At the time of actress Hayden Panettiere's death, her boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach were present in her Greenville, South Carolina apartment, according to a police report released on Tuesday.
According to the document, a police officer responded to a call on Sunday afternoon. First responders performed life-saving measures, but Panettiere was pronounced dead at 2:31 p.m. No signs of trauma or foul play were found on her body, and the exact cause of death has not yet been determined.
The report noted that Zach Hickerson was highly emotional while emergency services were working, whereas Brian only showed emotion after the actress was officially declared dead. The brothers were then escorted out of the apartment. Details of a more extensive police interview with Brian, as well as a list of Panettiere's medications, were redacted in the public version of the report.
Panettiere and Hickerson had been in a turbulent relationship since 2018. In 2020, Hickerson faced domestic violence charges, serving a brief jail sentence and receiving four years of probation. Last week, a Los Angeles court rejected his petition to reduce the classification of his conviction.
The former star of "Heroes" and "Nashville" would have celebrated her 37th birthday on Friday. She had previously spoken openly about her years-long struggle with alcohol addiction and depression, including postpartum depression following the 2014 birth of her daughter Kaya with boxer Wladimir Klitschko.
