We can finally reveal what really killed Brittany Murphy – and the story seems much murkier than the actress’ husband and mother would have us believe.

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office says the 32-year-old star, who weighed 52kg at the time of her death, died from pneumonia. However, anaemia and “multiple drug intoxication” also played a part. Brittany’s passing was ruled as accidental.

Soon after the ‘Clueless’ actress’ death on 20 December, her husband Simon and mother Sharon claimed it was due to a congenital heart murmur, arguing that she had been diagnosed with the condition in her teens and had been unwell in the days leading up to her death. Both vehemently denied rumours that Brittany suffered from an eating disorder and/or drug abuse.

Meanwhile, a number of prescription meds were found on her nightstand at the time of her death. While her husband claimed they were his, one source said it was these drugs that pushed Brittany over the line. “Brittany was really sick,” says our source. She “didn't get treatment and by self-medicating – it pushed her over the line”.

Investigation into Brittany death has been reopened, with an ex-employee coming under particular scrutiny. The former staffer has been accused of delivering prescription drugs not only to Brittany’s home but also to Louisiana, where Brittany was shooting a movie in the months before she died.

Police are also trying to understand why there aren't records of Brittany seeing a doctor in the months before her passing, even though she had been ill and had several medical conditions.

While the toxicology reports will not be made public for a couple of weeks, it seems clear that the actress had been far more troubled than anyone believed and that her death was not the innocent case of a heart condition that her husband and mother want the public to believe.