USA: Los Angeles police open investigation into Brittany Murphy's death

Record ID: 867514

  • Title: USA: Los Angeles police open investigation into Brittany Murphy's death
  • Date: 29th December 2009
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS) BRITTANY MURPHY ON THE RED CARPET FOR THE PREMIERE OF "UPTOWN GIRLS" MURPHY BEING INTERVIEWED
  • Embargoed: 13th January 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA9LLGOZ596EXZ7YRGV0TK4W7R0
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  • Story Text: Police and paparazzi surrounded the residence of actress Brittany Murphy as the Los Angeles Police Department opened an investigation into the death of the 32-year old actress.
    The Los Angeles County Coroner's office said it was assessing Murphy's medical history. An official cause of death will be determined after the toxicology results come in.
    Murphy was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center near Beverly Hills on Sunday (December 20) after reportedly going into cardiac arrest at her home in West Hollywood.
    Online gossip site TMZ said her mother, Sharon, discovered Murphy unconscious in the shower. The Los Angeles Fire Department said it responded to an emergency call about 8 a.m. PST.
    Murphy's neighbour Clare Staples described the scene as firefighters tried to save the actress's life.
    "I saw the five firemen bring her down on a gurney and they were trying to resuscitate her all the way down to the fire truck and then... they had her by the fire truck and they were obviously trying to put tubes down her throat, resuscitate her, and I think she was fairly... obviously dead at that time."
    Murphy's publicist declined comment, saying the family wanted privacy.
    Murphy starred in films opposite Michael Douglas, Ashton Kutcher, Eminem and Angelina Jolie, but failed to attain their level of success. In recent years, she worked mostly in low-budget movies, while her emaciated appearance sparked concerns about her health.
    Murphy worked with Douglas in the 2001 thriller "Don't Say a Word," and played Eminem's love interest in the 2002 hit "8 Mile."
    The following year, she co-starred with Kutcher in the romantic comedy "Just Married," and played Dakota Fanning's babysitter in "Uptown Girls."
    But the movies failed to generate much commercial or critical heat. Her last major role was in the 2005 comic-book adaptation "Sin City."
    Murphy enjoyed more enduring success on the small screen, providing the voice of the vacuous Texan Luanne Platter in the cartoon series "King of the Hill." She also voiced a penguin in the 2006 box office hit "Happy Feet."
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