WATCH: What Really Happened to Brittany Murphy?
David Livingston/ Getty Images |
After the shocking loss of Brittany Murphy, many questioned the circumstances surrounding her death. Police determined no foul play was involved. Now a new investigation reveals what happened in her tragic last days.
"Brittany died of three causes," the Hollywood Reporter's Alex Ben Block tells Kevin Frazier. "Pneumonia, anemia and a toxic mix of prescription drugs. "What nobody seemed to realize was that because of other problems -- including having her period twice in one month -- she was suffering from anemia. She was losing a lot of blood; this weakens you tremendously."
Alex says she had a quarter of the normal red blood count at the time of her death. "The pneumonia was filling her lungs with fluid at the same time," Alex explains. "What was even worse was she couldn't even take care of herself that last night. She was mostly worried about her mom and her husband. Her mother had neuropathy ... her husband had become very ill ... he had at least three seizures night."
Kevin asks what is probably the biggest question on everyone's mind: Why didn't anybody call a doctor?
"Well, I think it was a combination [of things]," Alex says. "They did take care of each other and felt that they could self-medicate and consult with a physician by phone." He adds that they were paranoid about publicity, fearing it could somehow hurt her career.
Alex believes that her husband Simon Monjack contributed to that paranoia. "He created an environment around her that wasn't healthy," he says. "He was very paranoid and passed his paranoia on to her -- and isolated her from close family and friends who had been part of her life for all those years before she met Simon ... he was calling the shots."
In response to the investigation -- and specifically Block's statements -- Sharon Murphy tells ET that she is "shocked" by his account.
"As I am dealing daily with the heart-wrenching loss of my entire family, I am shocked by Mr. Block's statements," she tells ET. "This is very disturbing that someone that was supposed to be mine and Brittany's friend, and someone who works for The Hollywood Reporter, would make statements that are 100-percent untrue. For anyone to even fathom that I would just sit and watch my only beloved daughter die and not get help instantly is beyond my way of thinking and despicable."
A rep for The Hollywood Reporter tells ET they stand by Block’s reporting and "encourage Sharon Murphy to read the article when it is published [Tuesday]."
