Overview
- Hayden Panettiere was found unresponsive and pronounced dead on Aug. 16 at a Greenville, South Carolina, residence after first responders attempted advanced life support.
- The Greenville coroner’s preliminary autopsy reported no signs of trauma but withheld cause and manner pending toxicology and additional studies that can take weeks to months.
- Federal assistance has been reported with the DEA aiding Greenville police as investigators review dispatch audio, a reported bag of medication and Narcan found at the scene.
- On-again, off-again partner Brian Hickerson told media he administered Narcan and CPR and called 911 while Panettiere’s estranged mother publicly disputed his account and said she had issued an ultimatum over the relationship.
- Reporting links Panettiere’s May memoir about postpartum depression, substance struggles and alleged abuse to both family disputes and Hickerson’s 2021 no-contest plea for injuring a girlfriend, and the outcome of toxicology will shape any legal or criminal follow-up.