In late May, Brittany Murphy’s widower was found dead at home under mysterious circumstances, much like the death of his famous wife five months earlier. Brittany was just 31 when she passed and Simon was 39. Both were found by Brittany’s mother Sharon, 57, who lived with the couple. Separate autopsies found that they died of the same non-drug cause: pneumonia and anemia.

My initial reaction was that the cause could have been toxic mold in the home. That’s been supported by reports that mold was rampant in the mansion following a water leak, although Brittany’s mom categorically denies that mold was the cause and claims that the home was inspected and found clean. A lot of people have unfairly speculated that Brittany’s mom may have had a hand in the deaths of her daughter and son-in-law. I think that’s ridiculous and that it’s much more logical to look for an environmental cause rather than point fingers at a grieving mom.

Whatever happened to Brittany and Simon, Simon probably helped himself to Brittany’s dwindling fortune. People Magazine reports that Brittany’s manager was astonished to find that his former client’s money was reduced by “80 percent” following her death. Monjack has a history of conning people out of money, and it came out after his death that he had two secret love children. Now Monjack’s mom is stepping in and trying to force Sharon out of the home along with making excuses for her late son’s behavior.

Six months after the 32-year-old actress’s death in December from pneumonia, anemia and multiple-drug intoxication, new allegations are surfacing about her controversial husband, the late British film producer Simon Monjack.

Murphy’s former business manager Jeffrey Morgenroth tells PEOPLE that Monjack drained his deceased wife’s cash reserves by 80 percent before his own death from anemia and pneumonia in May.

As a result, Murphy’s mom Sharon, 57, is facing financial uncertainty, says Morgenroth.

“There were huge amounts of money in [Brittany’s] pension plan and bank account, and all of that’s gone,” says Morgenroth. “I would see it on the statements. There was money being withdrawn by Simon, hundreds of thousands.”

Even in the wake of Monjack’s death, trouble followed. Jeannette Bycott, an assistant to Morgenroth, says she witnessed a scene in which Monjack’s mother Linda ordered Sharon to leave the couple’s Hollywood Hills house.

“Linda started acting like everything belongs to her,” says Bycott. “Before Sharon could say anything, Linda stated the house was now hers.”

Linda Monjack, who is grieving the loss of her son, denies any wrongdoing by either her or Simon, telling PEOPLE from her home in England, “If there is money missing I have no idea where it is.”

Adds Linda, “He didn’t get much, maybe a few hundred dollars, and he paid off his debts with it. He was spending his time crying his eyes out most of the time. He was in a terrible state…”

But for Sharon, who was extraordinarily close to her only daughter and son-in-law, such allegations [of Monjack controlling Murphy] are still hard to believe, says Morgenroth.

“She’ll say, ‘I can’t talk about that now,’ ” says Morgenroth. “I’m trying to get her to understand that the bank account has this amount. She was looking at the pension statement and I said, ‘Look. There are almost no zeros there.’ She needs guidance on how to deal with things.”

[From People]

This whole story is just sad and it’s not surprising that Monjack’s mom is as much a con artist as her son. I do think that Monjack was a sort-of controlling Svengali intent on getting his hands on Brittany’s money, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t love her, as stupid as it sounds to say that. Love doesn’t excuse his wasting all her money and leaving nothing for the mom. Also, if these two were poisoned by mold and eventually killed by it (and I will admit that’s a huge leap on my part and may not be the case), it would explain a lot of their very eccentric behavior in the months preceding their deaths. Mold that makes you that sick can also make you confused and crazy, and I know because I was poisoned by it for months in an apartment I once lived in. It wouldn’t lead you to steal money though of course.