More Details on Hayden Panettiere’s Death Revealed In Coroner’s Report: What We Know

More details about Hayden Panettiere’s death have emerged following the release of a redacted report from the coroner’s office investigating her accidental drug overdose. NBC News has obtained a redacted version of the full report by the Greenville County Coroner’s Office in South Carolina. It comes a day after the coroner’s office released a statement saying the “Heroes” and “Remember the Titans” actor died from “toxic effects” of fentanyl and three other drugs. The names of Panettiere’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and his brother, Zach, do not appear in the redacted report from the coroner’s office, but a report issued by the Greenville City Police Department on Aug. 18 stated that Hickerson and his brother were present when Panettiere was declared dead on Aug. 16. The brothers were interviewed by police after paramedics and firemen tried to resuscitate Panettiere with CPR at an apartment in Greenville. They are described as “the decedent’s boyfriend” and his brother in the coroner’s report. Here’s what’s in the Greenville County Coroner’s Office report on Panettiere: Panettiere Was Found Unresponsive by Brian Hickerson The report states that Hickerson told police he found Panettiere “purple in color” and sitting facedown and unresponsive on a sofa bed at an apartment in Greenville when he went to wake her up to go to lunch. He administered Narcan twice and told police he was “unaware” of her using any drugs that day or the day prior, according to the report. The brothers said they called 911 and administered CPR until paramedics arrived. Hickerson said Panettiere “was very good at hiding them,” in reference to drugs. He told police he had to administer Narcan to Panettiere on another occasion. He added that Panettiere had been in a drug rehabilitation center in Malibu, California, until “a few weeks earlier,” which her father confirmed after police informed him of her death, per the report. Panettiere Had Planned to Travel to Ukraine to See Her Daughter With Ex Wladimir Klitschko Hickerson told authorities that Panettiere had come to Greenville to celebrate her upcoming 37th birthday on Aug. 21 and then was planning to travel to Ukraine, according to the report. He said they had flown from Los Angeles to South Carolina the night before and were renting an Airbnb. Retired Ukrainian boxing legend Wladimir Klitschko shares 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, with Panettiere. The two were engaged before they broke up in 2018. Panettiere made the difficult decision to give full custody of her daughter to Klitschko in 2018. In her 2026 memoir, “This Is Me,” Panettiere called living separately from her daughter “the most gut-wrenching experience of my life.” She was also open about her struggles with addiction and postpartum depression. Pills and Powder Found in Panettiere’s Belongings Tested Positive for Fentanyl A Greenville police officer located “clear plastic bag of a white powdery substance” in Panettiere’s suitcase, a “cut straw with residue present” inside of a makeup bag and a medication bottle labeled as Adderall with “blue colored tablets that appeared to possibly be pressed pills and a cut straw,” according to the report. The pills and powder both tested positive for fentanyl. The coroner’s office said in its statement on Sept. 22 that Panettiere died from “toxic effects of fentanyl, 4-ANPP, Alprazolam, Methocarbamol, and Quetiapine.” The manner of death was accidental, according to the statement. Needles and Syringes Were Found by Police Panettiere also had a “small, teal blue-colored lunch box with glass vials, prefilled and empty syringes” in the refrigerator, according to the report. The report does not clarify what was inside the glass vials. Bottles of prescription medication were also found on a kitchen table, according to the report.