Why Kan’t Doc Zoe Write?

Photo courtesy of SassyQarla.com. Used with permission.

The coroner’s report is out – Brittany Murphy died of pneumonia with “multiple drug intoxication” and iron-deficiency anemia as contributing causes. Coroner’s spokesman Craig Harvey declined to specify what types of drugs were involved but said they were all prescription medications.

Simon Monjack, Brittany’s widower, had some negative reactions to this piece of news. According to Monjack, he expected the cause of death to be related to his heart. (She is said to have a cardio condition.). Moreover, he adds that “She was not that ill. She wasn’t coughing up. I’ve had pneumonia and coughed up handfuls of spittle. So yeah, everything surprised us, everything.”

It’s not only him who is in disbelief. Dr. Michael Baden, the former chief medical examiner in New York City, said the coroner’s determination indicated drugs probably played a key role in Murphy’s death.  “If she died of pneumonia, that cause of death is a natural cause,” Baden said. He said the use of some prescription medications can lead to pneumonia, and that the coroner’s office may have listed that as the primary cause to lessen the blow to Murphy’s family.

If symptoms were mild, then pneumonia as a cause of death may be unclear… unless she was immunocompromised (with all those drugs); or her diabetes was acting up and making a bad case of pneumonia not as bad as it seemed.

Her final autopsy report comes in 2 weeks.

This post is tagged brittany murphy, cause of death, coroner's report, prescription drugs