Brian Hickerson, the former boyfriend of the late Hayden Panettiere, had his petition to expunge felony charges related to domestic abuse against the actress denied by a Los Angeles judge. The ruling came on August 13, a mere three days before Panettiere was found deceased.

Hickerson had filed the petition with the Los Angeles County Superior Court seeking to clear his criminal record of domestic abuse charges involving Panettiere. He had completed his probation on August 1 and subsequently asked the court to change the felony charges to misdemeanors and expunge them from his record. This was not Hickerson's first attempt to dismiss or reduce the charges; records indicate he had filed earlier petitions on July 18 and June 27.

Prosecutors reportedly opposed both of Hickerson's recent attempts to alter the charges.

In July 2020, Hickerson initially faced eight felony and misdemeanor counts stemming from incidents involving him and Panettiere between May 2019 and January 2020. He ultimately pleaded 'no contest' in August 2022 to two felony counts of injuring a partner, with the remaining six charges dropped. As part of his probation, which lasted four years, he was ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings weekly and complete anger management sessions. He was also sentenced to 45 days in county jail, serving 33 days after receiving credit for time served.

Panettiere had previously obtained a protective order following an earlier domestic violence arrest of Hickerson in May 2019, though those charges were later dropped. In her memoir, released in May of the same year Panettiere died, she detailed her experiences in abusive relationships. Following an arrest, Panettiere released a statement expressing hope that her story would empower others in similar situations.

Hickerson, who was first linked to Panettiere in 2018, told TMZ in May that he remained in contact with her and had hopes for their relationship to resume. He acknowledged the severity of his past actions, stating, 'You never lay hands on a woman, bottom line.'