Brittany Murphy Autopsy Photo: Is Death Photo Worth $300,000?

Have you seen the Brittany Murphy autopsy photo? If you haven't (and, truthfully, no one has), then that may be about to change. Not that the confidentiality regulations regarding the release of autopsy photos have been loosened at the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office or that some obscure freedom of information rule has been invoked to get an autopsy report photo of Brittany Murphy, but the temptation of a $300,000 paycheck just might override a county or city official's job security fears. And if you believe that that was a typo, think again. Some media outlets are offering as much as $300,000 (according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle) for an autopsy photo of the late Brittany Murphy.

One just might see a Brittany Murphy autopsy photo in some tabloid before long, especially with that kind of monetary incentive being offered. And with "Brittany Murphy autopsy photo" riding high in the Google Trends and popular search terms, the demand may even prompt some, even the tabloid's themselves, to photoshop or counterfeit a photo and attempt to pass it off as an authentic autopsy photo. The allure of money can cause some to do strange and/or creative things to acquire the photo.

Offers of exorbitant amounts of money for photos are nothing new. At present, it seems that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie hold the record for exclusive photos, being paid a reported $14 million dollars by People magazine for exclusive first photos of their newborn twins in 2008. To their credit, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie donated all of the money to charity.

And although there were myriad rumors of Michael Jackson death and autopsy photos for weeks on the internet, the only photos that seem to have made it to post or print were photos of the pop icon being placed in the ambulance that took him to the hospital on the day of his death. OK! Magazine reportedly paid $500,000 for one of the photos, the supposed last photo of Michael Jackson alive. (This claim was later debunked in the final autopsy report, as it is now believed that Michael Jackson died some time before paramedics were called to his home.)

Brittany Murphy's untimely death has sparked enormous interest in said death, the circumstances surrounding it (including the now controversial "natural causes" autopsy report), and the "Don't Say A Word" actress' career. But if that seems a bit much to offer for an autopsy photo, it is also being reported that there is a standing offer of the same amount ($300,000) for photos of Tiger Woods, who hasn't been photographed since his car accident on November 27.

With the extreme amounts of money being offered for celebrity photos these days, it is becoming increasingly tempting for those with access to put aside discretion, friendship, and job security for an enormous payday. It also explains the relentless perseverance of the paparazzi. It almost makes one want to rush out and buy a camera...

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Sources:

SFGate.com
Associated Press