1 00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 1: Well, hello, they are good people of hollywood Land. Nice 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:08,039 Speaker 1: to see you here again as we take another stroll 3 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:11,280 Speaker 1: into our archive of insane stories at the intersection of 4 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:14,200 Speaker 1: Hollywood and true crime. This week, we're bringing you our 5 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:17,560 Speaker 1: episode on Britney Murphy. When Britney Murphy died in two 6 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 1: thousand and nine at the age of thirty two, the 7 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:24,080 Speaker 1: cause of death, pneumonia, was hard for many people to accept. 8 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 1: People had questions and suspicions, and then just six months later, 9 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:33,120 Speaker 1: Britney's husband died of the very same cause. When Britney's 10 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: father commissioned his own toxicology report to get to the 11 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:39,120 Speaker 1: bottom of it all, the report revealed that her hair 12 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: contained massive traces of heavy metals, the same kind of 13 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: metals found in poison. So how exactly did Britney Murphy die? 14 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:49,839 Speaker 1: You're about to find out. I hope you dig this 15 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: episode on Britney Murphy, and then I hope you'll join 16 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: me later this week as we get into the episode 17 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:55,680 Speaker 1: in more depth in. 18 00:00:55,640 --> 00:01:05,880 Speaker 2: The Rap Party. Listeners, please check the show notes for 19 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:06,560 Speaker 2: more information. 20 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:12,840 Speaker 3: Hollywood Land is a production of Double Elvis mom Tin. 21 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 3: I Think I'm off the boom, Think you were? 22 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: I Think you are accing, Dundy when I used the 23 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:24,400 Speaker 1: Golden goool. You remember back that bar when you were 24 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:26,800 Speaker 1: at tea, how you hated what. 25 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 3: The little plate when we were in you Kayden. 26 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 4: Although I didn't know when I was lucky in I went. 27 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:40,320 Speaker 3: That we were back. The stories about Brittany Murphy are insane. 28 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:43,559 Speaker 3: The theories surrounding her death at the age of thirty 29 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:48,240 Speaker 3: two are even crazier. She died mysteriously after succumbing to 30 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 3: a rapid illness that was at first identified as pneumonia. 31 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 3: Just five months later, her husband, Simon Monjack suspiciously met 32 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 3: the exact same fate. Some say toxic mold was to blame. 33 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 3: Others swear the couple were poisoned. The dual tragedies brought 34 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 3: people from her past out of the woodwork for the 35 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:13,240 Speaker 3: first time in decades. But no matter who you believe, 36 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:18,919 Speaker 3: there's no denying that Britney Murphy made great films. Unlike 37 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:20,679 Speaker 3: that clip I played for you at the top of 38 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:23,839 Speaker 3: the show, that wasn't a clip from a great film. 39 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:26,560 Speaker 3: That was a fair use. Sample from the Library of 40 00:02:26,639 --> 00:02:30,880 Speaker 3: Congress of Al Wilson performing in the Little Red Schoolhouse 41 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:35,639 Speaker 3: in nineteen twenty two. I played you that clip because 42 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:37,800 Speaker 3: I can't afford the rights to sample a clip from 43 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 3: Chris Whites is the Twilight sagat a New Moon? 44 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:42,079 Speaker 2: And why would I. 45 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 3: Play you that specific slice of campy vamp cheese? 46 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:46,760 Speaker 2: Could I afford it? 47 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 3: Because that was the number one movie in America on 48 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 3: December one, two thousand and nine, And that was the 49 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:57,400 Speaker 3: day that Britney Murphy walked the Red carpet for the 50 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 3: last time. On this episode, pneumonia, toxic mold poison in 51 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:04,960 Speaker 3: Brittany Murphy. 52 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:10,280 Speaker 2: I'm Jake Brennan in this this Hollywood Land. 53 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 3: It's an experimental treatment. I'm sure you've never heard of him. 54 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 3: Smoke trailed from Simon Monjack's cigar as he spoke. The 55 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 3: dinner guest gathered around the table, leaned in, hanging on 56 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 3: his every word, until each person was suspended in an 57 00:03:54,800 --> 00:04:00,120 Speaker 3: unflattering slunch. The clinking of crystal champagne glasses quieted the 58 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:04,560 Speaker 3: murmurs of side conversations long since trailed off. A selection 59 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,920 Speaker 3: of cheesecakes were plated and ready to serve, and no 60 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 3: one seemed interested in cheesecake at the moment. So you're 61 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:14,400 Speaker 3: telling me a shark saved your life, One guest challenged, 62 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:19,320 Speaker 3: sells from shark fins. Yes, Simon answered, very expensive, but 63 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 3: it cured the cancer, So who m I to complained? 64 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 3: He chuckled with an air of false modesty, and the 65 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 3: girl sitting beside him rubbed his arm affectionately, soothing him 66 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:32,920 Speaker 3: from the potential sting of the memory. It wasn't even 67 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,960 Speaker 3: Simon's party. It was the turn of the century and 68 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 3: the fledgling filmmaker was a special guest in the home 69 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:44,160 Speaker 3: of established filmmaker Alison Burnett. Allison had heard things about 70 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:47,520 Speaker 3: the new briad on the block that his grandfather founded 71 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 3: British Steel, that he was worth a billion dollars, and 72 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,920 Speaker 3: now he learned that Simon was apparently a cancer survivor too. 73 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:00,279 Speaker 3: But there was more. Simon locked eyes with every everyone 74 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:02,279 Speaker 3: in the room as he unveiled each new detail of 75 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:06,039 Speaker 3: his story, and no one dared interrupt him. Simon kept 76 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:10,920 Speaker 3: regaling and for starters. His so called gripping debut film 77 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,599 Speaker 3: in two days, nine Lives was receiving the best reviews 78 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:18,039 Speaker 3: in the history of independent filmmaking in England. He also 79 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:22,479 Speaker 3: dated supermodel el McPherson, then Madonna, or was it the 80 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:26,919 Speaker 3: other way around didn't matter. He boasted a collection of 81 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:31,720 Speaker 3: seventeen ferraris better yet he owned more pieces by Dutch 82 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 3: painter Johannes Vermier than anyone in the world. You know 83 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:38,359 Speaker 3: the girl with the pearl earring, that's the guy. Simon's 84 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 3: tales were unreal, but this was Hollywood, hollyweird. 85 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:43,239 Speaker 2: At the time. 86 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:46,280 Speaker 3: There was no fact checking websites to summon, no Wikipedia 87 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:48,479 Speaker 3: that other guests could glance at during a quick smoke 88 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:52,000 Speaker 3: outside between courses. Hell, nobody could even reach into their 89 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,680 Speaker 3: phone and ask SyRI yet, because smartphones were still a 90 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:58,760 Speaker 3: few years off. Simon's googly at girlfriend, who made glued 91 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 3: to his side, hanging on his every word like she 92 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,880 Speaker 3: was hearing these tales for the first time too. Simon 93 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:09,440 Speaker 3: had every guest spellbond. Alison Burnett had forfeited control of 94 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:12,599 Speaker 3: his dinner party, but he didn't care. Didn't care until 95 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 3: an email hit his inbox roughly a month later. It 96 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:21,360 Speaker 3: was from Simon's girlfriend, now ex girlfriend. She wrote Alison 97 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,839 Speaker 3: to inform him that every word of Simon's tales had 98 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:28,560 Speaker 3: been false. He had lied through his cigar chomping teeth. 99 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 3: The cancer, the car collection, the art collection, all fogus. 100 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:36,400 Speaker 3: She had believed him too, believed him so well that 101 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:39,200 Speaker 3: she never saw their breakup coming, nor did she see 102 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 3: his subsequent hookup with her best friend. It's what Simon 103 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 3: Monjack did. He lied, he schemed, he conned people, and 104 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:53,680 Speaker 3: that's exactly how he found his way into Brittany Murphy's life. 105 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:58,600 Speaker 3: He didn't screw it up at all. He didn't screw 106 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:00,400 Speaker 3: it up at all. He didn't screw threw it up 107 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:04,159 Speaker 3: at all. Brittany Murphy repeated the line in her mind 108 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:07,599 Speaker 3: over and over again so she couldn't have the chance 109 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:11,480 Speaker 3: to forget it. She spat it out right on a queue. 110 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 3: He didn't screw it up at all, she recited aloud, 111 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 3: trembling through tears. A sniffle made her button nose wrinkle. 112 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 3: She locked her big brown eyes with her co star 113 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 3: Mike Vogel. Her lips pursed into a pout. Then her 114 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:33,240 Speaker 3: perfect delivery was broken. Shit line. Brittany maintained the perturbed 115 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:35,720 Speaker 3: look plastered on her face as she barked for her 116 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 3: next words. By now, the production staff working on the 117 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:41,400 Speaker 3: film across the hall. 118 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 2: Was used to it. 119 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:45,280 Speaker 3: It had been a tumultuous time on the set with Brittany. 120 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 3: Perhaps it was more accurate to say it was a 121 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:51,720 Speaker 3: tumultuous time on set with Brittany and her husband, Simon Monjack. 122 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:56,760 Speaker 3: As the crew fed Brittany her line, she struggled to 123 00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:00,720 Speaker 3: retain it. Her thoughts slogged, her mind moved in its 124 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:04,600 Speaker 3: lowest gear, fumbling with what emotion she should evoke next. 125 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:06,480 Speaker 2: Fuck, she's tired. 126 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:11,440 Speaker 3: Simon kept her up late last night again. Her husband 127 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:14,280 Speaker 3: of one year had a tendency to push her boundaries, 128 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:19,000 Speaker 3: both mentally and physically. He'd often deprive her of sleep 129 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 3: for activities like late night photoshoots. For her career, he promised, 130 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 3: and that's what he always said. Their formal relationship began 131 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:31,000 Speaker 3: in early two thousand and seven when Britney first clutched 132 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,440 Speaker 3: the script for The White Hotel, slated to be Simon's 133 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:37,880 Speaker 3: second movie. She was so intrigued by the project that 134 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:40,960 Speaker 3: she phoned Simon from Tokyo straight from the set of 135 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:44,199 Speaker 3: the cornball comedy The Ramen Girl. When they met in 136 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:47,520 Speaker 3: the States to discuss the movie, Simon promised her the 137 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:53,200 Speaker 3: leading role. Except The White Hotel never opened, never materialized. 138 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:57,520 Speaker 3: What Britney got instead was a new relationship followed by 139 00:08:57,559 --> 00:09:01,120 Speaker 3: a sudden proposal, and after two fs engagements with two 140 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 3: separate men, before the aged thirty Britney Murphy was beyond 141 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 3: ready to play the role of a bride. She and 142 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 3: Simon tied the knot in a private ceremony that spring. 143 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:20,199 Speaker 3: No big media announcements, no press coverage, private quiet, intimate 144 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 3: and the fact that their marriage came on the heels 145 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 3: of a nine day prison stay for Simon's American visa 146 00:09:25,679 --> 00:09:30,280 Speaker 3: expiring was merely a coincidence, Britney sore so anyways, just 147 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:32,600 Speaker 3: a very unimportant detail in the life of her new 148 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:37,600 Speaker 3: filmmaker husband. Simon's own credits at the time were limited 149 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:39,880 Speaker 3: to two days, nine lives, and a credit for a 150 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:43,160 Speaker 3: two thousand and six film called Factory Girl, all about 151 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:46,320 Speaker 3: the life of Yetie Sedgwick and her entanglement with Andy Warhol. 152 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:50,839 Speaker 3: Upon its release, Simon sued the filmmakers, claiming they stole 153 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:53,679 Speaker 3: the script and the filmmakers had never heard of a 154 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:58,040 Speaker 3: quote unquote industry professional named Simon Monjack. They dismissed him 155 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:00,800 Speaker 3: as a nuisance, but granted him a writing credit for 156 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:04,520 Speaker 3: the sake of shutting him up. In two thousand and 157 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:08,360 Speaker 3: eight that unearned credit remained Simon's biggest claim to fame, 158 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:12,280 Speaker 3: while Britney's biggest success is slipped farther and farther into 159 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:16,280 Speaker 3: the rear view. Eight mile felt like eight eternities ago. 160 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 3: The teen dream of Clueless was over ten years old now. 161 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:23,920 Speaker 3: In fact, Britney hadn't starred in a major studio production 162 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:26,319 Speaker 3: since two thousand and four's Little Black. 163 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:28,679 Speaker 2: Book That made two careers. 164 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:32,960 Speaker 3: Teetering on the brink of obscurity in Brittany Murphy teetering 165 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 3: on the brink of. 166 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:34,920 Speaker 2: Losing her mind. 167 00:10:35,559 --> 00:10:38,480 Speaker 3: Simon so called helping hand was his excuse for the 168 00:10:38,559 --> 00:10:41,760 Speaker 3: late nights or hovering on set for micro managing the 169 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:46,600 Speaker 3: final fragments of his wife's career. Simon's behavior ran Britney down, 170 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:49,559 Speaker 3: kept her run down, kept her in a tizzy calling 171 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,920 Speaker 3: out for his help right now on set. It kept 172 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:55,000 Speaker 3: her calling out for line she knew, damn well, she 173 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:56,599 Speaker 3: should be able to memorize. 174 00:10:57,080 --> 00:10:59,440 Speaker 2: What was she some sort of mentally challenged airhead. 175 00:11:00,679 --> 00:11:05,199 Speaker 3: Fortunately, across the hall, director Alex Murkin could handle repetition. 176 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:08,400 Speaker 3: He could handle reminding Brittany to get back in the frame. 177 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:11,000 Speaker 3: He could even deal with the peanut butter and Jelly 178 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:14,280 Speaker 3: Sandwich's cross cut off cut diagonally that she requested every 179 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:18,040 Speaker 3: hour on the hour and inevitably barely touched. What he 180 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:20,960 Speaker 3: couldn't handle was the resistance. 181 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:24,160 Speaker 2: Today. Brittany wasn't getting in. 182 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:27,160 Speaker 3: Bed for Across the Hall's love scene. She was beyond 183 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:30,080 Speaker 3: that kind of acting, she insisted. How could she shine 184 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:32,600 Speaker 3: when the low budget sets and low browsed scripts didn't 185 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:34,720 Speaker 3: give her room to when she had to bring her 186 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:39,160 Speaker 3: acting skills into a prop bed. Alex sensed a stalemate. 187 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:43,920 Speaker 3: He sighed and waved everyone off set. No sense prolonging 188 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:48,240 Speaker 3: the inevitable, he thought. As the staff dispersed, he meandered 189 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:51,079 Speaker 3: outside with select members of his crew for a private 190 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:56,480 Speaker 3: conversation about the situation. Alex spotted Simon milling about outside. 191 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 3: He cleared his throat and chose his words carefully. We're 192 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:03,920 Speaker 3: going to just have to go with somebody else, he 193 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:07,080 Speaker 3: said a little too loudly, hoping Simon's ears would perk up. 194 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:11,760 Speaker 3: But Simon's ears were already perked up. They always were, 195 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:15,600 Speaker 3: especially when he lingered awkwardly on set, waiting for Brittany 196 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:18,280 Speaker 3: to take a break or glance in his direction for 197 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:21,439 Speaker 3: some sort of guidance, and that's what he was there for, 198 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 3: to guide her, to nudge her back on the right 199 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:27,320 Speaker 3: path in her career, to make sure she nailed this 200 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:30,400 Speaker 3: role so well that the rest of the industry wouldn't 201 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:32,480 Speaker 3: be able to turn their backs on her anymore, and 202 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:37,959 Speaker 3: by association, on him either. Alex had to fight off 203 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:40,040 Speaker 3: a snicker when he saw Simon rushing over. 204 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:41,560 Speaker 2: We can work this out. 205 00:12:41,679 --> 00:12:44,880 Speaker 3: She'll do whatever you want, he said at Alex, failing 206 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:47,000 Speaker 3: to hide the panic in his voice. Let me go 207 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:49,000 Speaker 3: speak with her and we'll get this all worked out. 208 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:52,199 Speaker 3: He darted over to Brittany. Alex observed them from afar 209 00:12:52,679 --> 00:12:55,160 Speaker 3: whisper and said to strap frown from her some stern 210 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 3: words from him in the unspoken truth, she couldn't afford 211 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:02,960 Speaker 3: to lose this role, the unspoken agreement. She'd do the 212 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:05,800 Speaker 3: scene and she'd like it, or at least should pretend to, 213 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,840 Speaker 3: and that's what acting is all about. Right after the break, 214 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:12,800 Speaker 3: Britney shimmied under the sheets and glanced at her co star. 215 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:16,720 Speaker 3: Her dough eyes went glassy. Only for now, she thought, 216 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:21,360 Speaker 3: only until my next big break. She didn't know that 217 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:52,000 Speaker 3: the next big break would never come. A shiver shot 218 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:55,920 Speaker 3: up Brittey Murphy's spine. It started in her abdomen and 219 00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:58,800 Speaker 3: then crawled up to her chest, where it hammered on 220 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:02,720 Speaker 3: her rip caage clawed at her lungs. She tried to 221 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:06,200 Speaker 3: breathe through the sensation, but she could barely breathe at all. 222 00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:09,040 Speaker 3: She knew the feeling well by now, over a week 223 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:11,880 Speaker 3: into a mystery illness that left her shuddering in the sun. 224 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:15,800 Speaker 3: The December weather in Los Angeles wasn't warming up her 225 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:18,280 Speaker 3: thin frame, no matter how long she lingered near the 226 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:22,000 Speaker 3: rays of the sun pouring into her private bathroom, a 227 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:25,400 Speaker 3: breeze cut through her skin. She pulled a towel over 228 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:28,120 Speaker 3: her shoulders like a blanket and called out for her husband, 229 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:33,720 Speaker 3: Simon Monjack, through chattering teeth, a blanket, please. She just 230 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:35,960 Speaker 3: needed a blanket. She knew she wasn't strong enough to 231 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:40,600 Speaker 3: fetch one herself. Short walks weakened her. Anything more adventurous, 232 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:44,040 Speaker 3: like climbing a single story of stairs, left her gasping 233 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:47,720 Speaker 3: for air. If Simon had heard her request and the 234 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:51,080 Speaker 3: death rattle of her clicking teeth, he didn't acknowledge him. 235 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:54,280 Speaker 3: He was off in his own little world, thinking about 236 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:57,880 Speaker 3: his own dreams of being famous, no doubt, and she 237 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:00,280 Speaker 3: turned the page of a fashion magazine from her crouch 238 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:03,560 Speaker 3: position on the floor. Her chilly hand shook so fiercely 239 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:06,920 Speaker 3: that it ripped the bottom page. Britney grimaced and pulled 240 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:10,240 Speaker 3: her knees tight to her chest, one last attempt at 241 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:13,440 Speaker 3: salvaging any body heat. She could be at the beach 242 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:16,520 Speaker 3: right now, or about the pool, flagging a pool boy 243 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:20,480 Speaker 3: for another lemonade, sweating off her suntan lotion instead of 244 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:27,000 Speaker 3: begging her husband for a fucking blanket. Only a few 245 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 3: days earlier, Brittany was all smiles overseas alongside Simon and 246 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:36,160 Speaker 3: her mother Sharon. She had landed another leading role, this 247 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:39,280 Speaker 3: time for a thriller titled The Caller, set to be 248 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 3: filmed entirely in Puerto Rico. Her hopes were high, Simons 249 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:46,800 Speaker 3: might have been even higher. She landed safely in Puerto 250 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:49,600 Speaker 3: Rico in November of two thousand and nine, and those 251 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:53,320 Speaker 3: high hopes for the Collar crashed and burned shortly thereafter. 252 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:57,000 Speaker 3: Brittany had lasted no more than two days on set, 253 00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:59,400 Speaker 3: and that's all it took for her to sever herself 254 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:03,520 Speaker 3: from what she said a B movie horror catastrophe that 255 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:10,120 Speaker 3: in Simon's helicopter mentorship accelerated her departure. Her soul souvenirs 256 00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 3: from the trip were dashed dreams and wounded pride. Simon 257 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:16,320 Speaker 3: and Sharon, on the other hand, departed Puerto Rico with 258 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:19,400 Speaker 3: a nasty case of pneumonia, which they passed to Brittany 259 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 3: after their return to California. As if losing the role 260 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:27,520 Speaker 3: wasn't enough, now she had more reasons to sniffle. How 261 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:30,560 Speaker 3: many more hits could she take? She wouldn't be returning 262 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:32,800 Speaker 3: as a member of the voice cast for Happy Feet, too. 263 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:36,200 Speaker 3: Her much anticipated role in The Expendables was written out 264 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:38,440 Speaker 3: of the script, and she lost her role as tinker 265 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:41,760 Speaker 3: Bell for a straight to DVD Disney movie. And now 266 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:44,640 Speaker 3: now she couldn't last two days on set for a 267 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:47,520 Speaker 3: movie she didn't even want to be in. This was 268 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:52,120 Speaker 3: an unprecedented low for her, an unprecedented low that directly 269 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:56,400 Speaker 3: contradicted everything else Simon demanded from her. Simon says she 270 00:16:56,440 --> 00:17:00,000 Speaker 3: needs to make a real Hollywood comeback. Simon said she 271 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 3: needs to be thinner. Simon says these roles are better 272 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:06,879 Speaker 3: than those roles. Simon says he'll always take care of it, 273 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:15,200 Speaker 3: Simon says. Simon says, if Simon spoke it, Brittany absorbed 274 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,040 Speaker 3: it as gospel. She assumed it was the truth because 275 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:20,200 Speaker 3: there wasn't anyone else around her to tell her otherwise. 276 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:23,760 Speaker 3: In two thousand and nine, Brittany had no direct access 277 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:27,840 Speaker 3: to her email, no direct access to her personal cell phone. 278 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:30,639 Speaker 3: Anyone who wished to speak with Brittany had to go 279 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:35,080 Speaker 3: through Simon first and then speak with her on Simon's terms. 280 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:38,960 Speaker 3: Friends and family couldn't even reach her via lambline. Simon 281 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:43,000 Speaker 3: cut the phone surface in her house that she bought 282 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:48,080 Speaker 3: with her movie star money. Brittany thought Simon was just 283 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:52,440 Speaker 3: good at taking charge. Her friends thought he was downright controlling. 284 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:55,840 Speaker 3: There were some things that he legitimately assisted her with. 285 00:17:56,480 --> 00:17:59,159 Speaker 3: Simon had a set of simple life skills that Brittany lacked. 286 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:02,400 Speaker 3: The price she paid for spending her adolescence on TV 287 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:06,520 Speaker 3: in movie sets. She couldn't balance a checkbook, she couldn't drive, 288 00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:10,000 Speaker 3: no driver's license met. Britney relied on Simon to get 289 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:13,600 Speaker 3: out of her house, a tri level Mediterranean mansion nestled 290 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:16,879 Speaker 3: in West Hollywood, but Simon wasn't keen on. 291 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:17,960 Speaker 2: Joy rides. 292 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:22,560 Speaker 3: Upon their marriage in two thousand and seven, Britney Murphy's 293 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:26,919 Speaker 3: life shrunk to a claustrophobic eight thousand square feet, but 294 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:30,679 Speaker 3: that didn't stop the tabloids from talking, from typing their nasty, 295 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:36,159 Speaker 3: nitpicking headlines. Britney devoured them all, often crouched in her 296 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:39,000 Speaker 3: private bathroom as she was now, she bassed in the 297 00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:42,160 Speaker 3: warm comfort of its pink peach walls as she absorbed 298 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:46,320 Speaker 3: each article's criticisms. The one suggesting she had an eating 299 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:49,880 Speaker 3: disorder cut the deepest ha What happened to the days 300 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:53,120 Speaker 3: when she was huggable not fuckable? And that's what a powerful, 301 00:18:53,119 --> 00:18:56,119 Speaker 3: anonymous figure in Hollywood once told her she was she 302 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:58,840 Speaker 3: wanted to be a leading lady. Those same powerful types 303 00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:02,320 Speaker 3: advised her to loose some power, so she trimmed herself down, 304 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:06,679 Speaker 3: clipped in hair extensions, upgraded her appearance. She made herself 305 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:10,280 Speaker 3: quote unquote fuckable in no time flat, and now people 306 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:12,000 Speaker 3: had the audacity to question it. 307 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:13,200 Speaker 2: Bullshit. 308 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:20,159 Speaker 3: It was all unrealistic beauty standards bullshit, But it was bullshit. 309 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:20,359 Speaker 2: That weighed on her. 310 00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:25,160 Speaker 3: Nonetheless, when Brittany retreated to her bathroom, she did more 311 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:29,640 Speaker 3: than indulge in tabloids. She tested out hair treatments and perfumes, 312 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:33,879 Speaker 3: skin creams and lip tints. She tore pages from fashion magazines, 313 00:19:34,119 --> 00:19:36,680 Speaker 3: pinched skin between her thin fingers in the mirror. A 314 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:38,920 Speaker 3: little voice in her mind repeated what she read in 315 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:42,880 Speaker 3: the papers, repeated what Simon said to her. Change yourself, 316 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:46,160 Speaker 3: Shrink yourself, make yourself smaller so you can make your 317 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:50,879 Speaker 3: career bigger. Brittany was sick of the superficial life out West. 318 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:54,480 Speaker 3: Twenty ten would be different. It had to be different 319 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:59,080 Speaker 3: for her own sanity. She'd pack up with Simon and 320 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:02,359 Speaker 3: jet to New York. Can rehabilitate a reputation by starring 321 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:06,560 Speaker 3: in some independent films, maybe even start a family. Six 322 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:10,040 Speaker 3: years in her current living situation, sandwich between Simon and 323 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:13,960 Speaker 3: her mother Sharon have been more than enough. Britney purchased 324 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:16,840 Speaker 3: the home for three point nine million dollars from Britney 325 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:20,000 Speaker 3: Spears in two thousand and three, six years ago. Now 326 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:23,199 Speaker 3: one Brittany had moved on from it already, it was 327 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:27,959 Speaker 3: time for another Brittany, herself to fall sup Except Britney 328 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:30,600 Speaker 3: Spears was still hot in two thousand and nine, and 329 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:35,240 Speaker 3: Britney Murphy was not. Britney Murphy was cold ice, cold, 330 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:38,840 Speaker 3: colder than her skin even as she tried to warm 331 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 3: herself in the California sun, and Britney Murphy needed to 332 00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:52,919 Speaker 3: nurse herself and her career back to health immediately. Britney 333 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:56,920 Speaker 3: Murphy's body laid limp on the floor. Cold water from 334 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:00,800 Speaker 3: the shower head pelt at her face. Drops collected on 335 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:03,399 Speaker 3: her face and in her hair, and Brittany did so 336 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:07,840 Speaker 3: much as flinch. Her blue lips remained slightly parted, indifferent. 337 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:12,399 Speaker 3: That's when Sharon really started to panic. She clasped her 338 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:14,399 Speaker 3: daughter's I see body with one hand and used the 339 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:17,119 Speaker 3: other to dial nine one one with her thumb. Please 340 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:21,320 Speaker 3: get here quick, please, she's not moving. Simon helps Sharon 341 00:21:21,359 --> 00:21:24,080 Speaker 3: hoist Brittany out of the shower and onto the bathroom floor. 342 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:27,760 Speaker 3: As they maneuvered her body, bottles in Britney's private bathroom 343 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:31,920 Speaker 3: tumbled over, hair spray, skinned Creamy's face, mask, lip mass, perfumes, 344 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:34,960 Speaker 3: some jars fell into shallow pools of vomit on the floor, 345 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:38,840 Speaker 3: and Brittany been throwing up all morning, expelling water like 346 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:41,199 Speaker 3: it was poisoned, tons and tons of it. 347 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:43,760 Speaker 2: Sharon informed the dispatcher she was dizzy. 348 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:46,240 Speaker 3: She couldn't walk right. She's had a cold, she explained 349 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:46,880 Speaker 3: through tears. 350 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:49,880 Speaker 2: Can you feel or hear any breathing? 351 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:53,439 Speaker 3: The dispatcher asked he heard Simon relay the message to 352 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:57,800 Speaker 3: Sharon in the background. No. Then Sharon's answer more of 353 00:21:57,840 --> 00:21:59,359 Speaker 3: a blubbering howl than a word. 354 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:00,159 Speaker 2: No oh. 355 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:04,080 Speaker 3: As an ambulance race to one eight nine to five, 356 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:08,000 Speaker 3: rising Glen Road in Los Angeles, the dispatcher explained how 357 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:11,520 Speaker 3: to do compressions. A last ditch effort to get Britney 358 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:15,280 Speaker 3: breathing again, Simon placed the heel of his hand on 359 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:19,080 Speaker 3: Britney's breastbawn. The dispatcher calmly but sternly ordered him to 360 00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:22,959 Speaker 3: pump her chest hard and fast, at least twice per second. 361 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:28,080 Speaker 3: Simon counted his compressions out loud, pushed down hard on 362 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:31,080 Speaker 3: her dainty rib cage like her life depended on it. 363 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:38,360 Speaker 3: Because it did. Simon wasn't fast enough. Eight nine, ten. 364 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:40,520 Speaker 2: The dispatcher said. 365 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:45,560 Speaker 3: He scolded again when he heard no change in Simon's pacing. Britney, 366 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:49,360 Speaker 3: please come back, Sharon howl over the phone. But Britney 367 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:52,720 Speaker 3: didn't come back. After an ambulance brought her to Cedar 368 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:53,959 Speaker 3: Sinai Medical Center. 369 00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:55,040 Speaker 2: It wasn't long. 370 00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:58,159 Speaker 3: Before doctors delivered the grim news, and there was nothing 371 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:01,640 Speaker 3: they could do Britney if he died just after ten 372 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:05,600 Speaker 3: am that morning, on December twentieth, two thousand and nine, 373 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:10,560 Speaker 3: she was thirty two years old. The media swarmed around 374 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:14,399 Speaker 3: one eight ninety five rising Glenn Road. They had pressing questions, 375 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:19,080 Speaker 3: questions that were somehow bolder than their previous queries, asking 376 00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:21,679 Speaker 3: if she was addicted to drugs, or if an eating 377 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:25,600 Speaker 3: disorder lurked under that limber frame of hers. Now the 378 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:28,879 Speaker 3: question was, how does a thirty two year old seemingly 379 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:33,399 Speaker 3: die from a cold. Everyone wanted to know, everyone except 380 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:40,159 Speaker 3: Simon Manjak. Simon publicly and unabashedly opposed an autopsy. He 381 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:42,520 Speaker 3: didn't want his wife to be carved like a Thanksgiving 382 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:46,000 Speaker 3: turkey for some science experiment. The idea of his wife's 383 00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:49,439 Speaker 3: body being sliced up was too much to bear. It 384 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:51,840 Speaker 3: was curvy in all the right places. He told Larry 385 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:57,520 Speaker 3: King about his dead wife on national television. Fortunately, what 386 00:23:57,680 --> 00:23:59,879 Speaker 3: Simon said didn't have any sway to the Los An 387 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:04,240 Speaker 3: Angela's Coroner's office to halt the autopsy. Simon had to 388 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:06,760 Speaker 3: either send a coroner's office, a court order, or a 389 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:10,760 Speaker 3: religious reason, and he provided neither. Over the course of 390 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:13,879 Speaker 3: a few months, the Los Angeles Coroner's Office and so 391 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:17,600 Speaker 3: called Hollywood's Corner at Winter searched for answers to the 392 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:22,320 Speaker 3: public's pressing questions about Britney's sudden death. While they did 393 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:25,240 Speaker 3: their medical digging, there was plenty of time for things 394 00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:30,240 Speaker 3: to get even weirder at the Murphy Monjack residence. When 395 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:33,600 Speaker 3: investigators searched Britney's mansion in the days after her death, 396 00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:38,720 Speaker 3: they uncovered roughly ninety bottles of prescription pills in Simon's nightstand, 397 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:41,600 Speaker 3: some in his name, some in Britney's name, some of 398 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:46,320 Speaker 3: the names of unidentified third parties. Investigators all noticed that 399 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:49,639 Speaker 3: Simon and Britney's bed appeared to have been recently disturbed 400 00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:55,480 Speaker 3: by two people, except Britney was already long gone. When questioned, 401 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:58,960 Speaker 3: Simon confessed that Scherer would often climb into bed with 402 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:01,720 Speaker 3: him so they could tear console each other and share 403 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:06,240 Speaker 3: the burden of their grief. Simon's truth telling track record 404 00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:11,160 Speaker 3: wasn't exactly stellar, and Sharon vehemently denied this gross version 405 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:15,200 Speaker 3: of events. Simon raised eyebrows again when they sent out 406 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:19,120 Speaker 3: invitations to a memorial for Brittany scheduled for February twenty ten. 407 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:23,840 Speaker 3: The event launched the Britney Murphy Foundation, a nonprofit organization 408 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:28,359 Speaker 3: dedicated to helping children pursue the arts. Simon requested a 409 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:31,520 Speaker 3: thousand dollars donation from each attendee, or a sum of 410 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:35,440 Speaker 3: ten thousand dollars for organizations to attend a memorial service. 411 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:40,359 Speaker 3: Sharon was Britney's sole beneficiary. It wasn't a secret that 412 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:43,719 Speaker 3: Simon hadn't inherited a cent, but many were unaware that 413 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:46,840 Speaker 3: Simon had spent three million dollars of Britney's money in 414 00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:53,399 Speaker 3: three years, effectively draining eighty percent of her assets. Coincidentally, 415 00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:57,040 Speaker 3: at the time of the memorial, the foundation's official status 416 00:25:57,080 --> 00:26:01,119 Speaker 3: as a charity had yet to be approved. Donations weren't 417 00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:05,080 Speaker 3: going to a nonprofit. They were lining Simon's pockets. 418 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:06,040 Speaker 2: In the interim. 419 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:10,479 Speaker 3: At least, Hollywood got wise when attendees started asking for 420 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:13,439 Speaker 3: more information, Simon pulled the plug on the event with 421 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:16,400 Speaker 3: only one day to go. He blamed a family illness 422 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:18,240 Speaker 3: for the sudden cancelation. 423 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:19,400 Speaker 2: And no one bought it. 424 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:22,760 Speaker 3: The Brittany Murphy Foundation evaporated before it could even be 425 00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:27,680 Speaker 3: deemed a legitimate nonprofit, and by February twenty ten, it 426 00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:30,960 Speaker 3: felt like there couldn't possibly be any more peculiar angles 427 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:33,000 Speaker 3: to the Britney Murphy story. 428 00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:40,480 Speaker 2: Then her autopsy results came back. We'll be right back 429 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:48,640 Speaker 2: after this. We're we're, we're pneumonia. 430 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:52,000 Speaker 3: The answer was so anti climactic that it didn't even 431 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:55,520 Speaker 3: sound real. An affluent, thirty two year old woman had 432 00:26:55,560 --> 00:27:02,320 Speaker 3: succumbed to fucking pneumonia. Coroner's office ruled Britney Murphy's death 433 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:06,760 Speaker 3: accidental on February twenty fifth, twenty ten, citing pneumonia as 434 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:11,600 Speaker 3: the culprit, along with two smaller contributing factors. Tess revealed 435 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:14,960 Speaker 3: that Brittany had life threateningly low levels of hemoglobin, far 436 00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:18,680 Speaker 3: worse than a quote unquote regular case of anemia. There 437 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:21,600 Speaker 3: was also a loaded cocktail of medications in her system 438 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:25,160 Speaker 3: at the time of her death. Migraine tells cough medicine, 439 00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:30,200 Speaker 3: over the counter, nasal spray, antibiotics, prozac, klonopin, an anti inflammatory, 440 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:33,440 Speaker 3: a beta blocker from Simon, the painkiller like a profe 441 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:36,720 Speaker 3: prescribed by her doctor. It was a long list, but 442 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:40,320 Speaker 3: a legitimate one. None of the drugs were illegal. There 443 00:27:40,359 --> 00:27:44,440 Speaker 3: was no illicit substance aha moment, no prescription pill, smoking 444 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:48,200 Speaker 3: gun for a destitute vagrant living outside in the tent. 445 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:51,560 Speaker 3: The cause of death made perfect sense for an actress 446 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:53,800 Speaker 3: living in a three point nine million dollar home with 447 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:57,920 Speaker 3: two loved ones, It was nearly unheard of. At long last, 448 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:02,280 Speaker 3: the public had their unsatisfying answer to what now came 449 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:08,280 Speaker 3: the follow up? Why Why didn't Sharon and Simon take 450 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:11,480 Speaker 3: her symptoms seriously as she gasped for air at the 451 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:14,280 Speaker 3: top of the staircase or wabbled around the house like 452 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,000 Speaker 3: a newborn fawn. Why didn't they rush her to the 453 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:20,160 Speaker 3: hospital themselves the moment she struggled to breathe days before 454 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:23,359 Speaker 3: her death. Why did they think hot tea with ginger 455 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:25,800 Speaker 3: and lemon was all they needed to soothe her parched 456 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:29,600 Speaker 3: blue lips as she gasped for air and pleaded for oxygen. 457 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:33,760 Speaker 3: Why would a mother and a husband wait so long 458 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:38,720 Speaker 3: to call nine one one? And would they be foolish 459 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:44,440 Speaker 3: enough to make the same mistake twice? It seems so 460 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:48,120 Speaker 3: familiar that Sharon thought she was dreaming from across the 461 00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:52,120 Speaker 3: bedroom she could hear it, the sound of silence, more specifically, 462 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:57,480 Speaker 3: absence of breathing. Simon Monjack's chest wasn't moving, It wasn't 463 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:01,720 Speaker 3: rising and falling, not even for the most shallow breaths. Instead, 464 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:05,440 Speaker 3: he lay motionless in bed while a brown foam like 465 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:09,440 Speaker 3: liquid spewed from his lips, A gurgling sound erupted from 466 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:13,880 Speaker 3: his mouth. Sharon's sight nearly went dim. This couldn't be happening, 467 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:18,280 Speaker 3: no way, not again. Five months after her daughter gasped 468 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:21,280 Speaker 3: for her final breasths, her son in law was doing 469 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:25,719 Speaker 3: the same, And just like Brittany, Simon was sick with 470 00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:30,000 Speaker 3: some mystery illness that left him coughing, sweating, shaking. Pain 471 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:33,760 Speaker 3: radiated from his lungs and into his chest. At times, 472 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:36,200 Speaker 3: his fever reached a frightening hive nearly one hundred and 473 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:40,640 Speaker 3: six degrees. He was tired, His body was leading lethargic. 474 00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:43,560 Speaker 3: The illness weighed him down with an intensity that even 475 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:46,920 Speaker 3: trumped the burden of his grief. He was immobile, he 476 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:51,200 Speaker 3: was dying. Despite all this, Sharon didn't call for help 477 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:54,800 Speaker 3: until forty five minutes after first attempting to wipe Simon's 478 00:29:54,840 --> 00:30:00,680 Speaker 3: mouth clean from the mystery fluid. She dialed nine at 479 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:03,560 Speaker 3: nine fifteen pm on the evening of May twenty third, 480 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:07,520 Speaker 3: twenty ten. The rapid fire questions from dispatch were like 481 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:08,200 Speaker 3: deja vu? 482 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:10,440 Speaker 2: What his age? Did he awake or not awake? Is 483 00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:11,440 Speaker 2: he breathing or not breathing? 484 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:14,880 Speaker 3: Not breathing? At Sharon was told to move Simon's body 485 00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:17,680 Speaker 3: from the bed to the floor for compressions. She balked, 486 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:19,800 Speaker 3: no way she could get him on the ground, he 487 00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:23,640 Speaker 3: was too big. She compromised by delicately removing his massive 488 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:26,400 Speaker 3: melon of a head from his pillow. She began chess 489 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:29,400 Speaker 3: compressions right on the bed, following the same step Simon 490 00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:32,840 Speaker 3: had once done for Brittany. Now it was Sharon's turn. 491 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:37,200 Speaker 3: Emergency services rushed to one eight nine to five, rising 492 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:40,240 Speaker 3: Glenn Road for the second time in six months. This 493 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:43,280 Speaker 3: time there was no need to rush back to the hospital. 494 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:46,880 Speaker 3: Unlike Brittany, Simon did not have a pulse when the 495 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:51,440 Speaker 3: paramedics arrived, no lung sound either. He was declared dead 496 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:55,000 Speaker 3: in their bedroom at nine forty five pm. He was 497 00:30:55,160 --> 00:31:01,120 Speaker 3: forty years old. In the following days, as investigators didn't 498 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:03,920 Speaker 3: need a second tour of the eight thousand square foot mansion. 499 00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:07,280 Speaker 3: The homes layout remained fresh in their minds from their 500 00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:11,440 Speaker 3: last visit. Certain sections of the Mediterranean try level had 501 00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:16,200 Speaker 3: deteriorated from disorderly to disgusting. The wreckage of the past 502 00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:19,640 Speaker 3: few days stained Simon's bed sheets, which were covered in 503 00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:24,480 Speaker 3: brown black splotches of mucus used tissues spilled from the 504 00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:29,360 Speaker 3: trash can next to the nightstand. Investigators revisited Simon's nightstand 505 00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:32,440 Speaker 3: and were greeted by the same stash of prescription pill bottles. 506 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:37,560 Speaker 3: With an added surprise, some bore the name Sharon Monjack, 507 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:42,600 Speaker 3: much like the climbing in bed together tidbit. Sharon also 508 00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:46,000 Speaker 3: denied any allegations here, but there was one detail that 509 00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:50,120 Speaker 3: aroused more suspicion than anything else, Even more so than 510 00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:54,480 Speaker 3: the puzzling pill bottle situation. The house had quite literally 511 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:57,560 Speaker 3: developed a new feature since investigator's previous visit. 512 00:31:58,880 --> 00:31:59,240 Speaker 2: Mold. 513 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:03,000 Speaker 3: Mold coating the picture window in the living room, Mold 514 00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:06,600 Speaker 3: sprouting on the French doors. Not a few specs, not 515 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 3: a minuscule amount easily missed during spring cleaning. 516 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:12,040 Speaker 2: It was a plague of mold. 517 00:32:12,560 --> 00:32:15,400 Speaker 3: It didn't matter that it was disgusting, and not because 518 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:19,840 Speaker 3: it demonstrated in neglectful housekeeping. The mold mattered because inhaling 519 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:23,080 Speaker 3: spores come with a certain set of symptoms, the same 520 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:29,480 Speaker 3: symptoms as pneumonia, headaches, congestion, lung irritation, sneezing, wheezing, the 521 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:33,480 Speaker 3: same symptoms Britney Murphy had in December, the same symptoms 522 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:38,800 Speaker 3: Simon Monjack had in his final days. Coincidentally, Britney's autopsy 523 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:43,040 Speaker 3: revealed multiple areas of inflammation or granny lommis and her lungs. 524 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:46,720 Speaker 3: The most common cause of this kind of irritation is 525 00:32:46,760 --> 00:32:50,280 Speaker 3: fungal infections. Then, the most common fungal infection in the 526 00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:54,520 Speaker 3: United States is caused by histoplasma, a species of mold, 527 00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:59,800 Speaker 3: specifically a species of mold that, if inhaled, can lead 528 00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:20,640 Speaker 3: to death. So you're telling me there's ten different metals 529 00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:25,160 Speaker 3: in my daughter's hair, Angelo Bertolotti stared at the toxicology 530 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:28,479 Speaker 3: report in his hands. His eyes ran down the massive 531 00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:34,600 Speaker 3: list again, tin selenium, barium, aluminum, uranium, copper, silver, platinum, antimony, 532 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:38,960 Speaker 3: ten different heavy metals in total, all present in a 533 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:43,080 Speaker 3: sample of Britney Murphy's hair, nine times the normal level. 534 00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:47,240 Speaker 3: According to the World Health Organization, the pathologist on the 535 00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:50,440 Speaker 3: phone said he'd never seen anything like it in his life. 536 00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:53,840 Speaker 3: Angelo couldn't fathom how the LA Coroner had missed something 537 00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:58,640 Speaker 3: so obvious, so bizarre. After years of tussling with an 538 00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:03,440 Speaker 3: unsatisfying ending, Angelo finally requested a sample of Britney's hair 539 00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:06,800 Speaker 3: from the LA Coroner's office to use for his own investigation. 540 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:11,040 Speaker 3: In twenty thirteen, he shipped off her locks to a 541 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:14,560 Speaker 3: toxicology lab in Colorado, and they sent back a. 542 00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:16,160 Speaker 2: Case for murder. 543 00:34:19,640 --> 00:34:22,080 Speaker 3: It had been years since Angelo had dug this deep 544 00:34:22,120 --> 00:34:26,239 Speaker 3: into his daughter's life. On paper, Angelo was Britney's father, 545 00:34:26,719 --> 00:34:29,200 Speaker 3: but he only played that role for two years before 546 00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:32,520 Speaker 3: Britney's mother, Sharon, divorced him and took Brittany to Edison, 547 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:35,200 Speaker 3: New Jersey to start a new life together as a twosome. 548 00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:39,239 Speaker 3: The split kept Brittany away from her father's world, the 549 00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:43,280 Speaker 3: sleazy Florida clubs he owned, and his involvement with organized 550 00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:46,040 Speaker 3: crime that earned him roughly a decade in prison for 551 00:34:46,200 --> 00:34:51,000 Speaker 3: dirty deeds like racketeering and a counterfeiting scam. His relationship 552 00:34:51,080 --> 00:34:53,319 Speaker 3: with Sharon had played out like a movie script from 553 00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:57,040 Speaker 3: the start Girl meets Mobster. Mobster hires girl to dance 554 00:34:57,080 --> 00:35:00,759 Speaker 3: at his clubs. Mobster marries girl, girl, divorced mobster and 555 00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:03,880 Speaker 3: runs far, far away. Britney could have shined in a 556 00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:07,400 Speaker 3: role like that only a few years ago, but Brittany 557 00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:12,080 Speaker 3: wasn't here anymore, and Angelo wanted to know why. Angelo 558 00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:14,359 Speaker 3: used to mingle with criminals. For Christ's say, he knew 559 00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:16,880 Speaker 3: a lie when he heard one and two adults, not 560 00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:19,520 Speaker 3: even in middle aged dying from pneumonia was the biggest 561 00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:22,200 Speaker 3: heap of steaming bullshit he had ever heard in his life. 562 00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:27,160 Speaker 3: Simon's autopsy results came back nearly identical to Britney's cause 563 00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:30,440 Speaker 3: of death community acquired pneumonia and severe anemia. 564 00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:31,680 Speaker 2: Bullshit. 565 00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:38,520 Speaker 3: Angelo thought, mighty suspicious bullshit. The distance between Angelo and 566 00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:41,560 Speaker 3: his daughter didn't matter at the moment. Didn't matter that 567 00:35:41,600 --> 00:35:44,560 Speaker 3: Britney changed her legal name from Bertolotti to Murphy to 568 00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:48,000 Speaker 3: match her stage name, placing a further distance between Angelo 569 00:35:48,120 --> 00:35:51,560 Speaker 3: and his low brown dealings. Didn't matter that Angelo wasn't 570 00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:55,000 Speaker 3: even listed as Brittany's father on her death certificate. His 571 00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:59,960 Speaker 3: daughter was dead, and he wanted answers the mold theory 572 00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:04,040 Speaker 3: He was compelling but ultimately a dead end. Despite the 573 00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:07,400 Speaker 3: aligning symptoms and irritation in Britney's lungs. There was no 574 00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:10,120 Speaker 3: sign of spores in her lungs, which would have been 575 00:36:10,120 --> 00:36:14,200 Speaker 3: the true dead giveaway. Also, had mold been the culprin, 576 00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:17,479 Speaker 3: surely it would have also affected Sharon, a two time 577 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:20,520 Speaker 3: breast cancer survivor and thus the most susceptible person in 578 00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:25,000 Speaker 3: the family. No, Angelo had a different theory altogether. He 579 00:36:25,080 --> 00:36:27,719 Speaker 3: had every reason to believe that Brittany and Simon have 580 00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:31,560 Speaker 3: been poisoned, poisoned by the one other person in the 581 00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:34,080 Speaker 3: home who would have access to their food and drinks. 582 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:40,880 Speaker 3: Angelo thought the couple was poisoned by Sharon. Much like 583 00:36:40,920 --> 00:36:45,080 Speaker 3: inhaling mold spores, heavy metal poisoning reveals itself through pneumonia 584 00:36:45,160 --> 00:36:50,160 Speaker 3: like symptoms, dizziness, sweating, cramps, lethargy, and coughing. Angelo wasn't shy. 585 00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:53,360 Speaker 3: He named names. He claimed it had to be Sharon. 586 00:36:53,680 --> 00:36:56,640 Speaker 3: He found it suspicious that Sharon wouldn't allow Britney's body 587 00:36:56,640 --> 00:37:00,239 Speaker 3: to be exhumed for further testing. Sharon dismissed Angela those 588 00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:03,640 Speaker 3: claims as fraudulent, but in Angelo's eyes, there was no 589 00:37:03,719 --> 00:37:09,839 Speaker 3: other logical explanation. Coroner ed Winter disagreed. He didn't see 590 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:14,000 Speaker 3: anything logical about Angelo's claims at all. Ed had tested 591 00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:17,920 Speaker 3: Britney's skin, tested her blood, tested her urine, and there 592 00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:20,759 Speaker 3: was no sign of anything unusual in any of the samples. 593 00:37:21,360 --> 00:37:24,839 Speaker 3: Nor were there thin lines running across Brittany or Simon's fingernails, 594 00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:28,480 Speaker 3: the hallmark of heavy metal poisoning. And just like the 595 00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:32,200 Speaker 3: mold theory, and just like Simon's incessant bragging, Ed thought 596 00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:37,080 Speaker 3: it was bocus. Instead, he suggested a far more likely 597 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:41,800 Speaker 3: source of the metals, sprays, dyes, and other hair treatments. 598 00:37:42,640 --> 00:37:46,120 Speaker 3: The chemicals bottled up in every corner of Britney's private bathroom, 599 00:37:46,560 --> 00:37:49,160 Speaker 3: the same ones that surrounded her when she slipped from 600 00:37:49,200 --> 00:37:53,640 Speaker 3: her final moments of consciousness. Angelo hadn't found a clue. 601 00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:58,080 Speaker 3: He found another symptom of Britney's insecurity, another display of 602 00:37:58,120 --> 00:38:01,920 Speaker 3: her white knuckled determination to better herself while the person 603 00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:06,160 Speaker 3: closest to her insisted on tearing her down. It wasn't 604 00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:08,680 Speaker 3: just the chemicals and hairspray that led to her downfall, 605 00:38:09,080 --> 00:38:12,839 Speaker 3: but her dependency on other people to feel secure. It's 606 00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:19,719 Speaker 3: a fate so unfortunate, so insane, so freakishly coincidental that 607 00:38:19,840 --> 00:38:25,480 Speaker 3: it ought to be in pictures. I'm Jake Brennan and 608 00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:36,759 Speaker 3: this is hollywood Land. 609 00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:44,640 Speaker 4: Hollywood Land was created by Years Truly and is produced 610 00:38:44,640 --> 00:38:48,520 Speaker 4: in partnership with Double Elvis. Follow like, rate, and review 611 00:38:48,560 --> 00:38:50,799 Speaker 4: hollywood Land wherever you get your podcasts, and get in 612 00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:54,160 Speaker 4: touch with us on social media at double Elvis. If 613 00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:56,040 Speaker 4: you like hollywood Land, check out my other show, the 614 00:38:56,080 --> 00:38:59,120 Speaker 4: award winning Disgraceland, which looks at the world of music 615 00:38:59,120 --> 00:39:01,680 Speaker 4: through the lens of true crime. Just search for Disgraceland 616 00:39:01,920 --> 00:39:03,239 Speaker 4: or wherever you get your podcasts. 617 00:39:08,960 --> 00:39:10,280 Speaker 2: There's There's Alive.