Mother breaks silence as new details emerge in Hayden Panettiere's death

Hayden Panettiere's on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach were at the South Carolina apartment where the actor died over the weekend, according to a police report.

A Greenville police officer who responded to the residence Sunday afternoon was met by the brothers and observed paramedics performing CPR on an unresponsive woman, the report released Tuesday, local time, said.

"The patient did not seem to have any obvious physical reasons to be unresponsive," the officer noted.

After attempting lifesaving measures the emergency workers declared Panettiere dead.

No cause has been determined and her death remains under investigation.

An autopsy found no signs of trauma and police said officers saw no signs of foul play.

The one-time child star, who soared to fame in the TV shows Heroes and Nashville while enduring struggles with alcohol addiction and depression, would have turned 37 this week.

The report comes as Panettiere's mother Lesley Vogel spoke about the death, saying her daughter found herself on the wrong path.

"I think Hayden sadly lost her way, and I wish it were different," she told NBC.

"I wish she had stayed true to herself because she had many incredible attributes."

In her 2026 memoir, Panettiere described a turbulent relationship with her mother who she called a "perfectionist" and alleged had superglued a fallen tooth back into Panettiere's mouth so she wouldn't lose a job.

Hickerson had history of abuse

The appearance of Brian Hickerson at the scene of Panettiere's death followed charges of abuse and a fraught relationship.

Hickerson was charged in 2020 with multiple counts of felony abuse and pleaded no contest to two counts of injuring a spouse or partner.

He served a short time in jail due to the case.

He was sentenced to four years of probation and anger management and Alcoholics Anonymous sessions.

He completed the terms and recently asked a judge to reduce his conviction to misdemeanours.

That request was denied Thursday by a Los Angeles judge.

Panettiere wrote of Hickerson's time behind bars, hoping it would change him.

"I needed him to admit his wrongs and change because of them, but I didn't want to traumatise him in an irreversible way," she wrote.

The police report, which is heavily redacted, said the responding officer first spoke with Zach Hickerson who said the unresponsive woman was his brother's girlfriend.

"Brian did not become emotional until EMS declared her officially deceased," the officer said.

Also redacted is a list that of medications that Panettiere had been taking.

Ex-fiance vows to share memory with daughter

In her book, Panettiere described lifelong scars from her early fame, and acknowledged being addicted to alcohol and enduring postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter, Kaya, with Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko in 2014.

Panettiere's daughter, now 11, began living with Klitschko full-time in Ukraine when she was two.

At the time the actor was struggling with her mental health and addiction.

She entered rehab in 2015 while filming Nashville.

Klitschko has also broken his silence, saying "nothing will erase the times we shared" in reference to his ex-fiance.

"To our daughter Kaya, I will always speak of her mother with respect and make sure she remembers the person she was," he shared on Instagram.

Panettiere had endured numerous family struggles and tragedy.

Her parents' marriage was strained and eventually ended.

Her younger brother Jansen Panettiere, who was also an actor, died of a heart condition in 2023 at the age of 28.

Hollywood has continued to mourn the star's shock death, with her director in Ice Princess paying tribute to its dual protagonists.

Panettiere starred in the 2005 Disney film alongside Michelle Trachtenberg who also died in February, aged 39.

"I remember them both with huge affection, how they were 20-odd years ago, at that relatively uncomplicated time of their lives," director Tim Fywell told Variety.