Celebrity4 min(s) read
Brian Hickerson and his brother were both inside the South Carolina apartment where Hayden Panettiere died on Sunday, according to a newly released police report.
The Greenville Police Department report confirms that Hickerson and his brother Zach were at the scene when first responders arrived at the Judson Mill Lofts Airbnb.
One detail in the report has drawn particular attention.
Officers noted that Zach was 'very emotional' as EMS declared Panettiere dead.
Brian, according to the report, did not show any emotion.
After Panettiere was pronounced dead, Hickerson showed officers a 'bag of medication' that she had been taking at the time of her death.
The report does not specify what the medication was.
Sources told TMZ that Narcan, a nasal medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, was found on a mattress inside the apartment.
Audio of the 911 call from the property captured a dispatcher describing the situation as a 'cardiac arrest'.
A separate dispatch reference described it as a 'suspected overdose'.
An autopsy was completed on Monday.
It found 'no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death'. The Greenville County Coroner's Office says the cause of death remains under investigation.
Panettiere and Hickerson flew together from Los Angeles to South Carolina on Saturday, August 15.
The next day, she was found unresponsive inside the rented apartment.
First responders attempted advanced cardiac life support and chest compressions. She was pronounced dead at 2:32pm ET.
She was 36 years old. She would have turned 37 on Thursday.
Court records show that Hickerson had recently attempted to have his felony domestic violence charges expunged.
A judge rejected the attempt three days before Panettiere died.
Hickerson was arrested in May 2019 and charged with felony domestic violence against Panettiere.
He pleaded no contest in April 2021 and was sentenced to 45 days in prison and four years' probation. A five-year restraining order was issued.
Despite all of that, they got back together.
In her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, published just three months before her death, Panettiere wrote that Hickerson beat her so severely she had to stay inside for weeks to keep the injuries hidden from the public.
Hickerson has not made a public statement.
He deleted his Instagram account on Monday after fans flooded his posts with comments accusing him of responsibility for her death.
A resurfaced interview, now circulating widely online, shows Hickerson grinning as he discusses the domestic abuse allegations against him. The clip has drawn widespread disgust.
He has not been accused of any criminal involvement in her death.
The police report makes no suggestion of foul play. The autopsy found no signs of trauma.
But the detail that he showed no emotion as his partner of eight years was declared dead in front of him, while his own brother broke down beside him, is the one that people cannot stop talking about.
The Greenville County Coroner's Office is continuing its investigation.
No official cause of death has been released. Toxicology results, which could confirm or rule out an overdose, are expected to take several weeks.
Panettiere had been dealing with severe health issues in the months before her death, including nerve damage in her lower back that at one point left her unable to move her legs.
She was seen on crutches at LAX in March.
She had also spoken openly about her history of opioid addiction and alcohol dependency, and about the heartbreaking decision to give up custody of her daughter Kaya, now 11, to former fiancé Wladimir Klitschko while she tried to get well.
She leaves behind Kaya and a family still recovering from the death of her younger brother Jansen, who died at 28 from an enlarged heart in 2023.
Read more of VT's coverage: Police reveal new details | 911 call audio | Health issues before death
