Brittany Murphy is husband mourns

During a sometimes tear-filled interview, an exhausted Monjack, 39, who hasn't slept since his mother-in-law found his wife collapsed in the bathroom early Sunday, said all he knows is what doctors told him at the hospital: She died of cardiac arrest, but they won't know details until after an autopsy. (A coroner's spokesperson said the results could take up to six weeks, for toxicology reports to be final.)

"My initial reaction to the autopsy was -- they're going to cut her open -- I couldn't bear it," Monjack said, weeping. "That would break her mother, but we realized we needed to know. I look forward to getting the results."

He added that his wife of three years did suffer from a heart murmur (mitral valve prolapse), which can cause fatigue, dizziness and irregular heartbeats -- but is generally not life threatening. Murphy didn't require medication to treat it, says Monjack.

But on Saturday, he said, his wife was ill, resting in bed all day suffering from laryngitis, which the actress treated with herbal tea, ginger and lemon.

"She was on herbal remedies that wouldn't speed up her heart," Monjack said. "There was nothing here that could endanger her; there was prescription medication in the house for her female time and some cough syrup. That was it."

Asked point-blank if a drug overdose was a possible cause of death, Monjack replied, "I can get rid of that one right now," he said.

Last Saturday, the couple just relaxed in bed, watching three movies as Murphy prepared to cast her vote as a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. They ordered Brittany's favorite takeout -- Thai food -- and ate soup prepared by Murphy's mother, Sharon, who has lived with them for 3½ years.

"She was tired and a little sad because she was sick," Monjack said about Brittany. "She wore her pink Beverly Hills Hotel robe and monkey pajamas. We saw It's Complicated, Public Enemy and The Princess and the Frog.

The couple were joined by Murphy's companion, a pet Maltese named Clara, a Christmas gift last year from Monjack that Murphy named after her favorite silent screen star, Clara Bow. "One of the saddest things is that Clara has looked everywhere for Brittany and can't find her," said Monjack.

Monjack, a photographer, first met Murphy on a photo shoot when she was 13 after she moved to Hollywood with her mother, Sharon. They began dating after being reintroduced at Murphy's 28th birthday party and married a year later.

"So many people have their views of us, but they never met us or sat down with us," he said. "I'm not perfect, but I don't think anyone is ... I am feeling beyond devastated. I was in love with Brittany and Brittany with me."

The couple had plans for 2010: Brittany would continue to work, but she wanted to get pregnant.

"She was an only child," said Monjack. "She wanted a baby. Her big dream next year was to have a child, and we talked about how he or she would look. She'd say, 'They'd better have your eyes and lips and my hair.' "

But Monjack did concede his wife was trying to get heavier. "She tried to gain weight but had one of those metabolisms -- a high metabolism -- but enjoyed food as much as anyone. I wish I could show all the receipts from the take out restaurants," he said.

"We are faced with this ridiculous reality that people out there believe she felt, 'Oh, poor me, I'm fat, I'm thin.' Brittany didn't see beauty as a physical thing, which I'm bloody lucky for," he said with a laugh. "I know there was a disparity in how we looked and I'm no movie star, but she always saw the person."

Monjack said he has been upset by some of the published reports.

"It's horrible -- the death of a beautiful young woman, a Hollywood icon; it has to be explained. It just can't be a tragic accident," he said, trying to explain the headlines. "We don't want to accept that a beautiful young wife and daughter woke up one morning and died a tragic death."

But he's most worried about his mother-in-law. "I don't know if she will ever recover, and I know when she reads all this nonsense about her son-in-law and her deceased daughter, her heart is breaking. She has lived with us and saw the love and support. I hope she stays -- I can't imagine my life without Sharon -- she's my link to Brittany."

Monjack said Brittany's family arrived in town Monday and that funeral plans are pending.

Brittany Murphy autopsy conducted

An autopsy on the body of actress Brittany Murphy was conducted Monday, the Los Angeles County coroner's office said.

Authorities have said the 32-year-old appeared to have died Sunday of natural causes, and there was no sign of foul play or trauma.

"Naturally occurring diseases could be found in any person that could lead to death," said Capt. John Kades of the coroner's office.

The office is looking into Murphy's medical history. A final report could take up to eight weeks. The cause of death will not be released until the toxicology report is concluded, said the coroner's office. That process can take weeks.

Police also are conducting an investigation, which includes robbery and homicide detectives looking at what was in her home, said Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman Norma Eisenman.

Murphy was pronounced dead at 10:04 a.m. PT (1:04 p.m. ET) Sunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, hospital spokeswoman Sally Stewart said.
She is survived by her husband, British screenwriter Simon Monjack, whom she married in 2007.

Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the leading cause of death for American women in Murphy's age range is unintentional injury. Malignant tumors are second, followed by heart disease and suicide.

The often bubbly, free-spirited actress appeared in such films as "Clueless," "8 Mile," "Don't Say a Word" and "Girl, Interrupted." She also lent her voice to animated works, such as the movie "Happy Feet" -- in which she also sang -- and a regular role on the animated TV series "King of the Hill."

"The sudden loss of our beloved Brittany is a terrible tragedy," her family said in a statement issued by her publicist. "She was our daughter, our wife, our love and a shining star. We ask you to respect our privacy at this time." Funeral arrangements are pending, the family said.

Fans have taken to Murphy's official Facebook page to issue their condolences.

Brittany Murphy dead at 32

Murphy was pronounced dead at 10:04 a.m. PT Sunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Sally Stewart told CNN Radio.

An autopsy had not been scheduled as of Sunday night, but Captain John Kades, a spokesman for the coroner's office, told CNN that there was no sign of foul play or trauma. He added that it's not unusual for a younger person to die of natural causes.

The coroner's office is looking into Murphy's medical history. A final report could take up to eight weeks.

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the death, and robbery and homicide detectives will be at her home, LAPD spokeswoman Norma Eisenman said.

"The sudden loss of our beloved Brittany is a terrible tragedy," her family said in a statement issued by her publicist. "She was our daughter, our wife, our love and a shining star. We ask you to respect our privacy at this time."

Funeral arrangements are pending, the family said.

Murphy starred in several movies, including "Just Married," "Don't Say a Word" and "Riding in Cars with Boys." She also voiced the character Luanne on the animated TV series "King of the Hill."

She is survived by her husband, British screenwriter Simon Monjack, whom she married in 2007.

Fans took to Murphy's official Facebook page Sunday to issue their condolences.

"She was a great actress and was going to go far in her career! She will be greatly missed!" read one post.

Murphy's former boyfriend and "Just Married" co-star Ashton Kutcher posted his reaction to the news via Twitter.

"2day the world lost a little piece of sunshine. My deepest condolences go out 2 Brittany's family, her husband, & her amazing mother Sharon," Kutcher posted.

He added later: "see you on the other side kid."

Singer-actress Jessica Simpson tweeted: "Brittany Murphy was an incredible ray of Light to so many people. Her smile was contagious. My prayers are with her family and loved ones."

Actress Alyssa Milano, who did a USO tour with Murphy in 2003, wrote on Twitter: "She was a sweet soul, with a lot of talent and heart."

Murphy was best known for her work in a string of romantic comedies in the early 2000s, including lead roles in "Uptown Girls" alongside fellow Georgia native Dakota Fanning, and "Little Black Book" with Holly Hunter and Kathy Bates, but her movie roles had declined in recent years.

Last month, Murphy reportedly was fired from "The Caller," a movie she was working on in Puerto Rico. Her representative issued a statement to news outlets disputing the report, saying: "She was not nor has she ever been fired from any job big or small. ... [Due] to creative differences Ms. Murphy and the production mutually parted ways," according to People magazine.

In addition to her "King of the Hill" role, she lent her voice to a number of animated works including the TV series "Futurama" and the 2006 hit movie "Happy Feet."

Her work as troubled teenagers in "Don't Say a Word" and "Girl, Interrupted" also gained her critical acclaim.

Murphy was the subject of tabloid gossip after she transformed from a pudgy brunette in 1995's "Clueless" to a petite, lithe blonde who graced the cover of such magazines as Cosmopolitan in 2005. She frequently denied rumors of an eating disorder and plastic surgery.

Her love life also was fodder for gossip sites as she broke two engagements in 2004 and 2006, then married Monjack after only four months of dating.

"All these ridiculous people came out and said all this nonsense when we got married, [but] thank God we had the substance and the history within that to [say], 'Yeah, whatever!' " Monjack told People magazine in a 2008 interview. "We still don't understand what happened. It's made us laugh, it's made us cry, but it's made us stronger."