Hayden Panettiere’s boyfriend Brian Hickerson has reportedly spoken to federal law enforcement during their investigation into the actress’ suspected overdose death.
Hickerson – who was at the Greenville, South Carolina apartment when Panettiere was pronounced dead – has met with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a source claims TMZ.
Local and federal investigators reportedly believe someone sold the actress drugs that may have caused her death, with authorities now focused on identifying the suspected dealer, the outlet reported.
One source told TMZ that authorities are targeting a potential drug dealer.
At this time, investigators are still awaiting toxicology results to determine Panettiere’s cause of death.
The Heroes actress was found dead on August 16 at the age of 36 after a suspected overdose in a home in Greenville.
Hayden Panettiere’s boyfriend Brian Hickerson has reportedly spoken to federal law enforcement during their investigation into the actress’ suspected overdose death
The Heroes actress was found dead of a suspected overdose at a home in Greenville, South Carolina on August 16 at the age of 36; She is pictured in 2022
At this time, no one has been arrested in connection with Panettiere’s death.
The Greenville Police Department and the coroner’s office are conducting parallel investigations into the star’s death.
The DEA’s involvement is equivalent to EMS reporting a suspected overdose. First responders found Narcan, a nasal spray used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, in the apartment where Panettiere was found dead.
Panettiere died at the end of a long battle with alcohol and opiates. She spent eight months in rehab in 2020 after contracting jaundice and being informed by her doctor that “if I didn’t stop drinking, I would be dead within five years,” as she wrote in her memoir.
Hickerson was at the scene with his brother Zachary when she was pronounced dead, according to a police report.
Her autopsy found “no signs of trauma” that “would have contributed to death.”
Over the course of their turbulent relationship, Hickerson faced multiple domestic violence charges, and in 2021 served 13 days in custody for injuring her.
After she was pronounced dead, Hickerson allegedly handed authorities a “bag of medications” she had taken, the police report said.
Hickerson — who was at the Greenville apartment when Panettiere was pronounced dead — has met with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a source claims to TMZ
Local and federal investigators reportedly believe someone sold the actress drugs that may have caused her death, with authorities now focused on identifying the suspected dealer
Although his brother was “very emotional” during attempts to revive Panettiere, Hickerson is said to have remained unmoved until she was pronounced dead.
To dedicate herself to recovering from her personal demons, Panettiere voluntarily gave up custody of her now 11-year-old daughter Kaya in 2018.
Kaya was handed over to the care of her father, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko, with whom Panettiere maintained an amicable co-parenting relationship.
The Daily Mail exclusively revealed that Panettiere was also the subject of romance rumors with Hickerson’s brother Zach, a pastor, for a brief period in 2019.
Zach and Panettiere were spotted walking hand-in-hand in New York in September, after which a witness described them as looking like a “real couple.”
It comes after Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, told the Daily Mail she believed the account of her daughter’s death given by Hickerson was “full of holes.”
In a wide-ranging hour-long exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Vogel said she pressured police in South Carolina to investigate Hayden’s death and raised serious questions about Hickerson and his account of her daughter’s final hours.
Vogel said Hickerson had a toxic “codependent bond” with Panettiere that was “much more powerful than people realized.”
Over the course of their turbulent relationship, Hickerson faced multiple domestic violence charges, and in 2021 served 13 days in custody for injuring her; Seen in a 2020 mugshot
Hickerson was arrested in Los Angeles in May 2019 and first charged with domestic violence and released on bail. He pleaded not guilty to one misdemeanor count of domestic violence later that month, and the case was dismissed in late September.
The following year, on Valentine’s Day, Hickerson was arrested for domestic violence in Wyoming after a physical altercation with a woman, later identified as Panettiere.
Hickerson pleaded not guilty to the charges in April of that year. In July 2020, Panettiere obtained a restraining order against him, sharing in a public statement that she hoped others would be inspired by her to walk away from abusive partners.
Three months later, Hickerson was arrested on seven felony charges and one charge of alleged abuse that occurred between May 2019 and January 2020, including one charge of dissuading a witness from prosecuting a crime.
It was during a February 2021 preliminary hearing in Wyoming, reported by the Daily Mail, where the snapshots of the harassing text messages and videos allegedly sent by Hickerson to Panettiere were read in district court.
He ultimately pleaded no contest to two felony charges of injuring a spouse or girlfriend in 2021, while the other six charges were dropped. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail and four years’ probation, plus $500 in fines and mandatory domestic violence classes.
In the midst of their tumultuous relationship, Panettiere made the courageous decision to sober up from alcohol and drugs. Although the actress had a long history of substance abuse, which revealed that she started taking “happiness pills” as early as age 15, her addiction worsened as she struggled with postpartum depression.
In 2020, she entered a treatment center for what would ultimately be an eight-month rehabilitation period. Panettiere later described her journey to sobriety as an “everyday struggle,” although the status of her sobriety on the day of her death remains unclear.
