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Hayden Panettiere’s neighbor reveals what she witnessed when Brian Hickerson was around
A neighbor of Hayden Panettiere has described a series of disturbing incidents involving the actress and her on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson, claiming she called 911 “at least half a dozen times” over disturbances at their West Hollywood apartment.
Mia Terrazzas spoke to Inside Edition following Panettiere's death at 36, recalling what she allegedly witnessed while living next door to the Heroes and Nashville star.
Neighbor opens up about domestic abuse
Asked whether she had noticed signs of domestic violence, Terrazzas replied: “Oh, absolutely.”
She claimed she once saw Panettiere being taken from the property on a gurney while Hickerson was nearby.
“I saw her leaving on a gurney. Brian was right next to her, and I asked her if she was OK, and it looked to me that she had suffered some type of trauma that looked to be battering,” she alleged.
“It was clear she was terrified.”
Terrazzas also claimed that residents were warned about Hickerson by the property's homeowners association last year.
According to her, notices were placed around the complex, telling residents to contact police if Hickerson was seen there. She said the warnings were removed approximately a week later.
Panettiere had previously spoken publicly about alleged physical abuse during her relationship with Hickerson, including in her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, which was released earlier this year.
Hickerson was sentenced to 45 days in jail in 2021 after pleading no contest to two felony counts involving injuries to the actress.
Terrazzas also described Hickerson as a “predator” who allegedly continued spending time at Panettiere's home.
“This predator was in our community. He never stopped living at her place,” she alleged.
“There were times he ripped apart her bathroom, where he just took a sledgehammer at five in the morning.”
There is no suggestion that Hickerson was responsible for Panettiere's death, and the investigation into the circumstances surrounding her passing remains ongoing.
Authorities are yet to confirm cause of death
A police report released following Panettiere's death states that Hickerson and his brother were at the South Carolina property when emergency services responded, and Panettiere was pronounced dead.
The Greenville County Coroner's Office has said that the cause and manner of death remain undetermined pending further investigation. Officials have also said that there were no obvious signs of trauma.
However, emergency dispatch audio reportedly captured officials discussing an “overdose” and “cardiac arrest” around the time responders arrived.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has also reportedly become involved in the investigation.
Panettiere's mother, Lesley Vogel, previously addressed Hickerson's presence during her daughter's final hours.
“This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death and that was Brian Hickerson,” she claimed
Filmmaker Griff Furst, who worked with Panettiere on the 2025 movie A Breed Apart, also recalled noticing a change when Hickerson visited the actress on set.
He said that when Hickerson was around, “it was pretty clear that she wasn’t OK and the energy in her room was pretty dark.”
Panettiere's death remains under investigation, with officials yet to determine the exact cause and manner of her death.