Hayden Panettiere was discovered unresponsive in a living room chair by the brother of her boyfriend, as reported by TMZ.
An unnamed source revealed that it was Zach Hickerson who found the actress around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The source further reported that her boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, had been resting in a bedroom within the Greenville, South Carolina loft during the incident.
Upon their inability to wake Hayden, Zach and Brian quickly dialed 911. Emergency medical services worked tirelessly for roughly an hour, but ultimately, she was pronounced dead before them, as detailed in the police report.
Officers on the scene noted that Zach was visibly distressed while the paramedics administered CPR, whereas Brian’s reaction was more subdued until the official declaration of Hayden’s passing.
After cops arrived, Brian allegedly then showed police a ‘bag of medication’ that Panettiere had been taking at the time of her death.
Hayden Panettiere’s on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother were in the South Carolina apartment where the actress died, police say
Panettiere first began dating Brian in 2018, however their on-off relationship became tumultuous as he was arrested several times on domestic violence charges
The Heroes star’s on-off boyfriend Brian was in the apartment where she died alongside his brother Zach (above together) who reportedly discovered her unresponsive
The heavily redacted police report said officers arrived at 1.50pm, and officers found multiple EMS and firemen performing CPR for ‘an extended amount of time’ on the actress, ‘who did not seem to have any obvious physical reasons to be unresponsive.’
The Greenville County Coroner’s Office has said Panettiere’s cause of death remains under investigation, however audio of the 911 call from her apartment showed a dispatcher described it as a ‘cardiac arrest.’
A dispatcher could be heard in the audio saying that Panettiere had suffered a suspected overdose, and sources told TMZ that Narcan – a nasal medication used to treat an opioid overdose – was also found on a mattress at the property.
Panettiere first began dating Brian in 2018, however their on-off relationship became tumultuous as he was arrested several times on domestic violence charges.
Panettiere had spoken of her troubled childhood in the spotlight in recent months and revealed intimate details of her relationship with Brian in her memoir published three months before her death.
She had an 11-year-old daughter with her ex-partner Wladimir Klitschko, a former boxer turned Ukrainian government official who has full custody of the youngster.
In her memoir, titled This Is Me: A Reckoning, Panettiere alleged that Hickerson once beat her so severely that she had to remain in her house for weeks to keep her injuries from the public.
She said she tried to keep the alleged abuse from the police because she feared the public would find out, and described her relationship as a ‘very dark and complicated time in my life.’
In one incident, Brian was arrested in May 2019, and court records show he was charged with injuring a spouse or girlfriend. He pleaded no contest to the allegations in April 2021, and he was sentenced to 45 days in county jail and four years’ probation.
Just three days before Panettiere’s death, Brian’s request to reduce his past felony charges was denied by a judge.
Panettiere’s relationship with Brian appeared to end in 2020, and in July of that year she filed for a restraining order against him. The outcome of her request is not stated in court records.
The Greenville Police Department said in a statement that ‘the preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances,’ and an autopsy found ‘no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.’
Panettiere died in the Judson Mill Lofts apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina, where she was temporarily staying
Panettiere died aged 36 on Sunday after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest
Panettiere had an 11-year-old daughter called Kaya following a life-threatening birth, but later gave full custody to her former fiancé, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko
The star and her on-off real estate agent boyfriend were said to have flown from Los Angeles to South Carolina, where he is from, one day before she died.
Panettiere welcomed daughter Kaya following a life-threatening birth, but later gave full custody to her former fiancé, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko.
The star began acting as a child, appearing in soap operas, then gained wider recognition for her role in the 2000 sports drama Remember the Titans with Denzel Washington, and as the voice of Dot in Pixar’s 1998 film A Bug’s Life.
Panettiere later found fame playing cheerleader Claire Bennet in the superhero drama Heroes before starring as country singer Juliette Barnes for six seasons on Nashville.
She earned two Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actress on the show, while her singing produced 11 entries on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.
Panettiere’s film credits include 2006’s Bring It On: All or Nothing, the comedy-drama film Raising Helen, and appearances in Scream 4 and Scream VI as Kirby Reed.