A new lab report has allegedly gotten to the bottom of the death of actress Brittany Murphy.
High levels of toxins were identified in Murphy's body, suggesting as her father originally claimed, that the actress was poisoned to death after offering her celebrity backing to fighting the government.
Murphy died in 2009 at the age of 32. Her death, which was concluded to be accidental, was attributed to multiple drug intoxication, pneumonia and "iron deficiency anemia." Murphy's father, Angelo Bertolotti, 87, alleged that at the time of his daughter's death, she was under surveillance from government operators who wiretapped her phone and terrorized her after she spoke out in support of a Department of Homeland Security whistleblower.
Bertolotti has insisted his daughter was not a drug addict or anorexic, as media reports have suggested since her death. Five months later, Murphy's husband, Simon Monjack, was also found dead. The 40-year-old was said to have also died of pneumonia and anemia.
"Vicious rumors, spread by tabloids, unfairly smeared Brittany's reputation," Bertolotti told the Examiner. "My daughter was neither anorexic nor a drug junkie, as they repeatedly implied. Brittany and Simon were ridiculed by 'The Hollywood Reporter.'"
After Murphy's sudden death, rumors circulated about anorexia, an accidental overdose and even suicide, ABC News previously reported. Mold was speculated to be a factor in the deaths, but Los Angeles County assistant chief coroner Ed Winter dismissed the idea.
"At the time of their death, both of them were in very poor health," Winter told ABC News, but he admitted the eerily similar deaths were "unusual." "I don't think they ate correctly or took care of themselves. They didn't seek medical attention."
Last year, Bertolotti, filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Coroner's Office and the Los Angeles Police Department to get further toxicology reports, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Bertolotti accused the departments of failing to perform a proper toxicology tests. He also claimed his daughter's death was incorrectly determined to have been allegedly caused by pneumonia and anemia.
Bertolotti's lawsuit was later dismissed, but he reportedly secured the release of Murphy's hair, blood and tissues for independent testing, according to the Daily Mail. He sent the samples to the Carlson Company in Colorado for analysis.
Results reportedly showed the presence of 10 heavy metals above the "high" level set by the World Health Organization.
"Since the autopsy narrative recorded a number of symptoms synonymous with poisoning, I requested testing for heavy metals/toxins," Bertolotti wrote in an email to The Huffington Post Monday. "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."
According to the Daily Mail, at the time of her death, Murphy displayed all the symptoms of heavy metal poisoning including headaches, dizziness, abdominal cramps, coughing, sweating, disorientation, wheezing, congestion and pneumonia.
Julia Davis, a screenwriter who worked for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, raised the possibility of poisoning. Davis said the actress was being persecuted for standing up for her.
"It was highly disturbing to find out that they've neither tested, nor ever intended to test Brittany or Simon's hair for toxins, poisonous substances and heavy metals," she wrote in a press release, obtained by THR. "These two deaths were simply written off to natural causes, but we don't agree with this conclusion... The truth will eventually come out, we'll make sure of it."
Davis claimed she was branded a "domestic terrorist" after she exposed security flaws that were allowing terrorists to sneak into the United States. Bertolotti and Davis are reportedly writing a book, "Britt" detailing what they really believe happened to the star and a documentary, "The Terror Within", which has not yet been released.
"Brittany was afraid to go home, because of the sneak-and-peek incursions into their residence and other terror tactics she suffered," Bertolotti said.
Davis said the couple were under land and aerial surveillance.
"This included warrantless aerial surveillance with fixed-wing airplanes and Blackhawk helicopters, vehicular surveillance, OnStar tracking, Internet monitoring, wiretaps, warrantless searches and seizures and series of other outrageous, unwarranted retaliatory measures," Davis reportedly said.