Simon Monjack Hid Kids from His Wife

In the latest twist in the tragic, closely timed deaths of a young Hollywood couple, TMZ claims deceased British screenwriter Simon Monjack was secretly hiding children from his wife.

The sudden death of Monjack’s 32-year-old wife, actress Brittany Murphy, in December 2009, followed by his own passing just five months later at age 39, set Hollywood rumor mills buzzing about the true nature of the couple‘s relationship. Murphy’s death has been attributed to complications of pneumonia; Monjack’s has been linked to possible heart trouble and depression.

When Murphy died, an apparently grief-stricken Monjack told reporters the couple had been hoping to start a family. Now TMZ says he already had two, a son and a daughter by different mothers, and both women wanted child support. According to e-mails allegedly discovered on Monjack’s computer, which has since been turned over to the coroner’s office, Monjack had been wiring thousands of dollars to lawyers and paying somebody in Europe as part of an alleged legal settlement.

Oddly enough, the computer was turned in by Monjack’s mother and brother, but according to TMZ, Murphy’s mother, Sharon, who shared a home with the couple, “went ballistic and filed a theft report with the cops.”

It’s not the first time Monjack’s name has come up in association with shady legal moves. His marriage to Murphy drew suspicion because it came just months after they began dating, with no engagement announcement, as he was facing deportation for overstaying his visa in the U.S. According to the Huffington Post, he had been sued separately by a British bank and by his ex-wife, a former fiancée accused him of cheating her out of a diamond engagement ring and substituting a cubic zirconia, and he had at least twice been kicked out of apartments for failing to pay thousands of dollars in back rent.