Actress Brittany Murphy's death hit like a bombshell in December 2009 when she unexpectedly died at 32. A coroner later said that the actress died from a combination of pneumonia, an iron deficiency and multiple drug intoxication. Her husband, Simon Monjack, died five months later of acute pneumonia and severe anemia, "just like Brittany," the coroner said. Her father is contesting those findings and questioning whether she was poisoned. It's a controversial case, but in Hollywood, controversial celebrity deaths are far from uncommon ...
Michael Jackson's 2009 death from an overdose of propofol stunned the world. Four years later, we're still talking about the King of Pop's passing, as his family confronts AEG Live in court with claims that the company is liable in the star's death.
James Dean's death is part of his legend. The actor's life and career were cut tragically short on September 30, 1955, when the 24-year-old got into a collision while driving his Porsche 550 Spyder on a California highway. He never lived to see his iconic movie, "Rebel Without A Cause," arrive in theaters that October.
"The Adventures of Superman" star, George Reeves, was found dead in his home on June 15, 1959, at the age of 45. He died from a gunshot wound to the head, which was ruled as suicide. But many still believe that Reeves was murdered.
The August 5, 1962, death of Marilyn Monroe is still shrouded in mystery. The screen siren died in her Los Angeles home at the age of 36. The official cause of death was an overdose, but that hasn't stemmed the tide of persistent theories that something more nefarious led to Monroe's untimely passing.
Actress Natalie Wood mysteriously drowned in the Pacific Ocean on November 29, 1981, in a death that was initially ruled accidental. That changed in 2012 when a renewed investigation into Wood's death caused the Los Angeles coroner to amend her cause of death to "drowning and other undetermined factors" because of questions surrounding the bruises found on Wood's body.
Guitarist Brian Jones, a founding member of the Rolling Stones, was found dead in a swimming pool in July 1969 after a party at his home. The hard-living 27-year-old's passing was ruled death by misadventure, yet theories abounded that he'd been the victim of a crime. In 2009, police in Sussex, England, began to look into his death once again.
The gruesome 1969 murder of actress Sharon Tate -- along with four others -- left a mark on pop culture that still appears today. Tate, who was married to director Roman Polanski, was 26 years old and eight months pregnant when she was murdered, an act committed by members of the Manson Family.
Jimi Hendrix is another legend who died young, passing away at 27 in September 1970. According to Rolling Stone, police said at the time that it was a drug overdose, and that he'd died of suffocation in his own vomit. We can only imagine what the rock star could have gone on to create, given the incredible influence he had on music in the short span of time he was internationally known.
Musician and poet Jim Morrison of The Doors was found dead in the bathtub of his Paris apartment in 1971, also at the age of 27. But the cause of his death has been a hot topic of debate: His passing was officially due to natural causes, but a 2007 book fueled theories that there was a cover-up.
As a master of martial arts and an action star, Bruce Lee was reaching the zenith of his career when he died at 32 in July 1973. He was in Hong Kong at the time of his death, which was blamed on a brain edema caused by an allergic reaction to painkillers. His sudden and shocking passing came just a month before the premiere of his classic 1973 film, "Enter the Dragon."
Elvis Presley's death at 42 in August 1977 left some fans so shocked they refused to believe it. Hopeful conspiracy theorists swore that the King was still alive and well in the years following his collapse in his bathroom at Graceland. Although Elvis' death was ruled to be the result of an irregular heartbeat, there were accusations that prescription drug abuse was a factor.
The final chapter in the lives of Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is one of music's most famous. In October 1978, Nancy died from a stab wound in Room 100 of New York's Chelsea Hotel, and Sid was arrested as a top suspect. Four months later and out on bail, Sid died of a drug overdose.
"Hogan's Heroes" actor Bob Crane was found bludgeoned to death in his apartment on June 29, 1978, at the age of 49. Even after the case was reopened in 1990, Crane's murder has still not been solved.
John Lennon was shot and killed outside of his Manhattan apartment on December 8, 1980. In 2010, the convicted assailant, Mark David Chapman, told a parole board that he gunned down the Beatles giant because he thought at the time "that by killing John Lennon I would become somebody." Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, has poignantly referred to Lennon's death in efforts to curb gun violence.
Twenty years after his father Bruce Lee's death, actor Brandon Lee died at 28 after being fatally wounded on the set of "The Crow." The shooting was accidental -- it was supposed to be Hollywood gun play for the sake of the scene -- but it sparked plenty of rumors that Lee's death wasn't an accident.
Even though Kurt Cobain died 19 years ago, many of a certain age can still recall the exact place they were in when they learned the Nirvana frontman had been found dead at 27. As Rolling Stone explains, "People looked to Kurt Cobain because his songs captured what they felt before they knew they felt it," and that remains true even after his death -- which some aren't convinced was a suicide, as authorities ruled it to be.
Already the "Queen of Tejano" to fans of the genre, singer Selena was on the cusp of crossing over into pop stardom when she was murdered by Yolanda Saldivar in March 1995. Although she was just 23 at the time, the Grammy-winning artist had established an incredible legacy at the time of her death, one that her husband, Chris Perez, recently chronicled in the book "To Selena, With Love."
On September 7, 1996, Tupac Shakur was leaving a boxing event in Las Vegas when he was shot multiple times. Six days later, he was dead at 25. He left behind an ever-increasing fan base, a catalog of music and one of culture's most persistent mysteries. The presumption is that his death was caused by the volatile East Coast/Wast Coast rap war of the era, a feud that held Tupac and New York rapper Notorious B.I.G. as its avatars. Although nearly every fan has his or her own theory on who was involved in the young talent's death, his murder remains unsolved.
Just a year after the loss of Tupac, hip-hop weathered the death of another giant of the genre, Notorious B.I.G. The rapper was shot and killed at 24 while leaving a music industry party in March 1997. Like Tupac's, his slaying remains unsolved.
Fashion designer Gianni Versace was fatally shot on the steps of his Miami Beach, Florida, mansion on July 15, 1997. Police believe a 27-year-old named Andrew Cunanan killed the 50-year-old head of the renowned fashion empire, although they couldn't uncover a motive. Cunanan took his own life on a nearby houseboat a week after Versace's death.
An official inquest into the August 1997 death of Princess Diana ruled that it was her "grossly negligent" driver and the paparazzi who trailed him that caused the car crash that ended her life. The beloved Princess of Wales was just 36 when she died in Paris. Although the inquest aimed to offer closure to the grieving, there are those who've claimed the British Royal family had something to do with Diana's passing.
The death of comedic actor and "Saturday Night Live" star Phil Hartman stunned fans in May 1998, when he and his wife were discovered shot to death in their Los Angeles home in an apparent murder-suicide. Autopsies revealed that Hartman had been shot in the head several times, while his wife, Brynn, died of a single self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Singer Aaliyah was just hitting her stride when her life ended in an August 2001 plane crash in the Bahamas. The 22-year-old had released her third album the month prior, and was lining up future movie projects as well. Investigators said the plane was overloaded with luggage at the time of the crash, which killed all nine people on board.
Topless dancer-turned-model-turned reality TV star Anna Nicole Smith died at 39 in February 2007, after being found unconscious in her Florida hotel room. Smith died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, but her death led to a two-year legal drama that involved Smith's lawyer-boyfriend and two doctors. The three were accused of conspiring to feed Smith's drug addiction, and using false names to obtain the drugs, but most of the charges were tossed out in 2011. That wasn't all: Following Smith's death, there were also legal battles over custody of the former Playboy Playmate's body, as well as the custody of her daughter, Dannielynn.
Heath Ledger, too, was poised to ascend to a new level of stardom when he died at 28 in January 2008. The actor had already been nominated for an Oscar for 2005's "Brokeback Mountain" and was set for another nod for "The Dark Knight" when he was found dead in his New York apartment. Police later said he died from an accidental overdose of prescription medications, including painkillers, anti-anxiety drugs and sleeping pills. He didn't live to see the Academy award him the best supporting actor Oscar for his role of The Joker.
Brit songstress Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London home in July 2011, just 27 years old. The soulful singer, who openly struggled with drug and alcohol abuse during her career, died of accidental alcohol poisoning -- a finding that sparked a global conversation on the nature of substance abuse and its treatment.
Whitney Houston was on the verge of a comeback when she was found unresponsive in her Beverly Hilton hotel room in February 2012. The 48-year-old had been in Los Angeles with plans to attend a pre-Grammys party, and had just performed an impromptu duet two days before her sudden death. An autopsy later showed that the music icon drowned face down in a tub of water about 12 inches deep; the drowning was ruled as accidental with the "effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use" listed as contributing factors.
- Mother calls claim Brittany Murphy was poisoned a publicity stunt by her father
- Sharon Murphy accuses daughter's father of trying to profit from actress's 2009 death
- "I am at the very end of my life. Money means absolutely nothing to me," father tells CNN
- Lab analyst says strand of hair indicates Murphy died from poisoning
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Brittany Murphy's mother attacked the "Clueless" actress' father for suggesting their daughter died from poisoning.
The controversy began last week with a lab report suggesting that the presence of 10 heavy metals in a strand of her hair was evidence of a poisoning death four years ago.
A forensic pathologist told CNN last week that the poisoning conclusion was "ridiculous" and "baseless."
It's erupted into a public name-calling battle this week between Murphy's father, who sent the hair strand to a private lab for testing, and her mother, who wrote a scathing response published Monday in The Hollywood Reporter .
"I have no choice now but to come forward in the face of inexcusable efforts to smear my daughter's memory by a man who may be her biological father but was never a real father to her in her lifetime," Sharon Murphy wrote.
She said Angelo Bertolotti's claims "are based on the most flimsy of evidence and are more of an insult than an insight into what really happened."
Murphy accused Bertolotti of trying to profit off his daughter's death with the publicity surrounding the poisoning reports even though he hadn't seen her in the last three years of her life.
"They want to do a documentary and write a book, and this whole stunt is merely publicity to fuel their aspirations," she said, referring to Bertolotti and a partner.
Her father was not part of her life past her first year, she said. "He certainly wasn't around during the 12 years he spent in prison on three criminal felony convictions. Throughout her childhood, I was Brittany's only parent and sole support."
Murphy's father, in a response to CNN, said the mother's "ghostwritten piece is riddled with mistakes."
"I am at the very end of my life," he told CNN Monday. "Money means absolutely nothing to me."
It's Sharon Murphy, not him, who has used the death to make money by starting a foundation and announcing a book, Bertolotti said. "I have nothing to gain here, while Sharon has lived a life of luxury. Before Brittany supported (still does) her mother, I was supporting Sharon."
He disputed Sharon Murphy's claim that their daughter chose not to have contact with him when she was a child and later as an adult. Sharon Murphy and Bertolotti divorced three decades ago.
"How is it that I am pictured with my daughter in her childhood and adulthood, if she supposedly cut me off in childhood?" Bertolotti said. "I have a normal and close relationship with all of my children and they are open about that. There has never been a 12 year gap in the photos of Brittany and myself. I have quite a few of them online."
The Los Angeles County coroner ruled pneumonia killed Murphy, 32, in December 2009, and that her husband, Simon Monjack, 39, died from the same illness five months later. The similarities between their deaths -- in the same bedroom of their Hollywood Hills home -- prompted a search for answers beyond natural illness.
"It's very suspicious," Bertolotti told HLN last Tuesday. "I feel she was poisoned and there's no question about that. She was murdered."
He said he had a murder suspect in mind, but declined to elaborate. "I do, but I'd rather not speak about that."
CNN obtained the report by forensic toxicologist Ernest Lykissa, who concluded that the hair from the back of Murphy's head had higher than recommended levels of 10 heavy metals.
"If we were to eliminate the possibility of a simultaneous accidental heavy metals exposure to the sample donor then the only logical explanation would be an exposure to these metals (toxins) administered by a third party perpetrator with likely criminal intent."
Lykissa, who operates a toxicology testing lab in Deer Park, Texas, did not respond to several calls from CNN to discuss his findings.
The director of forensic medicine at the University of Florida, who is also the president of the American Board of Forensic Toxicology, reviewed the lab report for CNN and was very critical.
"It's ridiculous," Dr. Bruce Goldberger said. A conclusion of poisoning is an "inflammatory statement" that "is a baseless allegation and outrageous statement to make based on a single hair test."
Murphy's autopsy revealed no physical signs of poisoning, he said. "A hair test alone, without any clinical signs or symptoms, cannot be used to establish poisoning."
The private report also showed a normal level of arsenic, which would have been elevated if rat poisoning was involved, he said.
"She was a beautiful woman and likely had numerous hair treatments," Goldberger said. "Chemicals in the hair treatment would alter the chemistry of her hair sample."
Sharon Murphy said she also consulted with forensic experts who discredited the lab results.
"This report conveniently ignores what any good scientist will tell you: A hair sample can be affected by many outside factors, including hair dye, hair spray, prescription medications, foods, smoking the occasional cigarette and environmental factors," she wrote.
The Los Angeles coroner "has no plans to reopen the inquiries into the deaths of Miss Murphy or Mr. Monjack," Craig Harvey, the chief of operations for the coroner, said last week. "We stand by by our conclusions and opinion."
Murphy's mother said she suspects a toxic mold found in the house may have killed her daughter and son-in-law.
"There were no indicators that it was from mold," Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter told CNN in July 2010.
"We will never know for sure," Sharon Murphy wrote in Monday's story. "However, we do know the Los Angeles County Coroner did extensive tests and found that she died of natural causes."
Monjack's autopsy concluded that his May 23, 2010, death was caused by acute pneumonia and severe anemia, "just like Brittany," Winter said.
Murphy died December 20, 2009, from a combination of pneumonia, an iron deficiency and multiple drug intoxication, a coroner said. The drugs involved were legal and are used to treat respiratory infections, according to an autopsy.
Monjack, a British screenwriter, married Murphy in 2007.
She was an often bubbly, free-spirited actress who appeared in films such as "Clueless," "8 Mile," "Don't Say a Word" and "Girl, Interrupted."
She also lent her voice to animated works, including the movie "Happy Feet" -- in which she also sang -- and a regular role on the animated TV series "King of the Hill."
