Brittany Murphy to Be Buried at Private Funeral Service

Dec. 24, 2009— -- It will be a somber Christmas Eve for Brittany Murphy's family, as they say goodbye to the actress at a small, private funeral service.

Family spokesman Alex Ben Block told media outlets today that the funeral for the "Clueless" and "Girl, Interrupted" star will be by invitation-only at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles' Hollywood Hills. A larger memorial service may be held early next year.

Earlier this week, Murphy's husband, Simon Monjack, rebutted rumors that drugs or an eating disorder contributed to the actress' death, saying that he, along with the rest of the world, wants to know why she died Sunday from a heart attack at age 32.

"These rumors that she was anorexic? It's crazy," Monjack told People magazine Tuesday. "She was slim but that was her natural physique. This is what's killing all of us? How did it happen? Her mum, myself and her family, we want to know why we lost our baby."

Monjack is eager to get the autopsy results, although he initially balked at the thought that "they're going to cut her open," he said, weeping.

Monday, the coroner completed an autopsy of the actress. Murphy suffered cardiac arrest at her Hollywood home Sunday and was pronounced dead on arrival at 10:04 a.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

It will be four to six weeks before laboratory results are in and the official cause of death can be determined, Los Angeles County Chief Coroner Ed Winter told ABCNews.com.

Monjack, a British writer, producer and director, told People that his wife suffered from a heart murmur, which can cause fatigue, dizziness and irregular heartbeats. But she did not require medication to treat a condition that is generally not life threatening, he said.

The day before she died, he said, his wife was ill and stayed in bed all day. She was suffering from laryngitis, which she treated with herbal tea, ginger and lemon.

"She was on herbal remedies that wouldn't speed up her heart," Monjack said. "There was nothing here that could endanger her. There was prescription medication in the house for her female time and some cough syrup. That was it."

When asked if a drug overdose could have caused her death, Monjack responded: "I can get rid of that one right now."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.