Brittany Murphy's husband dies: A sad and strange story gets more sad and strange

Only five months after the strange and still-mysterious death of 32-year old actor Brittany Murphy, the story now has another twist.

Murphy's husband, 39-year old producer and writer, Simon Monjack was found dead in his home on Sunday night.

Sadly and almost unbelievably, Monjack was found by his mother-in-law, who also called 911 when her daughter collapsed in the shower last December.

Sharon Murphy actively defended her daughter in the days following her death. Murphy's mother spoke out with Monjack, insisting that Murphy did not have a drug problem or suffer from an eating disorder. She attributed her daughter's death to a congenital heart murmur Murphy was diagnosed with as a teen. After an autopsy, the coroner's office ruled that Murphy's death was accidental and caused by a dangerous combination of "community acquired pneumonia," "iron deficiency anemia," and multiple drug intoxication.

The conclusion seemed vague, however, and her death continued to seem clouded by Monjack's bumbling behavior at the scene, that he did not support his wife's body being autopsied, and the copious amounts of prescription medications reportedly found in their home.

Monjack's own death carries similar ambiguity. Sharon Murphy found him unresponsive in his Los Angeles home at 9:40 p.m. on Sunday and called paramedics. He was pronounced dead and was without signs of foul play or physical injury, according to the coroner's office. Although medication prescribed to Monjack was present, the chief coroner reported that signs of an overdose were not immediately apparent. His mother-in-law reported his collapse as a possible heart attack. Toxicology reports and an autopsy are pending.

Monjack and Murphy were married in 2007. Monjack's only professional credits listed on iMDb.com are for writing and executive producing the 2006 movie "Factory Girl" -- an Andy Warhol and Edie Sedgwick story with a cast that included Jimmy Fallon, Hayden Christensen, and Sienna Miller -- and as the director, co-writer, and producer of the 2001 movie "Two Days, Nine Lives" -- a movie centered in a drug rehab facility.



[photo credit: Gustavo Caballero /Wire Images / Getty]