Back in 2009, the world was stunned when 32-year-old actress Brittany Murphy was found dead in her home – an untimely death that raised many questions.
While the coroner had determined the cause of her “accidental death” to be a combination of pneumonia, anemia and prescription and over-the-counter drugs, many suspected foul play.
And now, six years after her death, L.A. County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter is saying he has not ruled out reopening the case.
However, a second investigation of her death would be considered only under certain conditions.
“We would have to have direct evidence,” Winter told E! News. “In all honesty, it would take something like a confession. Something connecting somebody with it.”
Winter added that if the investigation were reopened, Murphy’s body would be exhumed and reexamined “if law enforcement contacted us. Or we can reopen the case if there is substantial evidence.”
However, what’s been considered “substantial” has been the cause of dispute.
In 2013, Murphy’s father Angelo Bertolotti commissioned independent lab testing of his daughter’s hair, blood and tissue samples, and the results were unsettling.
The tests found high levels of 10 heavy metals, many of which are found in rat and insect poison, which lead Bertolotti to believe she had been poisoned.
Bertolotti sued the coroner’s office for “failure to conduct toxicology tests,” but the investigator at the time stood by the original findings and said there were no plans to reopen the inquiry into her death, citing that the independent lab results were not made available to his office.
“I will not rest until the truth is told. There will be justice for Brittany,” said Bertolotti.
