Hypochondriac's Corner: Yes, Your House Can Kill You!
by Ryan Porter
Mould may have murdered the late Brittany Murphy and Simon Monjack.
In a strange hybrid between morbid celebrity gossip and a Javex campaign, mould is now a suspected factor in the shocking deaths of Ms.
Brittany Murphy and her husband
Simon Monajck, TMZ reports. The Department of Public Health is looking into it.
The initial investigation into Brittany's December '09 death found mould in their Hollywood Hills home, where the couple had lived with Brittany's mom Sharon. Investigators didn't think it was relevant at the time, but now that both Brittany and Simon's deaths have been blamed on pneumonia, the Department of Public Health is taking a closer look at the place. Their home used to be owned by
Britney Spears, not that we should read anything about Britney's housekeeping into that.
Sharon, who took the house off the market when Simon was still alive because she found it too painful to show, had initially blocked Public Health from investigating for unknown reasons. She's since agreed to cooperate, with Simon's mom Linda, a U.K.-based hypnotherapist, flying to Los Angeles to observe the investigation.
I'm glad someone is still looking into this, seeing as pneumonia alone doesn't fully explain the deaths of two young, rich people. Brittany was 32 when she died in December; Simon was 40 when he died in May. Brittany's prescription drug use was cited as a contributing factor while Simon had been advised to have heart surgery. Despite their compromised health, they shouldn't have been vulnerable to a 19th-century disease like pneumonia. Sharon Murphy might want to pack up her Louis Vuitton and get out of that house while she can. You in danger, girl!
UPDATE: A source with the L.A. Department of Public Health says they aren't investigating the Murphy home. Sharon Murphy thinks the story is "absurd." "I have never been personally asked by the coroner or anyone from the Health Department to come and inspect my home for mould. In the last eight months, I have been through the most unimaginable events, which no one could ever fathom. I have and will continue to be very cooperative and fully comply with any such request." So they aren't looking for mould. But maybe they should, because I still don't get what happened here.