Brittany Murphy's father believes the late actress could have been poisoned after new toxicology tests were carried out on her remains.

The Clueless star died in 2009 at the age of 32, and a coroner's report claimed Murphy's death was the result of pneumonia, anaemia and excessive use of prescription medications.

However, her father Angelo Bertolotti was not satisfied with the results, and in 2012 he filed suit against the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Coroner's Office, asking officials to re-open the investigation.

Bertolotti requested his daughter's hair and tissue samples be released so they could be independently tested for toxic substances and new results have revealed high levels of several metals.

The tests found her body contained abnormally high levels of aluminium, manganese, barium and other metals, with the report suggesting that the poisoning could have been down to "a third party perpetrator with likely criminal intent".

Just five months after Murphy's death, her husband Simon Monjack also passed away from pneumonia in 2010.