dirty cluttered it's just insane like clutter times 10
Like clutter on steroids. I mean, it's Britney Spears' old home, too, so you know it's a huge house with a lot of space.
It's big, yeah. Yeah. So for it to be cluttered, that's a lot of shit.
Definitely. Lots and lots of things. So definitely not the healthiest living conditions.
And potentially the reason that Brittany wound up sick as like as sick as she did And potentially the reason Simon died just five months after Brittany did in the same home in the same exact way.
You know, I totally forgot that. Really?
That that's part of this. That's part of this.
Like you just blew my mind. Yes, I love when that happens.
I just haven't thought of this case in so long that I forgot all these little details.
I totally forgot that. In the same house in the exact same way.
And it's not like it's not we're going to get into how it was, but it's like weird that they died the exact same.
Yeah. So, Brittany has been sick for a few days leading up to December 20th, 2009.
She had just actually returned from a movie set in Puerto Rico, and she was suffering pneumonia, chest pains, a bad cough. and just like all around like body weakness.
Sounds like COVID. It does. That's a little scary.
Perhaps it was. The directors of the movie said that she had been fired because, so this is another movie that she's in. she's getting fired from because she was disoriented on set.
Her bathroom breaks were too long. And she was constantly forgetting her lines.
And I do remember. there being a period of time where she would give interviews and you were like, Uh-oh.
Girl, you okay? Yeah. She seemed just on a different planet a lot.
And toward the end of her career, like I said, like she was in movies like Clueless and Girl Interrupted.
I'm like naming these big name movies. And then toward the end of her career, she kind of got like indie thrillers that like are not bad movies.
Yeah. It's like. easier to get those roles they were like b roles as opposed to a roles yeah like what's an action one of the movies i remember it was a bigger one though Across the hall.
Is it? What is that? No, the one that's like where she did that.
I'll never tell. Oh, fuck. That one freaks me out to catch a spider.
Um, shit. I'm going to have to look it up.
Look it up. You go ahead and I'll look this up.
Oh, that line always gives me like the chills.
I'll never tell. So freaky. So yeah, so they fired her.
And for some reason, even though she was so sick, she didn't go see a doctor.
Although, and this is sad, there are rumors that she had made a doctor's appointment, ironically scheduled for the day after she passed away. oh but it's not confirmed so it might just be one of those stupid things that's like this would add to the sadness of it all it's don't say a word by the way don't say a word I don't know why I had it mixed up with to catch a spider but yeah don't say a word is a great movie yeah But yeah, so toward the end of her career, she wasn't getting as big of roles, and it was because of her behavior on set.
Yeah, that makes sense. Kind of reminded me, if you're not a patron, maybe donate to the Patreon and listen to the Marilyn Monroe episode.
Oh, yeah, because it is a very similar kind of trajectory.
It is. Hollywood Stalitz. So, the 911 call came on the morning of December 20th, and it came from sharing okay she sobbed on the phone somebody's passed out Somebody.
Your daughter, you mean? Her name's Brittany.
Huh? You created her? Like, you're very close, remember?
And then she does ultimately say my daughter, but the first opening line is somebody.
Somebody's passing. Which is weird, if you ask me.
The 911 operator encouraged Sharon to perform mouth-to-mouth.
Simon did it while Sharon was on the phone, but Brittany had been like coughing violently to the point of throwing up.
And she had collapsed once before that that morning in the first time.
No one's calling 911 when this is happening?
No. And the first time she told her mom, mommy, I'm dying.
I love you. The first time she collapsed.
That just hurt my soul in a way that will never be repaired.
And right before she collapsed the second time, she said, like...
I don't remember the exact quote, but she asked her mom for a hug and was like, oh, I'm out like this is it.
What the fuck? Why wasn't her mother calling?
Like, I'm sorry. She said, mommy, I don't, I have it written down.
Mommy, I don't feel well. And then she passed out.
When a grown ass woman is saying, mommy, I don't feel well, like call a fucking ambulance.
Yeah, exactly. And she's passing out and collapsing.
She collapsed twice and the second time there was nothing they could do.
Like, I don't care if I sound judgy. Like, fuck that.
Yeah, call the police. Like, shit. Call someone.
So she was taken to Cedars-Sinai Hospital, but it was too late.
Yeah, it was too late. She was pronounced dead at 10.05 a.m.
32 years old she was younger than me 32 and Marilyn was 36 right yeah So weirdly similar.
Wow. So this dude named Ed Winter, he does all the celeb deaths in Hollywood.
Oh, you know. You know Ed Winter. He's done Michael Jackson.
He's done Whitney Houston. And he was the coroner to do Britney's death as well.
Wow, that's interesting. Michael Bodden did a lot of these as well.
Ah, there you go. Maybe you would have been better off doing this one.
Maybe. So there was a media frenzy. Duh. right away oh of course because Brittany Murphy's 32 and she just collapsed in her home and she's been acting hella weird lately I remember this too There were rumors that she was smoking crack a few weeks before her death.
Whoa. that her career was ending because she had been fired by her agency and her manager. and that she had been battling a drug addiction for years.
Now, did the agency See, are the managers like confirm any of this?
She actually did get dropped by her agency manager.
Wow. All right, so shit was going on far more than what was being put into the press.
100%. So even though Simon requested that an autopsy not be done.
That doesn't. I'm sorry, what? Why don't you want an autopsy done?
He'll tell you why later, but let's just be where we are.
Don't you worry. he'll tell you. So, even though he didn't want an autopsy, Ed Winter was like, uh, yeah, dude, like, I have to because your 32-year-old girlfriend just said, or excuse me, wife just suddenly died.
It's not natural. It's not natural. And unless you have like a religious objection or you can get a court order...
I got to do this autopsy. Yeah, of course.
So Simon couldn't get any kind of court order. didn't have like a religious reason why.
So they did it. But people thought it was super weird that he didn't want an autopsy done.
Yeah. Because it's like, what are you hiding?
Because why wouldn't you want to know? I would want to know every single detail of what...
The next line of my note says, why wouldn't you want all the answers to the death of your beautiful, young, mostly healthy wife until a few days ago, question mark?
I would literally want to know. I'd be like, I need to know what happened.
Right. Because otherwise, I'm just going to sit there and speculate if I don't know.
Or maybe he already knew what happened because he didn't.
Oh, intrigue. Just saying. So Simon explained in an interview with Larry King sitting right next to Sharon. it was Sharon and Simon doing this interview with good old Mr. King.
That Brittany was suffering from laryngitis, and he was a rabbi, so he prayed instead of prescribing.
And everyone was like, since when are you a fucking rabbi?
What? Like, I'm sorry. What? What? What?
And I literally wrote, what? And then Larry King was like, yeah, like, what do you how do you feel about people calling you a Svengali?
Which, like, if you don't know what that means, it basically is somebody that, like, just controls.
Like, manipulates and controls. Exactly.
And he said and I quote Svengali I should be so lucky.
What? You want to be lucky enough to control somebody's mind?
Like your wife? What the... What? I should be so lucky.
It's like, bro, if you're not looking to be super suspicious.
Super. Okay. It gets more sus. He read the wrong manual.
Then, to explain why he didn't want an autopsy done, he responded...
And get ready to put your creep goggles on so you can swim through this with me. oh no this pristine body that was curvy in all the right places skin like silk to have it cut open What the fuck?
He's on Larry King talking about his dead wife and says this pristine body that was curvy and all the right place like ew kirby and all the right and you're sitting next to her mother like fuck off And she's dead.
Like, please be more creepy. You can't touch that curvy body anymore, you f-
Fucking weirdo. Perhaps TGIF, like cool, cool, cool.
Too much. So Sharon was there too. Did you say TGIF?
I meant to say thank God. But then I was going to say, like, TG, and then I just went with TGIF.
I was going to let that go. on your face.
Did you see it was like that meme of the lady with all those like equations going past her head because I was like What does it mean?
I was like, do you mean like TGIF, like that really cool lineup of shows that happened?
I was like, what? No, it's not Friday? I just meant thank God.
Okay, cool. TGIF, man. TGIF. So yeah, Sharon was there too.
And like I said, of course she's mourning her daughter.
But she did look very out of it and was like laughing at Simon's weird ass jokes.
Yeah, this is all just very strange. We all grieve differently, I guess.
Like, here I am. I'm not accusing anybody of anything.
I don't know shit. No. I'm just saying this all looks real weird.
And listen, you can say what you want about me, but I'm going to give you all the facts from all the different inks. exactly like I'm gonna I'm gonna say some other shit too so before you get mad and write an email listen to the end of the episode Just listen all the way through.
Do not pause. God damn it. Because I'm going to say some more shit.
We're only halfway there. Because then you'll have to amend that email and say, oops, I listened to the oh my goodness i just finished listening and you said this so thank you uh this has been a psa A morbid PSA.
The LA County Coroner came back and said that no foul play was involved.
Seems legit. Okay. But people were not convinced.
Everybody was like, Ed! What? You're lying.
Well, and also he did Michael Jackson, so it's like... simon had become in and whitney for that matter so what the what the like you should be fired I'm gonna get like a cease and desist Simon had become increasingly weird and it given a tour of Brittany's home to Radar, like, shortly after her death, and was like, come look at the very bathroom where she died.
Yeah. That alone is showing you. This is the chaise lounge that she collapsed on.
Here's all her clothing. This shows you exactly the type of person he was and exactly the type of influence he was on her life.
Exactly. because no one who really loved someone for who they were and cared about them would be making money off of fucking radar online interviews.
It would never happen. So the coroner determined that Brittany Murphy had died of pneumonia. acute anemia and an OD of over-the-counter medications.
Okay. I wrote down OD. And I was like, what does that mean again?
What does OTC mean? An overdose of over-the-counter medications.
Okay. Lots of O's. There were also many prescription medicines in Britney's system.
Uh-oh. Not all prescribed to her. Ooh, that's not good. exact were found in her system and half of them were not prescribed to her.
So like seven. Don't take someone else's prescriptions.
If I can give you one piece of freaking advice.
It'll fuck you up. These prescriptions are given based on somebody's exact weight.
DNA, genetics. Exactly what they need. It's like, just don't do it.
And these were medicines that were prescribed to Simon.
Oh. Oh, yeah. So he's about 17 feet taller than she is.
Right. She was tiny. About a zillion pounds. heavier than she is.
And he was a big, greasy ball yucko. Yeah.
So, I love that. A big greaseball yucko.
So Eddie Boobar... owned the pharmacy where Brittany, Simon, and Sharon's prescriptions came from. and he said that he told Sharon at one point, I think you've got more than I do, and I own the pharmacy.
Oh, that's not good. And he said he told and he said he remembers thinking something was going to happen at that house.
Yeah. I think he stopped giving them prescriptions at one point.
Eventually, it comes to a point where you're like, Like, I can't do that.
Yeah. He also said that it wasn't unusual for celebrities to use an alias when they got their prescription.
Yeah, that makes sense. And that Brittany Murphy's often came in as Lola Manlo.
Lola Manlo. I know. Isn't that interesting?
All right. It was later found out that Sharon had been going to six different pharmacies to get all of their prescriptions.
That's no good. No. When you're pharmacy shopping, let me tell you.
No, it's not a good thing. Not a good thing.
Don't do it. Altogether. there were 90 different prescriptions in Simon's name that were found in the home.
What? 90. Holy shit. Like, what? And some of the ones found in Britney's system included two anti-seizure medicines She wasn't epileptic, but Simon was.
And actually Topamax, we talked about it because it was in Kanika Jenkins' system.
Ah, yes. And then we got like a ton of information about all the different things that can be.
Yeah. In this case, it was used as an anti seizure medicine.
I know that it can be used as other things.
Actually, it can be used as like an appetite suppressant or stimulant.
I forget which one. But so, yeah, in this case, it was for epilepsy, but she didn't have that.
So it's like, why? Why? What? Yeah. Propanerol, I think.
Propanol, which is used for high blood pressure. diazepam was found in her system along with three other benzos which is like That's not good.
A doctor said that there were four different benzodiazepines in her system.
And that strongly suggested a drug addiction.
Oh, man. Yeah. It was also said that the overdose on the over the counter medication probably made her pneumonia worse.
Yeah. Because, well, they said if she had been taken to a doctor, she would be alive today, which, duh.
Yeah. But when you have pneumonia and you take a cough suppressant, you're not able to hack up the mucus in your lungs.
So then it gets... Which is what... He's causing the pneumonia to begin with.
Exactly. So then it gets thicker, worsening your symptoms, making you take more medicine because you think you're doing the right thing and then you're not.
So. You gotta cough it up. It's not good.
Mm. And then as far as the anemia, the coroner actually said that was because of heavy periods.
Oh. And I think she had, I don't know if she had her period when she died, but she had it right around the time that she died.
Oh, okay. So that's why they said she was anemic. that you know in in conjunction with the hundred of other things that was wrong it's like when you're also anemic on top of that you don't have a loss that's fighting you're helping your system fight your immune system is like shot and pneumonia is gonna like fucking Absolutely.
Because normally, acute anemia is not going to kill you.
No, but with all these other things, it's like, yeah.
So, Simon and Sharon continued to live in the home together after Brittany died.
And they took on the codependent relationship that she and Brittany had before.
Eek. Yeah, a little weird if you ask me.
There were photo shoots they did, like holding each other and holding Britney's photo.
I just saw a couple of those and I was like, I'm going to put this away now.
Yeah. real weird in my personal opinion but like I said everyone grieves in their own way everyone grieves differently do your own thing.
Yeah, do you. Maybe don't do like a photo shoot with your mother-in-law holding your dead wife's pick, but okay. but but like all right okay but what is strange without a fucking question is the fact that like i said just Five months after Brittany's death, Sharon was calling 911 to the 1895 Rising Glen Drive again.
I can't believe I forgot about this part.
So this time, Simon was unconscious. On the phone she says, my son-in-law stopped breathing.
Baby, please, baby, get up, please. which like I understand that you call like like older people call younger people like sweetheart or something.
But I think baby is a little different. especially a son-in-law yeah not a son that's a little strange to me Yeah.
And a son in law that you have not known for that long.
It's not like he's been your son in law.
They were only married for like three years.
Yeah, and before that, they weren't even dating for that long.
Right, a year. It's not like you've known this guy forever and like you've had this.
I don't know. Yeah. It's just weird. weird to me and I think it's weird too when you like look at the entire situation that's the thing it's like in in with everything else maybe if that was like the only thing it'd be like Okay, I wouldn't do that, but like live your life.
I just think it's strange. I think so too.
I don't see. I'm glad my in-laws calling me baby.
I don't see my parents calling John baby.
I just don't see any of that. My like not in-laws yet just call me Ash.
Yeah. So. So they tell her to take him off the bed and try to get him onto the floor.
And she says, I can't because... He's gigantic.
I was literally just going to say he's gigantic.
She literally uses the word gigantic and I'm laughing because I'm uncomfortable.
Yeah, it's a very uncomfortable situation.
So when they came to get Simon and investigate the scene afterwards, there were tons of prescriptions on each side of the bed.
One side were all of Sharon's prescriptions, and they were in the name Sharon Monjack. which is Simon's last name.
I hate this on a lot of levels. Why is his last name on your prescriptions?
What the fuck? I wrote What? I literally just wrote, what?
Wa? She apparently explained this by saying... that they shared the bed because they were comforting each other after losing Brittany.
No. But then she later denied that she ever said that.
So that could be a rumor, but... I feel like it's true.
That's not okay. Well, wouldn't you know it?
The coroner comes back and says that Simon died of acute pneumonia and anemia.
Huh. wouldn't you know it did he have heavy periods too yes what the fuck very heavy periods What is this from?
So now the tabloids are going nutso futso all over again.
Seriously. Because... What are the odds that two married people, husband and wife, die of the exact same thing five months apart?
The odds are pretty astronomical. Pretty astronomical if you ask me.
And among the people who thought something was shady as fuck... were angelo britney's dad and her stepbrother tony so they both think that foul play is involved And they point the finger at Sharon and Simon for killing Brittany.
And then Sharon... for killing Simon, basically ensuring that he would never turn on her.
Scandal. Scandal. So Angela was so convinced that something was awry, he hired...
Cyril Wecht, and he's a famous forensic pathologist in America.
And he agreed that it was, quote, rare and unfathomable that a Hollywood star would die like this.
He pointed out that many times acute anemia is present in those who have been poisoned with arsenic.
So that's weird. And arsenic didn't show up in the autopsy.
Angela was like, yeah, but. Who knows if they even did like an actual autopsy.
I was going to say, you don't know. So he was like, I think that they just like said they were doing it as a formality and I don't think they like went to town on it.
Yeah, they didn't do a proper talk screen.
And he's like, how do I know that they're not involved in like a cover up?
Like, this is L.A. Like, hello. Yeah. So Angelo found out that Brittany's hair had never been tested. which is, is that weird?
Yeah. That is strange. Like for, especially for like a high profile case and for something and for it to be so strange, you would think they would test it.
Well, so he had it sent out himself to a lab and the results came back and there were 10 heavy metals found in her hair.
Huh. So Cyril said, I've never seen anything like this.
What? Heavy metals are also consistent in people who have been poisoned.
Yeah. And so Angelo went to Sharon and he said, I want to have Brittany's body exhumed.
And Sharon said, no, we're not exhuming her body.
Okay. So, I mean, I personally, just like you think that that is a little shady.
That's strange to me. But I am going to play devil's advocate just for anybody else that might also do the same.
Maybe she just didn't want her daughter's body disturbed again.
Absolutely. That could definitely be. However, me personally, if they said we think something bad happened to your daughter.
Exhume the shit out of her. Exhume her. I want to see what happened.
Exactly. Well, Sharon turned around and pointed the finger at Angelo and was like, nope, he's just after Britney's money.
And it's like, well, who's to say you're not after her fucking money?
Exactly. It's like, you're the one living in her damn house.
Exactly. He said that Sharon was the third person in the marriage and she was threatened when Brittany and Simon started talking about having a baby. and moving to New York without her.
Ah, so Angelo fought for like years and years to find out what happened, but he finally backed off in 2017 because he was in bad health.
And then he passed away in 2019. Oh, no.
And he never knew exactly what happened.
No. That's sad. And Brittany's stepbrother, Tony, says that he still believes Simon is to blame for Brittany's death.
And that sometimes in Hollywood, a dead actress is worth more than she is alive.
Yeah. Which is honestly super true. It's true.
So L.A. stands by their results and they said there was no medals in Britney's system and they're 100% sure that she wasn't murdered.
They're just like, case closed, done so.
But... Richard Shepard from the show Autopsy.
Have you ever watched that? I love that show.
Really good. I love that show. He went over Britney and Simon's autopsies and explained his thoughts on the entire thing.
Simon but he basically was like Simon was in bad health because he was like older and larger and didn't take care of himself yeah But he pointed out, because there was methamphetamine present in Brittany's system too.
Oh, okay. And he pointed out that that was probably from an inhaler.
Although she had never been prescribed an inhaler, Simon was.
Okay. So it's like she probably had that.
And then he said that Brittany was potentially a hypochondriac after she had been diagnosed with the heart murmur. and then she was in a 1995 car accident that left her with a dislocated jaw cracked ribs and a broken collarbone and that's probably when she kind of started like taking more prescriptions because she was like so worried that something was wrong with her.
Yeah, and it just like starts a spiral. Exactly.
He also said that the metals found in Britney's hair were most likely from hair dye.
And that's why they weren't found in her blood and only in her hair.
Okay. And he was like, all the heavy metals found in her hair are consistent with heavy metals found in...
Oh, that's interesting. Which got me to thinking, maybe I should stop dyeing my fucking hair so much.
I was like, damn. Because like, I don't really want arsenic on my head.
Yeah, no. There was no arsenic. So he said it kind of ruled out her being poisoned.
And he pointed out that if she had been poisoned, it would have showed in her skin and her teeth.
Okay. He also said that... the mold in the bedroom potentially weakened her immune system and that because she and Simon were both living in the same conditions, It really wasn't that crazy that they died under the same circumstances.
Okay. Which, okay. All right. And again, he's in super bad health and he's overweight and doesn't take care of himself.
There you go. Annie's living like this.
It's like not that crazy. And last but not least, the reason why blood poisoning is in her records is is because she had Staphylococcus enter her bloodstream.
So Staphylococcus can cause micro abscesses in the lungs when you have something like pneumonia. and then you're unable to produce oxygen, and that's why she collapsed. twice and ultimately died.
And then her blood became infected. That does make sense.
So maybe she was murdered. Maybe not. But there's still one more thing that I haven't told you yet.
Because so far, both of these things... are plausible to me.
I can't decide, to be honest with you. Like, it's...
There's definitely some shady shit, but it's like...
I don't know. Like, did they do this? Like, I just don't know.
But this is weird. So... Brittany was like super into having the house monitored all the time.
56 cameras around the house and like security up the wazoo.
Like there was always a security guard there.
Because Brittany's family friend, Julia Davis, became a whistleblower for Homeland Security, Whoa.
About procedures letting terrorists into the country.
So there was going to be like this huge court case about it.
And Brittany was supposed to be a witness at Julia's trial.
Whoa. And like in the weeks and months leading up to Britney's death, she became like super paranoid and always felt like she was being watched and like.
Even Simon's mom would say, Simon would be like, there's an airplane flying over the house now.
There's a helicopter. Oh, man. We're being followed.
So that could have something to do with it too, but there's not a lot known about that because...
It's Homeland Security, so... Oh, shit. So that... is the case of Brittany Murphy.
Was she murdered? Was she not? damn i just don't know like maybe she was but then i'm like It does make sense that maybe like she wasn't.
Because mold can fuck you up. Mold can fuck you up and pneumonia can fuck you up. robot, especially if you have a weak immune system.
It all makes sense. It's very rare that both sides make perfect sense. that's the thing because the other side makes sense too it's like yeah maybe they were gonna move and like I don't like were Simon and Sherry yeah in love or something this just weirdness this weird vibe there's a weird fog over this whole case yeah I just don't know.
It leaves me with a bad feeling. So that makes me feel like something more happened.
But also... I like to have a bad feeling because I like to know true crime, so.
Yeah. Something's weird. I don't know. What do you guys think?
Tell us in the comments. Write us a Gmail.
Let us know. This has been a Nash-centric mini-morbid.
Man, this was a good one. Thank you. R.I.P.
Brittany Murphy. I know. r.i.p because i like was watching sister sister and then i remember like every now and then i'll just remember that she's dead Yeah, I know.
It's like, aw. Oh, shit. Bummer. She was a really good actress.
She was. So, yeah. If you enjoyed this episode, you can follow us on Instagram at Morbid Podcast.
Hit us up on Twitter. Amorbid Podcast. Send us a Gmail. morbidpodcasts at gmail.com and uh thanks for listening yeah We hope you keep listening.
And we hope you keep it weird. weird but not so weird that you like meet this guy and you're like oh my god i love him so much but he really is a common he might be kind of like killing you and not so weird that you say that you're something When you're not, it would be an honor to be a Spangali.
Don't keep it so weird that you want to be a Spangali.
That's all I have to say about that. That's a weird one.
That's the weirdest one. Yeah, that's real weird.
And also don't keep it so weird that you sleep in the same bed as your brother-in-law or your son-in-law after your daughter dies.
Yeah, don't keep it like that. Definitely don't keep it that weird.
Don't do it. Even though the statement got retracted.
Either way. Bye. Bye. Thank you. If you like Morbid, you can listen early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
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