Brian Hickerson, Hayden Panettiere’s longtime on-and-off boyfriend, has reportedly spoken with federal authorities as the investigation continues into the actress’ suspected fatal overdose.
Hickerson, who was inside the Greenville, South Carolina condo where Panettiere was later pronounced dead, has met with officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration, a source told TMZ.
According to the outlet, both local police and federal investigators suspect that someone may have supplied the actress with drugs that potentially contributed to her death, and the probe is now centered on tracking down the alleged source.
One insider claimed to TMZ that investigators are “zeroing in” on a possible drug dealer connected to the case.
Authorities are still awaiting toxicology findings, which are expected to play a key role in determining Panettiere’s official cause of death.
The Heroes star was found dead at age 36 on August 16 at a Greenville residence, with early reports pointing to a suspected overdose.
Our News Outlet has contacted representatives for Hickerson for comment.
Hayden Panettiere’s on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson has reportedly spoken with the Drug Enforcement Administration as officials investigate her death; pictured in 2018
The Heroes actress was found dead at 36 of a suspected overdose at a residence in Greenville, South Carolina on August 16; She is pictured in 2022
At this time, no one has been arrested in connection with Panettiere’s death.
Greenville Police and the coroner’s office are running parallel investigations into the star’s death.
The DEA’s involvement aligns with paramedics reporting a suspected overdose over dispatch calls. First responders located Narcan, a nasal spray used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose, inside the apartment where Panettiere was found dead.
Panettiere died at the end of a long struggle with alcohol and opiates, spending eight months in rehab in 2020 after contracting jaundice and being informed by her doctor that ‘if I didn’t stop drinking, I’d be dead within five years,’ as she wrote in her memoir.
Hickerson was on the scene along 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 the death.’
Over the course of their turbulent relationship, Hickerson faced multiple domestic violence charges, and in 2021 he served 13 days in custody for injuring her.
After she was declared dead, Hickerson is said to have handed the authorities a ‘bag of medication’ she had been taking, per the police report.
Local and federal investigators reportedly believe someone sold the actress drugs that may have caused her death, a source claimed to TMZ; The pair seen in 2018
Her years-long on-again, off-again relationship with realtor Hickerson was marred by troubling allegations; They are seen in 2019
Investigators are still waiting on toxicology results to come back, to determine Panettiere’s cause of death; The actress is seen in 2017
Panettiere died in the Judson Mill Lofts apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina, where she was temporarily staying
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Although his brother was ‘very emotional’ during attempts to revive Panettiere, Hickerson is claimed to have remained impassive until she was declared dead.
In 2018, in order to devote herself to her recovery from her personal demons, Panettiere voluntarily gave up custody of her now 11-year-old daughter Kaya.
Kaya was handed over to the care of her father, Ukrainian boxing star Wladimir Klitschko, with whom Panettiere retained an amicable co-parenting bond.
Our News Outlet has exclusively revealed that Panettiere was also the subject of romance rumors with Hickerson’s brother Zach, a pastor, during a brief period in 2019.
Zach and Panettiere were glimpsed walking hand in hand in New York that September, at which point a witness described them as resembling a ‘real couple.’
It comes after Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, told Our News Outlet that she believed the account of her daughter’s death given by Hickerson was ‘full of holes’.
In an extensive hour-long exclusive interview with Our News Outlet, Vogel said she pressured law enforcement in South Carolina to investigate Panettiere’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.’
Hickerson was arrested in Los Angeles and charged with domestic violence for the first time in May 2019 and released on bail. He pleaded not guilty to one count of felony domestic violence later that month, and the case was dismissed at the end of September.
Over the course of their turbulent relationship, Hickerson faced multiple domestic violence charges, and in 2021 he served 13 days in custody for injuring her; Seen in a 2020 mugshot
Panettiere had reconciled with the convicted felon, after she detailed his years of violent abuse in her memoir earlier this year
The following year, on Valentine’s Day, Hickerson was arrested for domestic battery in Wyoming after a physical altercation with a woman, later identified as Panettiere.
Hickerson pleaded not guilty to the charge 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 misdemeanor charge stemming from allegedly abusive incidents that occurred between May 2019 to January 2020, including one count of dissuading a witness from prosecuting a crime.
It was during a February 2021 preliminary hearing in Wyoming, covered by Our News Outlet, where the snapshots of the intimidating text messages and videos allegedly sent by Hickerson to Panettiere were read aloud in district court.
He ultimately pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend in 2021, while the other six counts were dropped. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail and four years’ probation, plus $500 in fines and mandatory domestic violence classes.
Amid their tumultuous relationship, Panettiere made the bold decision to get sober from alcohol and drugs. Although the actress had a long history of abusing substances, revealing that she began taking ‘happy pills’ as early as 15 years old, her addiction worsened while she was battling postpartum depression.
In 2020, she entered a treatment center for what ultimately became an eight-month rehab stint. Panettiere later described her sobriety journey as an ‘everyday battle,’ though the status of her sobriety on the day of her death remains unclear.
Questions surrounding the status of Panettiere’s relationship with Hickerson had been looming in recent months up until her passing. Those questions, however, were answered when the redacted incident report from her death referred to Panettiere as Hickerson’s ‘girlfriend.’
Just last March, they were photographed traveling side-by-side at Los Angeles Airport. Two months later, Hickerson made several bombshell statements to TMZ about his past abuse, and his hopes to one day marry Panettiere.
‘Man, I mean, I think it speaks for itself… I got arrested for abusing her,’ Hickerson said in May.
Panettiere gave up custody of her daughter Kaya, now 11, to her former fiance, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko, in 2018, after struggling with addiction and postpartum depression; The two seen in 2010
‘And I wouldn’t blame her friends for being pissed off at me… I had a lot to drink and I got physical with her. I got arrested. I spent the night in jail and that’s just what happens when you lay hands on women.’
According to court documents obtained by Our News Outlet, Hickerson filed a petition with the Los Angeles County Superior Court to change his felony charges to misdemeanor charges. Under his four-years’ probation terms, Hickerson was ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings ‘at the minimum rate of 1 per week,’ according to court records, and complete 26 anger management sessions.
Hickerson completed his probation on August 1, and asked the court to expunge the charges from his record. However, on August 13, a Los Angeles judge denied Hickerson’s petition.
Three days later, Panettiere was found dead in an apartment block located in Greenville, South Carolina. She was described as ‘unresponsive’ and in ‘cardiac arrest’ after a suspected overdose, according to a recording of the 911 call obtained by Our News Outlet.
