A narcotics investigator has joined the probe into the death of actress Hayden Panettiere, who was found unresponsive in a South Carolina apartment on Sunday, according to her mother, Lesley Vogel. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has reportedly become involved in the investigation, which is being conducted in parallel by the Greenville Police and the coroner's office.
Vogel, 70, told NBC News that while she is uncertain about the current status of the investigation, the involvement of a narcotics investigator suggests authorities have questions they are actively pursuing. First responders at the scene reported a suspected overdose, and Narcan, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, was found inside the apartment. The DEA declined to comment when reached by The Daily Mail.
Panettiere was found dead just five days before her 37th birthday. Her on-off boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, was also staying at the apartment at the time of her death. Vogel expressed distress over Hickerson's presence, stating that efforts had been made to remove him from her daughter's life due to his past of domestic violence and enabling Panettiere's struggles. "This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death and that was Brian Hickerson," Vogel said.
Hickerson and his brother were present in the apartment when emergency services arrived. A police report indicated that while the brother appeared emotional, Hickerson did not show emotion until Panettiere was declared dead. Hickerson reportedly showed officers a bag of medication found in the apartment.
The Greenville County Coroner's Office has stated that the cause of death remains under investigation. Audio from the 911 call described the situation as a "cardiac arrest." Panettiere's mother last spoke with her daughter in October and noted that their contact had been infrequent. Vogel stated her decision to cease contact was for specific reasons, not a lack of care.
Panettiere and Hickerson had a tumultuous relationship from 2018 to 2022, marked by domestic violence incidents. Hickerson was previously arrested and served jail time for abusing her. He had also recently had a request to reduce his past felony charges denied by a judge just three days before Panettiere's death.
In her memoir, "This Is Me: A Reckoning," published shortly before her death, Panettiere detailed her struggles with substance abuse, postpartum depression, and the loss of her younger brother, Jansen, in 2023. She also wrote about her difficult relationship with her mother, who managed her career at one point, and her experiences with alleged abuse by Hickerson. Panettiere had an 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, with ex-partner Wladimir Klitschko, to whom she granted full custody.
Despite the ongoing investigation and the presence of Narcan at the scene, the Greenville Police Department's initial statement indicated no signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances, and an autopsy found no signs of trauma that would have contributed to her death.