Brynn was intoxicated at the time of the murder, having consumed alcohol and cocaine, on top of the antidepressant Zoloft. “Between the cocaine and alcohol, the two of them most definitely intensified the other’s effects … The Zoloft is kind of a wild card,” said County Coroner’s Investigator Craig Harvey (via CNN).
Even more disturbingly, Phil Hartman’s murder investigation report also reveals that his two children, who were both under the age of 10, were in the house at the time of the murder, and were still on the property when Brynn returned with her friend and the police were called. Officers took 9-year-old Sean and 6-year-old Birgen away from the home just as the shot that killed Brynn Hartman was heard. According to The Minnesota Daily, the children were later put in the care of Brynn’s sister and brother-in-law and were the sole inheritors of Hartman’s $1.23 million estate.
Though undoubtedly traumatized by the shocking events that took the lives of both of their parents, Hartman’s daughter, Birgen, has since described her joy that her father’s work on “The Simpsons” lives on, telling The Hollywood Reporter in 2022: “It’s great that people still love and remember my dad’s characters … Even after 20-plus years, I still see people quoting Lionel Hutz or sharing Troy McClure memes. The fact that those characters have carried themselves into the modern day and have remained relevant is just so cool to see, and I think my dad would have been proud of that.”
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