Brittany Murphy's husband is found dead at home

[May 25, 2010]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The husband of Brittany Murphy was found dead late Sunday at the Los Angeles home he shared with the late actress, police said.

The preliminary cause of British screenwriter Simon Monjack's death is natural causes, police spokesman Sgt. Louie Lozano said. Another spokesman, Sgt. Alex Ortiz, said there were no signs of foul play or any criminal activity.

Murphy died after collapsing in her Hollywood Hills home on Dec. 20.

Firefighters responding to an emergency call from a woman at 9:40 p.m. found the 39-year-old Monjack dead at the Hollywood Hills residence, Lozano said. Ortiz said he didn't know who called. Monjack and Murphy had shared their home with Murphy's mother, Sharon.

Ortiz said that the Los Angeles Coroner's Office was taking over the investigation because criminal activity had been ruled out, and would provide more details later on the death and circumstances surrounding it.

At his wife's funeral in December, a visibly emotional Monjack talked about their relationship and called her his best friend and soul mate. The two married in 2007. He had said that they had been planning a family and contemplating a move to New York.

Monjack is credited as producer and co-writer of the 2001 film "Two Days, Nine Lives" and executive producer of the 2006 "Factory Girl."

Murphy, best known for her major roles in "Clueless," "Girl Interrupted," and "8 Mile" in 2002, died at age 32. The Los Angeles County coroner's office concluded Murphy's death was accidental, but likely preventable.

The coroner's report said that the medications found in her system were consistent with treatment of a cold or respiratory infection. Monjack and Murphy's mother had reported the actress was ill with flulike symptoms in the days before her death.

An autopsy found no evidence that Murphy abused drugs. Investigators had found numerous prescription medications in her home.

[Associated Press]

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