PHOTO. An online hunt for Brittany Murphy’s death picture is underway. If a Brittany Murphy death picture is published, if such a picture even exists, it would mark at least the third such publication of a celebrity death photo to both criticism and fascination in 2009.

Today, net activity shows an pervasive hunt underway to find a Brittany Murphy death picture. There is no indication such a photo exists.

But in June this year, the same such celebrity dead photo fascination came upon the death of actor David Carradine.

David Carradine died at age 72 this summer in his Bangkok hotel room. Soon thereafter, news that leaked forensics photos had gotten in the hands of Thai Rath, a Thailand tabloid newspaper. Thai Rath would run the photos. Keith Carradine’s attorney Mark Geragos would state at the time “The family is outraged about the release of these [death] photos.” The photos would be never publish on U.S. soil but would appear across countless U.S. based blogs.

Less than 30 days later, in July 2009, another celebrity death photo was headline news. But this time, the picture would be the cover image of a British magazine that dominates U.S. supermarket shelves. In July 2009, OK! Magazine put a death photo of Michael Jackson being rushed to UCLA Medical Center on the front cover of its publication.

LALATE wrote the following about the Michael Jackson the cover at the time:

“In a week in which People, Time, Newsweek all issued stunning, beautiful covers that remember Michael Jackson at his career height, all commemorative editions, glowing glossy covers, along comes OK! Magazine that plasters a Michael Jackson possibly already dead.

“The person who made the decision on this reportedly is Richard Desmond, owner of the magazine, who paid a reported $500,000 for the photo. Smart of not? The photo is everywhere today online, the photo doesn’t show really anything, and it’s out of focus.”

LALATE noted that the cover didn’t depict anything newsworthy, just Jackson – who was alive at the time of the photo – being transported to UCLA Medical.

The Jackson death photo would spark both massive criticism and massive coverage in other press upon its publication.