Brian Hickerson, the on-again, off-again boyfriend of actress Hayden Panettiere, had a judge deny his request to reduce or expunge past felony charges for domestic abuse just three days before Panettiere's death. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office confirmed the denial.
In August, Judge Olivia Rosales denied Hickerson's motion to reduce his felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend to a misdemeanor and expunge his record. The prosecution had objected to both motions.
This was not the first time Hickerson sought to have his felony charges dismissed. He made a similar request in July 2025, which was also denied.
According to his petition for dismissal, Hickerson had fulfilled the conditions of his probation. In 2021, he was sentenced to 45 days in county jail, four years of formal probation, 52 domestic violence classes, and a five-year restraining order. He served 33 days in jail with credit for time served.
The charges against Hickerson stemmed from a series of incidents involving Panettiere between May 2019 and January 2020. He was arrested in Los Angeles and initially indicted on eight criminal counts, pleading no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend.
Panettiere and Hickerson dated intermittently starting in 2018. Their relationship was marked by multiple domestic violence incidents. In one incident on Valentine's Day in 2020, police alleged Hickerson punched Panettiere in the face in Wyoming. Panettiere wrote candidly about experiencing physical abuse in her memoir, "This Is Me: A Reckoning," and discussed the difficulty of ending contact with Hickerson.
Panettiere died on Sunday at 36 years old. 911 dispatch audio indicated her death was related to an apparent overdose. Emergency responders attempted resuscitation efforts, including advanced cardiac life support and chest compressions, but she was pronounced dead at 2:32 p.m. Narcan, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, was reportedly found at the scene.