It has been two days since the tragic passing of Hayden Panettiere, 36, and her family still has no concrete answers regarding the circumstances of her demise.
On Sunday, August 16, 2026, 911 responders found the Rushville actress unresponsive inside a Judson Mill Lofts apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, and attempted to resuscitate her.
Highlights
- The responding officer’s report about Hayden Panettiere’s demise revealed that her ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson and her mother were present at the scene.
- The report shed light on Hickerson’s emotional state at the time and mentioned one piece of evidence that he handed over.
- Hickerson was briefly incarcerated for committing acts of domestic violence against Panettiere.
But she was already gone, leaving behind her grieving parents and an 11-year-old daughter, Kaya.
Now, a heavily redacted report from the Greenville Police Department has shed some light on what went on behind closed doors.
The actress was with her on-and-off boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, when she breathed her last.
A responding officer’s report revealed Brian Hickerson’s mental state at the time of the tragedy
The responding officer, identified in the report as Matthew Bryan, said that he first spoke with Brian’s brother, Zach Hickerson, after arriving at the scene at 1:50 p.m. on Sunday.
The report said that Zack was “very emotional” while Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel were “working on Hayden,” who had suffered a cardiac arrest.
It added that Brian did not become “visibly emotional” until Panettiere was declared deceased at 2:32 p.m.
He also showed the police a “bag of medication” that she was taking at the time.
According to the statement by the Greenville County Coroner’s Office, Hayden Panettiere was given CPR and “advanced cardiac life support” measures by the EMS officers.
Bryan wore an active body camera, as required, throughout the emergency response. The video recorded on the device has not been publicly released yet.
A source claimed that emergency anti-narcotics medication was found at the scene
A Judson Mill Loft resident told Page Six the day after the incident that they saw two men “sitting outside the apartment” as police officers swarmed the area.
“They looked like they were in shock, not speaking, and had their heads down,” the neighbor said.
They added that they had no idea that the deceased individual was Hayden Panettiere, or that she was living in the apartment.
They speculated that she was renting an Airbnb at the apartment, which Page Six reported to be true.
What transpired inside the apartment is still unknown, and investigations are ongoing.
However, audio recordings of the dispatch call reportedly mentioned “ove**ose” as the medical professionals worked on Paniettiere.
A source told People magazine that Narcan—a treatment designed to reverse the effects of a life-threatening narcotics emergency rapidly—was found at the scene.
While the cause of demise has yet to be announced, coroner Mike Ellis has stated that her autopsy did not reveal any “signs of trauma.”
Panettiere forgave Hickerson after he went to jail for domestic violence
Hayden Panettiere, who had long struggled with substance issues, a drinking problem, and mental health battles, fell into severe postpartum depression after giving birth to Kaya in 2014.
It got bad enough that she had to make the “nightmare” decision of giving her former fiancé, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko, the child’s father, full custody of Kaya.
She started dating Hickerson right after this, and their relationship reportedly ended in 2020 after a series of alleged domestic violence incidents.
In 2020, he was arrested on eight domestic violence charges and eventually pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a partner.
He was sentenced to 45 days in jail, four years of formal probation, 52 domestic violence classes, $500 in restitution, and a five-year protective order.
He only spent 13 days in jail, and the other charges were dropped. Panettiere and Hickerson reconciled after he was out of prison.
“None of it is OK, and I want to make sure that everybody knows that,” Panettiere told People magazine in 2020, speaking about her decision to stand up for herself against domestic violence.
“But I am open to people who are willing to get help and make amends. He’s gone to treatment and done his time. And I’m trying to live in a place of forgiveness.”
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