14 DAY TRIAL // At the end of last year, 32-year-old actress Brittany Murphy collapsed in her bathroom and would never wake up. Her body was found by her mother and her husband, the often controversial British screenwriter Simon Monjack, and she was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. Five months later, Monjack too was found dead in the same house – and TMZ has just learned that he did have one secret that he wanted out of the papers.
Ever since Murphy announced her engagement and subsequent marriage to Monjack, not few were those who said he was bad news for her. In the months leading up to her death, she’s been having serious problems on movie sets and was even fired from one, presumably because of Monjack’s behavior. Because of this, many accused him of the actress’ death, even if indirectly, saying it was his drug or alcohol use that pushed her down the same path.
As it turns out, Monjack’s secret had nothing to do with either addictive substances. “TMZ has learned... a laptop computer has unearthed a secret Simon Monjack carried to his death – he had two kids. Simon’s mom, brother and therapist stayed at Simon’s home last week with Brittany Murphy’s mom, Sharon Murphy. We’re told when they left they took Simon’s laptop. At some point they went through the computer and found emails from two women who wanted money from Simon for child support,” TMZ reports.
“According to people who have reviewed the emails, Simon had a son by one baby mama and a daughter by another. Also in the computer... wire transfers of large amounts of money – as much as $48,000 in a single transfer. Simon was sending the money to lawyers, as well as someone in Europe for some sort of settlement. We’re told Simon’s mom and brother felt the coroner should have the computer and handed it over. The coroner’s office is currently reviewing the contents. Sharon went ballistic and filed a theft report with cops,” the same media outlet goes on to say.
Whether Brittany Murphy or her mother knew about the two children Monjack had fathered already is yet to be determined. How that would have influenced any financial agreement between the two is still to be seen. For more on this, keep an eye on this space.