Hayden Panettiere's mother, Lesley Vogel, has publicly questioned the account of her daughter's final hours provided by Panettiere's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson.
Vogel alleged in an interview that Hickerson told authorities Panettiere was doing her makeup when he left their Airbnb in Greenville, South Carolina, on August 16. He reportedly stated he returned, took a nap, and was later alerted by his brother, Zach Hickerson, that Panettiere was unresponsive.
"I don’t know how you can take a nap near someone who’s dying and not realize something’s wrong," Vogel stated, expressing her disbelief in Hickerson's narrative. She believes Hickerson may have fabricated parts of his story and was aware Panettiere was deceased before calling his brother.
Zach Hickerson's account, previously reported, stated he knocked loudly, waking Brian from a nap. He claimed they then attempted to wake Panettiere for lunch and found her unconscious. He told TMZ that he called 911 while Brian administered Narcan, and they performed CPR until emergency services arrived.
Vogel also voiced doubt about the presence of Narcan, questioning if Hickerson would have carried two bottles of it. She suggested that Brian might have left to purchase Narcan after Panettiere was already deceased, creating a discrepancy in the timeline.
Brian Hickerson's lawyer, Sloan Ellis, stated last week that the investigation into Panettiere's death is ongoing and that police have confirmed there were no signs of foul play. The lawyer declined further comment at this time out of respect for Panettiere's loved ones and the investigation.
Vogel had previously been critical of Hickerson, calling him a "toxic individual" involved in her daughter's life and expressing her desire to have kept him away. She recounted a final conversation with her daughter where Panettiere stated she was going to "be with the person [she] love[d]," which prompted Vogel to issue an ultimatum.
Hickerson pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend in 2021 in incidents involving Panettiere. The former child star detailed aspects of their relationship in her memoir, "This Is Me: A Reckoning."