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Brittany Murphy’s father insisted she was murdered — years later, his theory still haunts Hollywood

"I'm not going to rest until my daughter's...demise is properly investigated, which hasn't happened so far," Brittany Murphy's dad said.

Brittany Murphy’s sudden demise in 2009 left her fans in shock. The official autopsy report attributed her death to pneumonia, anemia, and prescription drug intoxication. However, fast forward to years later, her father, Angelo Bertolotti, was still sure that his daughter had been poisoned and murdered. His constant fight for justice and his determination to not accept the official reports created a controversy filled with chaos, further deepening the mystery surrounding Murphy’s tragic demise.​ During his appearance on ‘Good Morning America,’ he said, “I have a feeling that there was a definite murder situation here. It’s poison, yes, I know that.”

Determined to prove his point, he commissioned independent lab tests that detected ten heavy metals in Murphy’s hair at levels exceeding WHO recommendations. The report highlighted, "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." Despite these alarming results, experts remained skeptical. Bruce Goldberger, a toxicologist at the University of Florida, brushed off the poisoning theory, stating, “The bottom line is these hair test results cannot be used to support any allegation of poisoning and cannot be used to establish a cause and manner of death. I feel what really contributed to her death were the drugs that she had ingested... I’m satisfied with the original findings of the coroner,” as reported by Fandom Wire.

Murphy’s mother, Sharon Murphy, also fiercely opposed Bertolotti’s claims. In an open letter published by The Hollywood Reporter, she accused him of exploiting their daughter’s death for publicity, exclaiming, “I have no choice now but to come forward in the face of inexcusable efforts to smear my daughter’s memory by a man who may be her biological father but was never a real father to her in her lifetime... They want to do a documentary and write a book, and this whole stunt is merely publicity to fuel their aspirations.” Sharon asserted that her daughter was not poisoned and that the laboratory Bertolotti used was not trustworthy.

The feud between Murphy’s parents only added to the brewing controversy. Bertolotti emphasized, "I'm not going to rest until my daughter's untimely demise is properly investigated, which hasn't happened so far. Her case deserves more than a superficial glance." Further fueling the speculation was the eerie similarity between Murphy’s death and that of her husband, Simon Monjack, who passed away in the same bedroom five months later due to pneumonia and anemia—the same causes attributed to Murphy’s death. While Bertolotti was dead sure of foul play, toxicology experts and the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office stood by their findings. The coroner had no future plans to reopen the case, despite the constant pressure of her fans.

Bertolotti, who passed away in 2019, never wavered in his belief that his dead daughter had been murdered. Counterattacking Sharon’s claims, he asserted, “I have a normal and close relationship with all of my children, and they are open about that. There has never been a 12-year gap in the photos of Brittany and myself. I have quite a few of them online.” However, unfortunately, with his passing, the fight for reinvestigation lost its strongest warrior. To this day, Murphy’s death remains one of Hollywood’s most haunting mysteries.