Brittany Murphy's husband Simon Monjack depleted most of her funds, report says

07/28/2010 by Corinne Heller

The former business manager of Brittany Murphy, an actress who died in December, says her husband Simon Monjack withdrew some 80 percent of her funds before his death in May, People magazine said on Wednesday, while their mothers may face a dispute over their children's assets and their Hollywood home.

His mother Linda has denied any wrongdoing by her son or herself.

Jeffrey Morgenroth told the magazine that financial statements showed Monjack had taken out hundreds of thousands of dollars from Murphy's bank account and pension plan. His mother said her son only used a few hundred dollars to pay off his debts before his own death.

"I think there were financial problems [before their deaths]," she said. "They were certainly acting like there were problems. Sharon was asking friends for money and I don't know why."

The story gets uglier. Morgenroth's assistant Jeannette Bycott told the magazine she witnessed Monjack's mother, who lives in England, ordering Murphy's mother Sharon to leave the couple's house in the Hollywood Hills, saying: "Linda started acting like everything belongs to her. Before Sharon could say anything, Linda stated the house was now hers."

Murphy starred in teen cult film Clueless in 1995 and the 1999 film Girl Interrupted with Angelina Jolie. She married Monjack in 2007. The couple have no children. Murphy collapsed and died at age 32 on December 20 of pneumonia, anemia and prescription drugs.

Monjack, a screenwriter, was found dead in the house in May at age 39. His death was determined to have been caused by anemia and pneumonia.