Brian Hickerson has broken cover following the death of his on-off girlfriend, actress Hayden Panettiere, who was found unresponsive at a South Carolina apartment where Hickerson was also present. Panettiere, 36, died on Sunday following a suspected overdose.
Hickerson, a 37-year-old real estate agent, was seen outside his grandmother's home in South Carolina on Tuesday, two days after Panettiere's passing. Their tumultuous relationship, marked by multiple domestic violence arrests for Hickerson throughout their years together, has come under renewed scrutiny.
In 2020, amid several charges stemming from alleged domestic violence incidents with Panettiere, Hickerson reportedly sent her intimidating text messages. According to police at the time, one message read, "Time to go to war, I guess." Hickerson eventually pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend, with other charges dropped. He served 33 days in jail and was placed on probation.
Despite the history of abuse detailed in her memoir, Panettiere reportedly reconciled with Hickerson. They were photographed together as recently as March 2022, and a redacted police report from the scene of her death referred to Panettiere as Hickerson's girlfriend.
Friends and insiders have expressed regret that those close to Panettiere did not do more to convince her to end the relationship with Hickerson, whom many disliked. "Everyone ended up doing very little," an insider told the Daily Mail. "No matter how bad it could be, people close to her couldn't and wouldn't reason with her enough to make her change for the better."
Panettiere and Hickerson began dating in 2018. She had recently emerged from rehab and was newly single when they met. Within weeks, they were living together. However, the relationship soon turned violent. Hickerson was arrested for domestic violence in May 2019, and again on Valentine's Day in 2020 for domestic battery in Wyoming.
In July 2020, Panettiere obtained a restraining order against him, issuing a public statement encouraging others to leave abusive partners. Later that year, Hickerson was arrested on seven felony charges and one misdemeanor charge, including dissuading a witness. During a February 2021 preliminary hearing, text messages allegedly sent by Hickerson were presented in court. He ultimately pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend in 2021, receiving a 45-day jail sentence, four years of probation, fines, and mandatory domestic violence classes.
Amidst their relationship, Panettiere had been working on her sobriety, having previously detailed struggles with addiction and postpartum depression. A redacted incident report from the time of her death mentioned a "bag of medication" that Panettiere was taking, and Narcan was reportedly found in the apartment.
In March 2022, Panettiere was reportedly knocked to the ground while attempting to break up a fight involving Hickerson outside a Los Angeles hotel. Shortly before her death, Hickerson filed a petition to have his felony charges converted to misdemeanors, but a judge denied it. Three days after the petition was denied, Panettiere was found deceased.
Hickerson's brother, Zach Hickerson, was also present at the apartment. While Zach was described as emotional, Brian Hickerson reportedly did not show distress until Panettiere was pronounced dead. Panettiere's mother, Lesley Vogel, told NBC News that Hickerson "was with her at her death and that was Brian Hickerson." She added, "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."