A newly released police report identifies who was with Hayden Panettiere when she was found unresponsive Sunday and what officers encountered when they arrived, while the cause of the 36-year-old actor’s death remains undetermined. Investigators are waiting for additional test results before ruling on the official cause and manner of death.
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Panettiere, who starred in “Heroes” and “Nashville,” was staying temporarily at the Greenville, South Carolina, apartment where she died.
Boyfriend and his brother called 911
Panettiere’s boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and his brother, Zach Hickerson, were at the apartment and called 911 after she was found unresponsive. Police and emergency medical personnel tried to revive her before she was pronounced dead.
The report says Zach Hickerson identified Panettiere to police as his brother’s girlfriend. It also notes that Brian Hickerson showed officers a bag containing Panettiere’s medications, although the names of the medications were redacted.
An autopsy found no trauma that contributed to her death.
Panettiere’s mother raises concerns about Hickerson
Panettiere’s estranged mother, Lesley Vogel, told NBC News that she and Panettiere’s father had long been concerned about her relationship with Hickerson.
“This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death,” Vogel said. “There is a lot of history in the past that Brian has enabled Hayden many times and this is why her father and I had been concerned for a long time about him.”
Panettiere had spoken openly about her struggles with addiction. Hickerson pleaded no contest in 2021 to two felony counts of injuring a partner stemming from a 2020 arrest.
Authorities have not connected Hickerson to Panettiere’s death.
Klitschko remembers Panettiere
Wladimir Klitschko, Panettiere’s former partner and the father of her daughter, wrote on X that she “built an incredible career through immense talent, while also facing the darker sides of a very demanding industry.”
Panettiere began acting as a child and became widely known for playing Claire Bennet on NBC’s “Heroes.” She later starred as country singer Juliette Barnes on ABC’s “Nashville.”
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