Hayden Panettiere death latest: US drug agency DEA joins investigation into Heroes star’s death

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Hayden Panettiere, who became a household name as a teenager for her role in Heroes and later starred in Nashville and multiple Scream films, has died at age 36.

Panettiere was pronounced dead at a South Carolina apartment Sunday, August 16. A cause of death has not been revealed, but an autopsy showed no signs of trauma. Toxicology reports are pending and could take up to 12 weeks, according to the Greenville County Coroner’s Office.

A newly released incident report states that the 911 call was made by Brian Hickerson, 37, who is referred to as Panettiere’s boyfriend. He reportedly turned over a “bag of medication” belonging to Panettiere to the police, but the contents of that bag has so far been redacted. His brother Zach Hickerson was also present on the scene. The Independent has approached police for further information.

Now, police have reportedly begun probing whether there could be criminal conduct behind her death. Officers with the Greenville Police Department were seen outside of a Hickerson family home Wednesday morning in photos first obtained by Page Six. The US Drug Enforcement Administration joined the investigation into Panettiere’s death on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the case who spoke to the New York Times.

Among her most memorable roles were Sheryl Yoast in the 2000 Denzel Washington-led film Remember the Titans, high school cheerleader Claire Bennet on NBC’s sci-fi drama Heroes (2006-2010), and aspiring country singer Juliette Barnes on the hit TV series Nashville (2012-2018).

Her New York Times bestselling memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, was published in May this year, in which she looked back at her childhood in Hollywood and her experiences with addiction, postpartum depression, abusive relationships, and the loss of custody of her daughter, Kaya, whom she shares with former heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

Wladimir Klitschko breaks silence over ex-fiancée’s death

Hayden Panettiere campaigned against dolphin captivity in final project

In one of her final projects, the Heroes star teamed up with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to protest the conditions dolphins and other mammals live in at marine parks.

“Imagine spending your entire life in a bath tub. That’s what it’s like for dolphins and whales in tiny tanks at marine amusement parks. We can end this. You and me,” she said in a video, while posing in a bath tub.

“Together we can end this cruelty.”

Panettiere was a fierce advocate for animal rights throughout her life – confronting dolphin hunters at 18 in Japan, protesting against the Georgia Aquarium importing 18 wild-caught beluga whales from Russia, and appealing to President Vladimir Putin to release almost 100 belugas and orcas set to be transferred to marine parks.

Lauren Morris20 August 2026 10:00

Hayden Panettiere said she was ‘riddled with guilt’ after brother Jansen’s death

Hayden Panettiere spoke openly about the guilt she carried after the sudden death of her younger brother Jansen, who died aged 28 in 2023 from a heart condition.

In an interview with E! News in May, Panettiere said she was still struggling with the loss three years later. “It’s all the time,” she said of her grief. “It just evolves, especially with a sibling and being the older sibling. You’re just riddled with guilt that you didn’t do your job.”

“I miss him all the time. I didn’t think I would have to do life without him, but I’m grateful that I had the time I had with him,” she added.

(Getty)

Shahana Yasmin20 August 2026 09:30

Hayden Panettiere said she struggled to fit into ‘two different worlds’ as a child star

Hayden Panettiere had opened up about the difficulty of growing up in Hollywood, saying she felt caught between the adult world of the entertainment industry and the ordinary childhood she wanted.

“It was like I was trying to fit into two different worlds — one was a very adult world, which was the industry, and one was the world of just being a normal kid — and struggled with both in different ways,” Panettiere told BuzzFeed in May, after the release of her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning.

Hayden Panettiere (centre) with fellow cast members from the film ‘Joe Somebody’ Julie Bowen and Tim Allen to the film’s premiere in the Westwood Village of Los Angeles in 2001 (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

“But I desperately wanted to fit in. That’s what I wanted more than anything,” she said, explaining that she wanted “friends that were my age”, to go to school like a “normal kid” and play sports.

Panettiere said she was also dealing with paparazzi and a loss of freedom while working on Heroes. “Outside of work, I was dealing with paparazzi for the first time and my freedom being taken away, basically overnight,” she said. “The cast of Heroes really kept me grounded at a very pivotal time in my life.”

Shahana Yasmin20 August 2026 09:15

The heartbreaking family struggles that shaped Hayden Panettiere’s life off screen

The Heroes and Nashville star, who has tragically died aged 36, was bracingly honest about her experiences of familial estrangement, losing custody of her daughter and the depression that followed the sudden death of her younger brother, writes Katie Rosseinsky:

Nashville’s music community pays tribute to Hayden Panettiere after her death

Tributes have come from the country music world following Hayden Panettiere’s death, with The Chicks, Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus, and Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe among those remembering the actor.

The Chicks, who appeared as themselves on Nashville in 2013, wrote: “Hayden was a beautiful chick, inside and out. Funny, talented, honest, and brave… with a heart of gold. (She could work an iFan like nobody else.) Gone too soon, but never forgotten. Rest in peace, sweet Hayden.”

DeMarcus, who worked with Panettiere several times during his appearances on Nashville, wrote on Instagram: “I had the privilege of working with her several times during her years here in Nashville, this is absolutely heartbreaking.. prayers for the family.”

The Bluebird Cafe, the Nashville music venue that featured prominently on Nashville, where Panettiere’s character Juliette Barnes performed, wrote: “Rest in Peace, Hayden Panettiere. She was a spark; funny, incredibly talented, beautiful. Nashville brought her to us at The Bluebird, and she became part of our family through that.”

Shahana Yasmin20 August 2026 08:46

Hayden Panettiere’s friend shares her final text: ‘That was you in a nutshell’

Musician Clayton Johnson has shared the final text Hayden Panettiere sent him, as he paid tribute to the actor.

Johnson, who shared a video of himself singing with Panettiere, wrote on Instagram: “More than anything, I hope you’re at peace now and reunited with Jansen.” Panettiere’s younger brother, Jansen, died aged 28 in 2023 from an undiagnosed heart condition.

Johnson said the last message Panettiere sent him, a few weeks after their last phone call, was: “Honestly, people think it’s a joke to ask for world peace, but that would be me.”

“That was you in a nutshell,” he wrote. “I’m grateful I got to know you, and I’ll always be grateful for the memories. Fly high, Hayden.”

Shahana Yasmin20 August 2026 08:30

Heroes star Masi Oka says Hayden Panettiere was ‘way wiser beyond her years’

Heroes star Masi Oka paid tribute to Hayden Panettiere, describing his former co-star as someone with a “beautiful spirit” and “immense talent”.

Oka, who played Hiro Nakamura on the NBC series alongside Panettiere’s Claire Bennet, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Absolutely heartbroken to hear about Hayden. I had the privilege of working closely with her, and I’ll always remember her for her beautiful spirit, immense talent, and the joyful energy she brought to everything she did and the people around her.”

“She was way wiser beyond her years and now gone too soon,” he added.

Shahana Yasmin20 August 2026 08:15

I interviewed Hayden Panettiere twice – and both times left me incredibly sad

Shahana Yasmin20 August 2026 08:00

Mischa Barton says Hayden Panettiere’s death is ‘profoundly heartbreaking’

Mischa Barton has paid tribute to Hayden Panettiere, her co-star in the psychological thriller Sleepwalker, after the actor’s death on Sunday.

“I am heartbroken by the news of Hayden’s passing,” Barton said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Hayden spoke candidly about her struggles with depression, something no one deserves to endure.”

Barton added: “Her passing at such a young age, with so much life still ahead of her, is profoundly heartbreaking.”

The pair appeared together in Sleepwalker, which was released in January and marked Panettiere’s final film role.

Shahana Yasmin20 August 2026 07:45