Brian Hickerson Makes First Outing Since Hayden Panettiere's Death

Hayden Panettiere Identified as Brian Hickerson's Girlfriend in Death Report
Brian Hickerson is continuing on in the wake of Hayden Panettiere's death.
Three days after the Nashville star died in Greenville, S.C., at age 36, her on-again, off-again boyfriend stepped out in the same city on Aug. 19.
Keeping a low profile, Brian wore a beige zip-up hoodie, a white T-shirt, matching baseball cap and sunglasses as he made his way to the passenger seat of a SUV.
In a Greenville Police Department report obtained by E! News, authorities said Brian and his brother Zach Hickerson called 911 to an apartment complex located in the Judson neighborhood shortly after 1:00 p.m. Upon arrival, officers found first responders performing CPR on Panettiere, who they said "did not seem to have any obvious physical reasons to be unresponsive."
While Zach was "very emotional" during attempts to revive the Heroes alum, in the report police said Brian "did not become emotional" until medical workers declared her dead just after 2:30 p.m.
Brian—who police said was identified as Panettiere's boyfriend by his brother—then provided investigators a "bag of medication" the actress was taking at the time of her death, per the report.
An autopsy was later performed, though officials have not yet determined a cause of death.
Filmsbyjosh / BACKGRID
E! News has previously made attempts to reach Brian for comment but has not heard back.
Two months before her passing, Panettiere told E! News she was single and focused on "checking in with myself, being self-aware, being surrounded by healthy people who bring out the best in me."
"I've been through a bit of trauma in that area," she said of her past dating life. "So, I'm focusing on me."
gotpap/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
However, Panettiere—mom to to 11-year-old daughter Kaya with ex Wladimir Klitschko—noted at the time that she would be open to the "right person" entering her life.
“The door is not closed,” the Ice Princess actress added. “I love to be in love.”
For a look back at Panettiere's life in photos, read on.
Photo by Ann Limongello/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
1994
Photo by Margaret Norton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images
1996
Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
1998
Photo by Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage
2001
Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images
2003
Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images
2004
Photo by M. Caulfield/WireImage for ABC Cable Networks Group
2004
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
2005
Photo by Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage
2006
Photo by Sylvain Gaboury/FilmMagic
2006
Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images
2008
Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)
2010
Jason Merritt/Getty Images
2012
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
2013
Photo by Kevork Djansezian/NBC/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
2014
Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Time Warner Cable
2014
Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images
2015
Rick Diamond/Getty Images
2016
Roy Rochlin/FilmMagic
2017
Hayden Panettiere/Twitter
2018
Amanda Edwards/Getty Images
2019
Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
2022
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
2023
Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images
2024
Jeff Neira/Disney via Getty Images
2026
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.