Did Toxic Mold Kill Brittany Murphy and Her Husband?

We were saddened by the news of the death of Brittany Murphy in December of 2009.  She was so young and had her whole life ahead of her.  Then when her husband died in the same house in May of 2010, my husband and I looked at each other and said simultaneously "Toxic Mold".  We forgot about it, until one night, my husband asked "Did they ever find out what killed Brittany Murphy's husband?"  I looked it up and it had just been reported that he died of exactly the same thing that Brittany died from.  Our suspicion of toxic mold became more solidified in our minds, having gone through the nightmare of having toxic mold in our home and the near death of our youngest child (read our story).  [Please note that we are not toxic mold experts.  We are simply a family that has opinions about toxic mold based upon our experiences with toxic mold and hours upon hours of research conducted in an effort to make our environment safe for our family.]

It seems as though we are not the only ones who suspect toxic mold as the possible true cause of death of Brittany and her husband.  TMZ has reported that the home is being investigated for mold issues and People magazine reports that the family spokesman, Roger Neal, released a statement concerning possible mold issues as such:  

"Due to the inferior products used by the builder and sub contractors, the Murphy home had a persistent leak problem," Neal says. "Simon Monjack [hired] an attorney and filed a lawsuit against [them]. In October 2009, to insure the home was safe to occupy, the attorney hired a well-respected company to conduct a full inspection of the home which would include … checking for any possible mold."

Brittany Murphy's mother states that the home is not being investigated for toxic mold and calls these rumors "absurd".  Our opinion is that it isn't absurd to suspect toxic mold for the deaths of two young and otherwise healthy adults and that the leaks within this home should be thoroughly investigated for toxic mold...again. 

Toxic Mold Story from an Anonymous Reader

Anonymous said... Hi There,

I hope your son starts feeling better soon, and stays better.

I am going through something similar right now. I am renting a house, moved in May of 2008. So far my daughter who is 2 has been constantly sick, cold, flu symptoms, sometimes high fever for no apparent reason. In October she had pneumonia which took two rounds of anti-biotics to get rid of. Then she was sick for 7 days with terrible cough and fever of 104 every night. The doctor said it was probably the flu (which it could be) But she has this persistant cough that is worse at night or when she is playing. She is now on two puffers, and they think it may be asthma.

When I moved in there was a leak in the attached garage which was supposed to be fixed. Well the leak was fixed three months later after a huge rain storm and the garage flooded. BUT, they did not remove the drywall and the mould just kept on growing and was a huge spot of black mould. We sent a sample to be tested and it came back with three different types of mold. Alternaria sp., Ulocladium Sp. and Stachybotrys Sp. (which is the bad one) I told the landlord he needed to remove this drywall and I wanted to see what was under it....well when he did the insullation was completely black and him and his brother both said, "It is dirt"...dirt yeah right. I told them that is mold, they said No it is dirt. Also I took pictures of the roof, there is no venting and no vapor barrier in some spots you could see the tar paper or shingle through a hole??

After he told me "No its dirt." I contacted Property Standards Officer (by-law) who came out to investigate and inspect. He ordered them to immediately, within 90 days remove all the moldy insullation, fix the crumbling fire rated drywall that is my masterbedroom wall and scrub, sand and treat the wood with mold resistant paint and then install vapour barrier.

Him and his brother came two weeks later and removed all the drywall and insullation. They had new insullation and drywall up that day!? So now I have no idea if it was even removed or vapour installed etc. I know that in the summer it gets really humid in the garage and I can just bet the mold will be back.

I'm also pretty sure its in the master bedroom wall, it comes partially over the garage. In the corner of my room I can smell a musty, earthy smell, especially in the summer when it's humid.

This is where my daughter and I have slept almost the full two years we have been here. I on now on my 5th sinus infection and we are no longer sleeping or using that room. I can't really afford to have a mold inspector come in to have a look and am afraid to cut a hole in my wall, because I don't want to release any more spores into the home.

I am moving out Feb 1st but my landlord said I need to pay him my last months rent even though I paid first and last. I have a friend who is a paralegal and is going to try and help me. But as far as I am concerned, I am not paying him the rent and I am getting out for my daughters and my health.

Any ideas on how I can check if there is mold in the master bedroom wall that is over the garage? Is there a special camera I can use???