“We would have to have direct evidence,” coroner Ed Winter tells E! News. “In all honest, it would take something like a confession. Something connecting somebody with it. [We’d reexamine] if law enforcement contacted us. Or we can reopen the case if there is substantial evidence.”
Brittany tragically died at her home in Los Angeles on Dec. 20, 2009 at just 32 years old, and in Feb. 2010, her cause of death was determined as “pneumonia, anemia and an accidental drug intoxication from prescription and over-the-counter medications. However, in 2013, the actress’ father, Angelo Bertolotti, hired a lab to independently test his daughter’s hair samples, and claims they found there was an “abnormal” amount of heavy metals in her body. From then on, he’s alleged that a third party was involved in his daughter’s death, killing her by poison.
The coroner’s office didn’t reopen the case at that time because “[the levels] weren’t off the charts and the levels weren’t consistent with poison,” Ed explains.
What’s really eerie about this whole investigation is that Brittany’s husband, Simon Monjack, was found dead in the same home just five months after the 32-year-old, with his cause of death also being “pneumonia and acute anemia.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like enough new evidence will come forward any time soon to reopen this case, but the whole situation does definitely still feel unsettling.
HollywoodLifers, do you think the coroner should reopen the investigation?
