Celebrity3 min(s) read
Hayden Panettiere's ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson reportedly sent several unnerving text messages to her following a domestic battery arrest in February 2020.
The Nashville and Scream actress sadly passed away on Sunday (August 16).
Chilling 911 audio indicated that “CPR [was] in progress” within minutes of the call, after Panettiere was found unresponsive at a South Carolina residence before her death.
Dispatch audio also referenced a potential overdose and cardiac arrest, as unconfirmed reports mentioned that Narcan, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, was present at the residence.
It has not been confirmed whether the medication was administered, as the actress had traveled to South Carolina from Los Angeles with her on-and-off partner Brian Hickerson the day before the incident.
Now, old messages from the couple's tumultuous relationship have resurfaced years after Hickerson was arrested after striking the actress with a closed fist.
According to TMZ, Hickerson sent Panettiere a number of odd texts after being arrested on Valentine's Day in 2020 after hitting his girlfriend at an Airbnb.
They were sent to her during the criminal case, as officers noted that Hickerson, who looked to be intoxicated, was locked out of the building that night.
An affidavit included screenshots of missed calls and texts to Panettiere, despite court order prohibiting him from contacting her.
He allegedly sent her a text reading: “Time to go to war I guess.”
Another text read: “After Wyoming and LA disappears so do the videos.”
The publication further disclosed another text, which said: “Even if i sit in a jail cell for ten years. All of the stuff that is vaulted overseas with my people will come out the second I step foot into prison.
“And all that does is hurt your name while simultaneously clearing my name. And at that point who actually cares?”
He also allegedly wrote: “Say something Hayd, so I don’t get defensive and start firing off emails to people to get ready.
“I thought his legal stuff would magically disappear… we gotta figure something out, buddy,” Hickerson allegedly wrote.
According to authorities at the time, the texts proved that he was trying to get Panettiere to drop the case against him, also writing: “It is very simple, it is a very simple fix, between me and you, you gotta make one phone call.”
The outlet also reported him writing: “I don’t want to go to court, for you,”
“I will be f–king fine in court, trust me, it’s for you.”
Just three days before Panettiere's death, Hickerson had his request to reduce his past felony charges denied.
Back in April 2021, he pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend after being arrested in Los Angeles and being hit with an eight-count criminal indictment.
These charges stemmed from multiple incidents involving Panettiere between May 2019 and January 2020.
In an Aug 13 hearing, the prosecution objected to both his motions to reduce the charges to a misdemeanor, as Page Six reported.
Hickerson was sentenced to 45 days in county jail back in 2021, as well as four years of formal probation, 52 mandatory domestic violence classes and a five-year restraining order.
