Murphy's hubby in mourning

2009-12-22 18:27

Los Angeles - Brittany Murphy's husband says he was devastated by the 32-year-old's untimely death and that the actor had suffered from laryngitis in the days before she died.

"My world was destroyed," an emotional Simon Monjack told the television entertainment news programme Access Hollywood.

The British screenwriter spoke a day after the star died on Sunday after suffering cardiac arrest at her home.

Recalling how Murphy's body was found, Monjack said her mother "Sharon went into the bathroom because she had been in there a long time. Her mom screamed for me and I ran. Then called 911."

Monjack acknowledged his wife had been sick in the days leading to her death, but that none of the symptoms seemed serious.

Support

"She had laryngitis," he said, noting she had seen a doctor. "She had been tired at the end of the year. She had made a couple movies."

He also welcomed the outpouring of support from the Hollywood community, noting: "I couldn't have said it better," when it comes to the message actor Ashton Kutcher wrote via his page on micro-blogging site Twitter.

"2day the world lost a little piece of sunshine. My deepest condolences go out 2 Brittany's family, her husband, & her amazing mother Sharon," wrote Kutcher, who dated Murphy before she married Monjack in 2007 and co-starred with her in Just Married.

"See you on the other side kid."

Assistant Coroner Ed Winter said an initial examination of Murphy's body found no evidence of "trauma". The Los Angeles coroner's office said the precise cause of death would only be known in "four to six weeks" when toxicology tests are completed.

The TMZ.com entertainment website earlier reported Murphy was very ill in the hours before her death on Sunday and that multiple prescription drugs were discovered in her home.

- AFP