Hayden Panettiere’s boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and his brother Zach Hickerson were present at the South Carolina apartment where the actress passed away, as stated in a police report disclosed on Tuesday. Upon arriving at the residence on Sunday, a Greenville police officer encountered the Hickerson brothers and witnessed paramedics administering CPR to an unresponsive woman. Despite efforts to revive her, Panettiere was pronounced dead at 2:31 p.m., with no apparent physical reasons for her unresponsiveness noted by the officer.
The cause of Panettiere’s death is still unknown and is currently under investigation. An autopsy revealed no signs of trauma, and authorities have not identified any evidence of foul play. The actress, aged 36, had a tumultuous relationship with Brian Hickerson, who faced allegations of physically abusing her. In 2020, he faced charges of felony abuse and eventually pleaded no contest to two counts of injuring a spouse or partner, resulting in a brief jail sentence. Following this, he was placed on four years of probation and mandated to attend anger management and Alcoholics Anonymous sessions.
Despite completing the terms of his probation, Hickerson recently sought to have his conviction reduced to misdemeanors, a request that was denied by a Los Angeles judge last Thursday. The police report, while heavily redacted, mentioned Zach Hickerson’s emotional state during the incident, along with details about Panettiere’s medications, which were also redacted.
Following Panettiere’s tragic death, her ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko expressed his grief in a heartfelt statement, highlighting the shock and sorrow their family is experiencing. Klitschko, the father of their daughter Kaya, emphasized Panettiere’s importance in his life and her role as a mother. The couple welcomed Kaya in 2014, and after their separation in 2018, Panettiere granted Klitschko full custody due to her struggles with addiction and postpartum depression.
In her recently released memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” Panettiere candidly discussed her challenges with early fame, addiction, and postpartum depression. Despite misconceptions about her custody arrangement, she clarified that giving full custody to Klitschko was not an act of abandonment. Tributes from colleagues and friends continue to pour in for the late actress, with co-stars remembering her as a talented and vibrant individual who brought joy to those around her.