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Hayden Panettiere’s ex-boyfriend was at scene when she died, police report says
Hayden Panettiere's former boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother were at the apartment when she died, according to a police report. The cause of death remains under investigation, with an autopsy finding no signs of trauma.
Hayden Panettiere's onetime boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach Hickerson were at the scene when the actress died Sunday at an apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina, according to a police incident report obtained by NBC News.
The heavily redacted report says the brothers were inside the Judson Mill Lofts complex when Panettiere, 36, went into cardiac arrest. Responding officer Matthew Bryan said he first spoke with Zach Hickerson, who was "very emotional" while emergency medical services worked on Panettiere. Brian Hickerson did not become visibly emotional until EMS declared her dead, the report states.
Brian Hickerson showed police a "bag of medication" that Panettiere was taking at the time of her death, according to the report. Officer Bryan said he was wearing a body camera throughout the emergency response; the video has not been publicly released. Both brothers did not respond to NBC News' requests for comment.
Death investigation underway
The Greenville County Coroner's Office said Panettiere's cause of death is pending further investigation. In a statement, officials confirmed an autopsy was completed Monday and "no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death."
Authorities received a 911 call around 1:50 p.m. Sunday about a "reported cardiac arrest" at the apartment complex, according to the coroner's office. An acquaintance of Panettiere's made the call. Panettiere was found unresponsive inside the residence where she had been temporarily staying. First responders initiated cardiac life support measures, but resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful; she was pronounced dead at 2:32 p.m.
Us Weekly reported that dispatch audio indicated Panettiere may have suffered an "overdose" and then went into "cardiac arrest." The cause of death has not been publicly revealed.
Police were seen outside Brian Hickerson's family home three days after Panettiere's death. Two Greenville Police Department cars were spotted outside a property owned by his grandmother on Wednesday, August 19, in photos obtained by Page Six and reported by Us Weekly. An officer knocked on the front and side doors without reply. Greenville Police said in a press release that the welfare check call was "unrelated to the Hayden Panettiere death investigation and did not require an incident report."
Past relationship and legal history
Panettiere's relationship with Hickerson appeared to end in 2020 amid domestic violence allegations. In her memoir "This Is Me: A Reckoning," published three months before she died, Panettiere wrote that Hickerson beat her so badly she did not leave the house for weeks. Hickerson was arrested May 2, 2019, on an allegation of injuring a spouse or girlfriend. He pleaded no contest on April 20, 2021, and was sentenced to four years' probation. Panettiere requested a restraining order against him on July 14, 2020.
In a 2020 statement, Panettiere said she was going public about the abuse to inspire others in abusive relationships to seek help. Hickerson's criminal defense attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
Panettiere's father, Skip Panettiere, issued a statement to Us Weekly: "It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her — and to the millions who watched her onscreen. We ask for privacy as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss."
Hayden is survived by her parents and her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, whom she shared with ex-boyfriend Wladimir Klitschko. Her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, died in 2023 at age 28 from an undiagnosed heart condition.
Panettiere was best known for her television roles in NBC's "Heroes" and ABC's "Nashville."
How each outlet told it
NBC News
Framing: Emphasizes that ex-boyfriend was at the scene when Panettiere died, focusing on the presence of Brian Hickerson. — Measured, focused on factual reporting of police and court records, with sympathetic undertones regarding Panettiere's abuse experiences.
Facts Included:
Hayden Panettiere's onetime boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach Hickerson were at the scene when she died
Police report was heavily redacted and obtained by NBC News
Responding officer Matthew Bryan spoke first with Zach Hickerson, who was 'very emotional'
Brian Hickerson did not become visibly emotional until EMS declared the 36-year-old dead
Brian Hickerson showed police a 'bag of medication' Panettiere was taking
Body camera video recorded by officer Bryan has not been publicly released
Brian and Zach Hickerson did not respond to requests for comment
Greenville County Coroner's Office said cause of death is pending further investigation
Autopsy completed Monday, no signs of trauma discovered
911 call received around 1:50 p.m. Sunday about reported cardiac arrest
Acquaintance of Panettiere made the 911 call
Panettiere was found unresponsive inside the residence where she was temporarily staying
First responders initiated cardiac life support, resuscitation unsuccessful, pronounced dead at 2:32 p.m.
Panettiere's relationship with Hickerson appeared to end in 2020 amid domestic violence allegations
Panettiere's memoir 'This Is Me: A Reckoning' published three months before death
In the book, Panettiere wrote that Hickerson beat her so badly she did not leave house for weeks
Hickerson was arrested May 2, 2019, on allegation of injuring a spouse or girlfriend
He pleaded no contest April 20, 2021, sentenced to four years' probation
Panettiere requested restraining order July 14, 2020
In 2020 statement, Panettiere said she was going public about abuse to inspire others
Hickerson's defense attorney did not respond to request for comment
Panettiere was best known for 'Heroes' and 'Nashville'
Framing: Focuses on police visiting ex-boyfriend's house, a recent development, while leaving out the context of his presence at her death. — Sympathetic to Panettiere's family, but lighter on investigative detail; tone is more newsy and celebrity-focused.
Facts Included:
Police officers were spotted outside Brian Hickerson's family's house three days after Panettiere's death
Two Greenville Police Department cars seen outside property owned by Hickerson's grandmother on Wednesday, August 19
Officer approached the house knocking on front door to no reply; another officer tried side door
Greenville Police said in press release: welfare check call unrelated to death investigation
Panettiere died at age 36 on Sunday, August 16
Father Skip Panettiere's statement: 'It is with profound sadness...'
Hayden is survived by parents and 11-year-old daughter Kaya, whom she shared with ex Wladimir Klitschko
Brother Jansen Panettiere died in 2023 at age 28 from undiagnosed heart condition
Cause of death not publicly revealed
Police report revealed Hickerson was present at scene of her death
Dispatch audio stated Hayden may have suffered an 'overdose' and then went into 'cardiac arrest'
Police report quote: 'After EMS officially declared Hayden deceased, I escorted Zach and Brian out...'
Zach claimed Hayden was 'his brother's girlfriend'
Hayden and Brian dated on and off from 2018 to 2020
Source said they 'always remained in contact'
Autopsy completed, no signs of trauma
Coroner's statement: 911 call at 1:51 PM, pronounced deceased at 2:32 PM
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimHayden Panettiere's onetime boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach Hickerson were at the scene when she died on Sunday, August 16, 2026.
ClaimFirst responders initiated cardiac life support measures, but resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, and Panettiere was pronounced dead at 2:32 p.m.
ClaimTwo Greenville Police Department cars were seen outside a South Carolina property owned by Hickerson's grandmother on Wednesday, August 19, in photos obtained by Page Six.
ClaimAn officer approached the house, repeatedly knocking on the front door to no reply; another officer reportedly tried knocking on the side door to no avail.
ClaimGreenville Police said in a press release that the welfare check call was unrelated to the death investigation and did not require an incident report.
ClaimPanettiere's father, Skip Panettiere, issued a statement saying, 'It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden.'
ClaimIn the police report, the officer wrote, 'After EMS officially declared Hayden deceased, I escorted Zach [Hickerson, Brian's brother] and Brian out of the apartment. I observed Zach to be very emotional while EMS were working on Hayden. Brian did not become emotional until EMS declared her officially deceased.'
ClaimHayden and Brian dated on and off from 2018 to 2020, though a source told Us exclusively they 'always remained in contact' after their various breakups.
ClaimThe Greenville County Coroner's Office wrote that on August 16, 2026, at approximately 1:51 PM, a 911 call was received regarding a reported cardiac arrest.