When actress Brittany Murphy died suddenly in 2009, the coroner’s office determined that she died of complications from a combination of pneumonia and anemia. However, a new report shows that Murphy and her husband, Simon Monjack, who died of the same causes several months later, may not have died from natural causes, but from being poisoned (possibly from rat poisoning).

The coroner’s office never checked for any poisonous substances in Murphy or her husband. Murphy’s father, Angelo Bertolotti, who was dissatisfied with the cause of death, sued the police for samples of Murphy’s hair, blood and tissue to have tested by an independent firm. Now, the results are in, and they seem to confirm Bertolotti’s suspicions. The lab report states:

Ten of the heavy metals evaluated were detected at levels higher that the WHO [The World Health Organization] high levels. Testing the hair strand sample identified as” back of the head” we have detected 10 heavy metals at levels above the WHO high levels recommendation.
If we were to eliminate the possibility of a simultaneous accidental heavy metals exposure to the sample donor then the only logical explanation would be an exposure to these metals [toxins] administered by a third party perpetrator with likely criminal intent.

Bertolotti is now hoping that the police will re-open his daughter’s case, so they can find the person who did this to Murphy and bring her justice.

“Vicious rumors, spread by tabloids, unfairly smeared Brittany’s reputation,” Bertolotti said in a statement. “My daughter was neither anorexic nor a drug junkie, as they repeatedly implied. Brittany and Simon were ridiculed by The Hollywood Reporter, when they complained of being under surveillance and in fear for their lives. I will not rest until the truth about these tragic events is told. There will be justice for Brittany.”

Image via Wikimedia Commons