Actress Brittany Murphy's cause of death is being called into question after a stunning lab report that allegedly suggests she may have been poisoned. Officials previously concluded that Murphy's death in 2009 was "accidental" and attributed to drugs, pneumonia and "iron deficiency anemia."
Murphy was 32 when she died. Her husband, Simon Monjack, 40, died five months later -- also of pneumonia and anemia, the Huffington Post reports.
FILE - In this June 27, 2005 file photo, U.S. actress Brittany Murphy arrives to launch the summer sale of the Harrods department store in central London. A Los Angeles hospital spokeswoman says actress Brittany Murphy has died, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009. She was 32. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
Unsatisfied with the coroner's conclusions, Murphy's father, Angelo Bertolotti, previously sued the Los Angeles Coroner's Office and the LAPD to get additional toxicology reports, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The grieving father accused the departments of "failure to conduct toxicology tests on the specimens" of hair and refuted the claim that his daughter died of pneumonia and anemia.
Though Bertolotti's lawsuit was dismissed, he reportedly was given samples of Murphy's hair, blood and tissues for independent testing, the Examiner reports.
He sent the samples to the Carlson Company in Colorado for testing. Results allegedly revealed the presence of 10 heavy metals above the "high" level set by the World Health Organization.
Bertolotti provided the following emailed statement to the Huffington Post:
"Since the autopsy narrative recorded a number of symptoms synonymous with poisoning, I requested testing for heavy metals/toxins. My suspicions were confirmed. Ten heavy metals were found in abnormally high quantities (as much as 9 times over the 'high' limit designated by the World Health Organization). These types of heavy metals/toxic elements are commonly found in rat poison, pesticides, insecticides, etc. Since neither Brittany nor Simon would have willingly consumed any such substances, the lab concluded that they may have been introduced by a third party with criminal intent."
The father is calling on the proper authorities to fully investigate his daughter's death based on the recent toxicology test results.
Bertolotti also argued that his daughter was neither "anorexic nor a drug junkie."
It wasn't immediately clear if investigators are considering reopening Murphy's case.
–
[related]
