POLICE RULE HAYDEN PANETTIERE’S DEATH ACCIDENTAL
Greenville police said on October 28, 2026 that they have concluded their investigation into the death of actress Hayden Panettiere and ruled it accidental. The 36-year-old was found unresponsive on August 16 in a Greenville, South Carolina, apartment where her former boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, was present, and the coroner attributed her death to the toxic effects of fentanyl and four other drugs.
In a statement reported by ABC News, the department said: “Based on the Medical Examiner’s determination and the findings of the investigation, Hayden Panettiere’s death has been ruled accidental.”
Two weeks earlier, ABC News published 911 audio from that day. The network got the recording through a Freedom of Information Act request to Greenville County EMS.
The call lasts seven minutes. The caller, who appears to be the brother of Panettiere’s former boyfriend, can be heard panicking. “Oh, god, oh, my god — you do like CPR or something?” the caller says.
“[I] walked in after church to my brother and his girlfriend’s apartment, and he woke up, and his girl … .she’s unconscious,” the caller told the operator.
“Is she breathing?” the operator asked. “No,” the caller answered.
The operator then walked the caller through CPR. “We’re going to do this 500 times or until help can arrive, OK?” the operator said, before counting out compressions: “one, two ,three, four; one, two three, four.”
Emergency services were called to the apartment on Easley Bridge Road for a report of cardiac arrest at about 1:51 p.m., the coroner’s office said. First responders “initiated advanced cardiac life support measures,” and Panettiere was pronounced dead at about 2:32 p.m.
A police report obtained by ABC News said officers spoke with Brian Hickerson and his brother, Zach, while EMS was working on her. Zach described Panettiere as his brother’s girlfriend.
Yahoo reported that the incident report said Brian showed officers a bag of medication and said Panettiere had been taking the contents. A dispatch call apparently from the scene referred to a suspected overdose, Yahoo reported. TMZ reported that Narcan was found at the apartment.
On September 22, 2026, the Greenville County Coroner’s Office ruled the death accidental. The cause was the toxic effects of fentanyl, 4-ANPP, alprazolam, methocarbamol and quetiapine, The Columbian reported. The autopsy found no signs of trauma that contributed to her death.
Her death drew reaction from fellow stars, including Michelle Rodriguez, who said young stars dying “is not normal.”
No arrests or charges have been reported. The police announcement did not say the Drug Enforcement Administration had closed its own inquiry, and sources told ABC News they believe the federal investigation is still ongoing.
