Who was Simon Monjack? All about Brittany Murphy's husband, accused of 'conning' the actress in new documentary

In 2009, Clueless (1995) actress Brittany Murphy died mysteriously on December 20 at the age of 32. She passed away from untreated pneumonia and anaemia, combined with drug intoxication from over-the-counter medications. Furthermore, just five months after her death, her husband Simon Monjack also passed away from pneumonia.

Almost 12 years after her mysterious death, HBO Max will be shedding some light on it with a documentary. The project is called "What Happened, Brittany Murphy?" and will be premiering on October 14.

The documentary is produced by Blumhouse Television and is expected to explore the actress' mysterious death. In a PEOPLE's exclusive, Simon Monjack's former fiancée Elizabeth Ragsdale accused him of conning her and Brittany Murphy.

To elaborate on this revelation, she said:

"When I got to my little studio in New York, I called him and he answered. I said, 'Simon, I've made it to ...' and before I could get that sentence out, he hung up on me. He left me pregnant and abandoned."

Meanwhile, documentary director Cynthia Hill iterated:

"He was a disturbed individual who was used to conning people and Brittany was one of his last victims."

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Who was Brittany Murphy's husband, Simon Monjack?

Simon Monjack was an English screenwriter and makeup artist. However, his professional credits in the entertainment industry are only for two films. Monjack hails from Hillingdon, Greater London, where he was born on March 9, 1970.

Monjack also wrote and directed a budget film titled Two Days, Nine Lives in 2000. Brittany Murphy had previously mentioned to tabloid magazine OK that she met Simon Monjack when she was 17 and how they had kept in touch over the years before getting in a relationship.

The couple reportedly married in April 2007 in the presence of close family and friends at their Los Angeles home. Before tying the knot with Brittany, Monjack was married to Simone Bienne from 2001 to 2006.

Since 2005, Simon Monjack had been involved in legal discrepancies, including credit card fraud. He was also evicted from four homes due to low liquidity. The London native spent nine days in jail, facing deportation after his visa expired.

On May 23 2010, Simon Monjack passed away at 40, around five months after Brittany Murphy's death. The coroner's report cited the exact cause of death for Monjack, saying that he had suffered from acute pneumonia and severe anemia.

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Simon Monjack and Brittany Murphy's death owing to similar causes led to speculations about a toxic mold at their Hollywood home, which caused their demise. However, these rumors were rebutted by the Department of Public Health, which stated that no traces of mold had been found in their toxicology reports.