Hayden Panettiere’s Boyfriend Pawned Off Her Items: Report

The death of late actress Hayden Panettiere has left so many people in a state of shock and mourning as investigators continue to piece together what exactly happened. And now, a renewed spotlight shines on. The Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider is back at Taco Bell. The slider-sized crunchwrap with nuggets inside you loved the first time, now with a spicy kick you're gonna love this time. Hidden Valley Diablo Ranch. Or, you could order some crispy all-white meat nuggets on their own. Pretty sure you love those anytime. Every time. Okay, all of the times. The Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider. A brand new classic is back, only at Taco Bell. At participating U.S. Taco Bell locations for a limited time and while supplies last. On Panettiere's boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, with jaw-dropping new details about their seemingly tumultuous relationship leading up to the very day that Hayden Panettiere died, including first-hand accounts from neighbors and even the late actress's own mom, as she addresses the public for the first time. We're on the case presented by Law & Crime. I'm Chris Stewart. It has been just over a week since Hayden Panettiere died. The late actress known for so many hit roles being in shows and films like Remember the Titans, Ice Princess, Heroes, and Nashville. And that's just naming a few. And you can tell by all the tributes that have been pouring out from loved ones, fans, fellow celebrities alike, that she was someone who touched countless lives. Not just in her work on the big screen, but frankly because she was so vulnerable. Publicly addressing struggles that she had with substance abuse, postpartum depression, even domestic violence. And at the same time, people continue to mourn Hayden Panettiere's loss at just 36 years old. And people are also looking for answers about what exactly happened the day that she died. Now, as of today, there is still an active investigation, by the Greenville City Police Department in South Carolina and the DEA is involved at the federal level. Now, we're also still waiting for the toxicology reports. That's going to be huge when those come in, but those can take anywhere from weeks to months to complete. And while there are currently no arrests made in connection to Panettiere's death, there are some new details about her alleged toxic relationship with a man named Brian Hickerson. And those allegations are coming to the forefront. And that includes a history of domestic violence, which, which includes a history of domestic violence, which, Hayden addressed publicly in the past. And most recently, her own mom accused Hickerson of pawning off Hayden Panettiere's belongings. And remember, he was also at the scene when Hayden was found unresponsive. So, as you can imagine, speculation has been mounting about whether he could have had some role in what happened to Hayden. Though, we want to be clear that no criminal charges have been filed as of yet. And he has not been accused of any crime. Also, in a moment, Lisa Miller, retired detective, former chief investigator, is going to be here to talk a little bit about what goes into an investigation like this. But first, I want to walk through everything that we know so far about what happened to Hayden Panettiere. So, according to a report from TMZ, Hayden and 37-year-old Brian Hickerson traveled to Greenville, South Carolina, together on August 15th. And that is where they rented an Airbnb. Now, his brother is named Zach, and he was staying in his own Airbnb in the Greenville area. So, then we go to August 16th. So, a day after they arrived in South Carolina, Zach told TMZ that he was trying to get into Brian and Hayden's Airbnb after returning from church since they reportedly had plans to go get lunch and play some indoor golf after church. He then told the publication, quote, "I knocked loudly," which apparently woke Brian up from a nap they were both taking on the pull-out couch bed in the living room. When we went in and tried to wake Hayden up for lunch, we realized she was unconscious. And, quote, Zach reportedly called 911, and at around 1:51 p.m., he tells police that Hayden was unresponsive and in cardiac arrest, with dispatch audio released in the case indicating that it was an apparent, quote, overdose. But still, at this point, there's been no official cause of death release for Hayden Panettiere. Now, at the same time that Zach was calling 911, Brian, the boyfriend, was allegedly administering Narcan on the actress. That's that nasal medication that can be used to reverse cancer. And, quote, "There's no evidence to prove that," he said, "it's not true." Zach told TMZ that the brothers performed CPR on Hayden while on speaker with 911 as they waited for fire and EMS to arrive. Seven minutes later, first responders arrived on scene, and they began life-saving measures, but, tragically, Hayden Panettiere was pronounced dead on scene at 2:32 in the afternoon. Now, according to a police report that was cited by CNN, an officer on scene interviewed the brothers, who said that they called 911. The officer reportedly spoke with Zach Hickerson first, who advised that Hayden was his brother's girlfriend. Page Six also cites from the report that Brian then handed law enforcement a, quote, "bag of medication" that Hayden was taking at the time of her death, though the names of the medications were redacted, but there were nine different medications reportedly listed. Now, Narcan was also reportedly found on scene when first responders arrived. The police report also notes that Zach was, quote, "very emotional." While medical personnel were working on reviving Hayden, but Brian did not become visibly emotional until Hayden Panettiere was declared dead. Now, police said that the preliminary investigation did not indicate any sign of foul play or suspicious circumstances, nor did the initial autopsy find signs of physical trauma or foul play. But, as we mentioned earlier, this investigation remains active through the Greenville City Police Department alongside the DEA to determine if there is any sort of criminal conduct. Page Six reports that officers showed up at the home of Brian and Zach Hickerson's grandmother on Tuesday, August 19th, three days after Hayden Panettiere died. Now, she lives about five miles from that Greenville Airbnb in South Carolina where Hayden died, and both brothers were reportedly spotted at the family home. Police were seen knocking at the door around 8:20 in the morning and didn't receive an answer, despite Page Six reporting that Zach was home at the time. The family reportedly returned to the home an hour and a half later and went around the back to conduct a, quote, "welfare check." They left after about 10 minutes, though it has not been confirmed if the visit was connected to the investigation. Now, remember, further toxicology and testing is also pending to find out what was in Hayden Panettiere's system at the time that she died, and that could take anywhere from weeks to even months. Now, in a statement on Thursday, lawyers for Brian Hickerson said, quote, "Hayden's death remains under investigation, and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed, as has been publicly reported. Police confirmed there were no signs of foul play," end quote. So, right now, it is unclear if there will be any sort of arrest in connection to what happened to Hayden Panettiere, but we are learning some new information about, frankly, a troubled past between the late actress and Hickerson. Now, Panettiere had accused Hickerson of domestic abuse, and she did the same in her memoir just a few months ago. She wrote, quote, "What I never told them." Ryan Reynolds here for "Mint Mobile" with your summer price forecast. Now, unfortunately, we're seeing rising costs across the country with possibility that big wireless hates you 100%. Now, over here at "Mint Mobile," we're seeing sunny skies and dropping prices. Every plan to just $15 a month. Give it a try at mintmobile.com/switch. Upfront payment of $45 for three months, $90 for six months, plan required $15 per month equivalent, taxes and fees extra. New customer offer for initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. Show button here. Football is finally back, and PrizePix is going crazy with the deals to start the season, giving out promos every day in September. On PrizePix, you can make all the picks you want, all in the same app. And now, PrizePix is available nationwide. So, what are you waiting for? Lock in for kickoff because everyone and everything is on PrizePix. What you want? Download the app today and use code SPOTIFY. To get $150 instantly in lineups if you win your first $5 lineup. PrizePix, run your game. Was that the abuse I'd endured didn't feel as bad as the thought of being alone? End quote. The New York Times is reporting that back in March, Panettiere had reportedly hired security to keep Hickerson away. This is the same person she was found with on the day that she died. Court documents reveal that he was sentenced to 45 days in jail in April 2021 after pleading no contest to two felony domestic violence charges for injuring Panettiere. That sentence also came with a five-year protection order, which expired this past April. Hickerson even came out and apologized after the memoir was released, saying it was true that he was in a dark place that included substance issues and that it was a "terrible thing I did to her." The New York Times reports back in August 2022, Hickerson was found in violation of his probation conditions after he and Panettiere were filmed in a brawl with other people outside the Sunset Marquis Hotel in West Hollywood, and he had to complete a year-long domestic violence treatment program, attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and complete dozens of anger management sessions. This is all according to court records. He even tried to get the court to reduce his felony convictions to misdemeanors in 2025, but that was unsuccessful, with another attempt to do so as recently as this month, according to court records. Also, unsuccessfully. getting a glimpse at just how bad some of these alleged domestic violence incidents were. Mia Terrazas, a neighbor of Hayden Panettiere in West Hollywood, California, told Page Six in an interview that she saw Hayden with visible, bright red spots and bruises being taken out of her Los Angeles apartment in a gurney on two different occasions in 2023 and 2024. So you're seeing these accusations build up year in and year out. Terrazas told Page Six, quote, it appeared that she had been beaten up. It wasn't apparent to me that it could have been anything else, end quote, adding that Hayden Panettiere allegedly often looked, quote, battered. According to TMZ, Panettiere's HOA also hung up warning posters back in 2025 with Hickerson's face urging people to call 911 immediately. To report that he is trespassing on the premises. That neighbor also told Page Six that she called police several times to report Hickerson at Panettiere's home, though, according to her, Brian allegedly kept returning. And now we are hearing from Panettiere's mom. This woman's name is Leslie Vogel, and she's also revealing her own details about the couple's relationship from her point of view. So last week, Vogel told NBC News in part, quote, this person in her life that we have been trying to find out about. And she's also revealing her own details about the couple's trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death. And that was Brian Hickerson. I think Hayden was an amazingly talented person in so many departments. And I think young people who grow up in the entertainment industry, it is a struggle. And it's a very challenging industry. And it's not unusual for them to sadly find the wrong path. I think it becomes very difficult to be true to yourself. And I think Hayden sadly lost her way. And I wish it were different. I wish she had stayed true to herself, because she had so many incredible attributes, end quote. Now Vogel pushed back on criticism for that statement in an interview on Good Morning America this week. Remember, I mean, this was a mom talking about her daughter, even though they did not have a very close relationship at the time of Hayden's death. But this is what Vogel told GMA, quote, I would say to the haters out there, you don't have a right to tell me how I mourn the loss of my second child. That's my domain. In the same interview, Vogel told Good Morning America that Panettiere and Hickerson grew closer in 2018 after she ceded full custody of her daughter to her ex-fiance, longtime heavyweight boxing champ, Vladimir Klitschko, following Panettiere's struggles with postpartum depression, which spiraled into a dependence on alcohol and opioids. Vogel said, quote, I think she struggled and Brian came into her life. She was vulnerable. She told the Daily Mail in a separate interview published this weekend that the relationship became deeply codependent as drugs allegedly became a part of their lives. Now, in a New York Times interview, Hayden's mom said she became alarmed that Brian Hickerson, who reportedly filed for bankruptcy in 2022, had pawned some of Panettiere's belongings, including a vintage guitar. The New York Times also said they independently verified this information through their own source. Vogel also told the New York Times that Panettiere herself appeared shocked when she found out that Panettiere was a drug addict. She said, quote, I don't know, I don't that some of her belongings were in Hickerson's storage unit. Vogel said that her and Hayden would eventually have a falling out in part over her attempt to keep Hickerson out of her daughter's life and finances. And at the time of Panettiere's death, the New York Times says that Panettiere and her mom had been estranged for months. Vogel told the New York Times, quote, she was courageous, she was a fighter, but deep down inside, I think Hayden was extremely vulnerable. Vogel also told ABC News in part, quote, she knew that Brian was toxic. She knew she had to get him out of her life. Now, in an interview that Vogel did with the Daily Mail, she also had this interview published over the weekend. Vogel claimed that she spoke with a police officer at the scene of Hayden Panettiere's death, and she asked if there would be a further investigation. And Vogel claims the officer brought up Brian Hickerson's name, and Vogel allegedly told the officer she thought that he would be culpable. Now, again, no charges have been filed in this case, and Brian Hickerson has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Vogel also told the Daily Mail that she found Brian's timeline of events to be, quote, full of holes, including when he allegedly found Panettiere unresponsive. Now, Vogel said, quote, I don't know how you can take a nap near someone who is dying and not realize something's wrong. How do you do that? Now, we will continue to that no one has been criminally implicated in Hayden Panettiere's death. Brian has not been accused of any crime related to the incident, and of course, it's up to law enforcement to make a final determination. In the meantime, we are going to keep a close eye on any new details that come out in this investigation as it continues on. Again, those toxicology tests could take weeks, could take months, but that will be incredibly important to this investigation and learning what happened to Hayden Panettiere. Join us now to talk more about this as detective and chief investigator. Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile with your summer price forecast. Now, over here at Mint Mobile, we're seeing sunny skies and dropping prices. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of $45 for three months, $90 for six months, or $180 for 12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent to taxes and fees extra. New customer offer for initial plan term only greater than 50 cents. Show button here. Football is finally back and PrizePix is going crazy with the deals to start the season, giving out promos every day in September. So what are you waiting for? What you want? Download the app today and use code SPOTIFY to get $150 instantly in lineups if you win your first $5 lineup. Lisa Miller, always great to have you here on Law & Crime. You know, it's just so sad because I think we all, you know, whether it was Remember the Titans or you watch the show Heroes, like Hayden Panettiere was so talented and brought joy to so many people. And yet it's just such a tragic ending. And now from, you know, the standpoint of law enforcement, there's this question of like, are we talking about something that was criminal? And we're waiting on this toxicology test, which will be very important in the investigation. Like as we're waiting for that though, if you're a detective on this case, like if you're a detective on this case, like if you're a detective on this case, like what are you looking at right now? Well, first we have to remember one thing and we can, I'm going to make a statement here that we can actually apply to so many of the high profile cases happening right now. And an investigation is not an accusation, right? Investigation is necessary and sometimes it eliminates all of these possibilities that we're looking at. And here we have a very complicated history. We have a young, young woman who's been in the military for a long time. She's been in the military for a long time. She was a young, talented, dynamic star who had been struggling with various issues by her own omission. She was struggling with addiction with both alcohol and substance. We know by her own omission in police records, there was domestic violence in this relationship. In all likelihood, we're looking at course of control between her and Brian, this on again, off again relationship. We see her stepping forward in May. And May is an interesting point. If I'm taking a look at the victimology here of Hayden as I'm going back, and that's one of the things that investigators will do, is I'm going to look at this May time period pretty closely here. Because in May, she had come out, she's talking about all of these challenges that many of us wouldn't have the intestinal fortitude to admit about our lives, where our lives have taken this, wrong turn or a sad turn. And here she is being strong and admitting these things, talking about a contentious, difficult, challenging relationship with her mother, with these addiction issues, with domestic violence. And even reporting shows that she had her security detail or someone had the security detail instructed to keep Brian away from her while she's on this book tour. Days before, Hayden died. We know that there was a hearing where Brian's sobriety was brought up in question at this hearing. And then just a matter of days later, when she goes from people keeping Brian away from her, here she is traveling with him across the country, and then she's dead. So I want to be taking a look at a lot of things and timelines, a big one. What did Brian say at the time that police arrived? What did he say the circumstances were? We know that there's video of this complex where they were staying. And according to police reporting, there is a video of Brian, his brother, and Hayden coming and going. I'm tightening tightline, and I'm going to be asking about these medications. Who prescribed them? Yeah, the medications is interesting. You know, she, you know, again, by her own admission, postpartum depression, she's something that she struggled with. I mean, you just think of the trauma of being in a hospital, and she's in a hospital, and she's in a hospital. I mean, you just think of the trauma of being in multiple relationships where there were accusations of domestic violence, you know, not just with, you know, her current boyfriend, but, you know, she talked about it in relationships. the past. And then you have addiction issues. You know, she also though, you know, relatively young person, nine medications, she was prescribed. We don't know what those are. Those were redacted in the police report, but just that number, you know, from a law enforcement standpoint, what does that tell you? Well, I'm looking in that and we, we know from reporting that she was having some health related issues. And I think her mother had even commented about health related issues that may be the, or are caused by some of her other addiction issues. I think there was an accident in one of the filmings that she did that had caused her some pain. I want to look specifically at what she was prescribed. Once the toxicology comes in, I want to see if everything matches up, but why I'm right now, why I'm waiting, I'm looking at the pills and I'm looking at who prescribed them, what pills were in the containers, are the pills correct? I mean, are they the pills that are supposed to be in the pill containers? Cause a lot of people mix those around. We can't just look at the bottle and say for sure what's inside. If I have any question about whether those pills are actual copycat pills, I'm going to have those pills tested. I'll ask the DA to assist with that. I'm counting how many there were, how many she should have had. And I'm going to look for evidence of like cleanup at the apartment. I'm going to look for, evidence that maybe somebody else was supplying her other things. Why I'm waiting for this toxicology to come in. And, and, you know, and, and there's so many sad parts to this story, but it's, you know, you know, unfortunately not to ever group tragedy together, but it's like, you think of Matthew Perry, you know, the late, late star from friends. You even go back to a situation like Michael Jackson, where he died of an overdose. And you have these situations where celebrities, for whatever challenges they're facing. And I'm sure that this happens to people who we don't know, but there is this kind of trend, if you want to call it that, with, you know, a celebrity that is taking a lot of medication. And then you just wonder like what, you know, to your point, like what else was going on there? You know, what was the dosage? What was, you know, the access that this individual had? And we don't know in the particular case we're talking about, like access to other medications that might not be on the police report. When it comes to an overdose, and I think, you know, sadly, there's people that will look and say, okay, it was an overdose, and they just kind of move on. But like from a law enforcement standpoint, like when someone overdoses, and we don't know officially if that's what happened here, though it's been suspected, what are you looking at that might be criminal in an overdose situation that isn't just a case, and maybe it was an accident, but if it isn't that, what could it be? Well, the criminality I'm looking at is, and the Mike or the Matthew Perry investigation is a very good one to take a look at. We have doctors that were over-prescribing the lure of money and making extra money, maybe the inability to say no. I am looking to see who was enabling her, who was providing her. I'm looking at apps like Telegram, Signal, WhatsApp, to see what secret, maybe illicit messaging was going on. Who's providing her what? It becomes criminal when you go beyond a doctor's prescription, right? And you have those in her circle. Now, over here at Mint Mobile, we're seeing sunny skies and dropping prices, every plan to just $15 a month. Upfront payment of $45 for three months, $90 for six months, or $180 for 12-month plan required, $15 per month equivalent, taxes and fees extra. See terms. Show button here. Lock in for kickoff, because everyone and everything is on PrizePix. What you want? Maybe somebody that was trying to exert some type of control over her, supplying her, feeding her needs to make her more dependent on them. That's one of the things that we have to look at. Brian and the history of domestic violence in this case doesn't mean guilt, but it's something that we have to look at very, very closely and very tightly just to see what pressure he may have been applying. Generally speaking, when you think of enabling someone, that particular word, there might be a case where there's someone who is dealing with addiction, and sadly for themselves, they can't be stopped. And they find a way to deal with that. And that may be alcohol, that may be drugs. There's a lot of people who can talk about that firsthand, or maybe it's impacted their family. But there's a lot of people who can talk about that firsthand, or maybe it's At what point does enabling become criminal? I know with a doctor, if they're prescribing something, using their power as a doctor to give someone more medication than they actually need, like that, as we saw in the Matthew Perry case, that's criminal. But even if you have someone like a partner, and in this case, a relationship that appears to have been toxic, to say the least, up and down for sure, at what point does that enabling become criminal? When you're going out to the streets, when you're going out to illicit sources, other than a lawfully prescribed medication, and getting pills for someone, especially with the fentanyl crisis that we have, you can go wherever, to your buddy, to the street dealer, and you don't know what you're getting. And when you know someone is struggling, and when you are providing especially high levels of medication, and you're doing it over and over and over again, that is where we start taking a those actions. What do you make of Narcan already being in the home? And that's, you know, for people who deal with addiction, like, I mean, that is a valuable tool that can be used to, you know, bring someone back to life, without a doubt. But the fact that it was already in the house, what does that tell you as a member of law enforcement? Well, there's going to be hard questions I'll be asking. But frankly, we know through Hayden's own experience that she had used and abused opioids. So her having Narcan with her, frankly, it's a legitimate responsibility to carry that when you're struggling with something like that. So while law enforcement should be asking the hard questions, that's not necessarily coming from a place of judgment. It is a good, responsible decision to have that particular tool with you. And this may be a dumb question for me, but, you know, is Narcan something, because I've seen it kind of in a past life with stories I've covered, you know, people, you know, for example, who may be addicted to heroin, you know, needing Narcan to bring them back to life. You know, you see that out on the street every single day, but like, even with like a prescription, and we don't know what she was prescribed, but like for prescription medication is like Narcan something that someone who may be because of a pain, and I don't know, like, but like a pain injury, you've been given this opioid to, you know, struggled with when it comes to addiction in the past. Right. It can help her with a legitimate prescription, if she's taking too many of those, and we don't know, and we won't until a toxicology comes in, what combinations we're dealing with, are we dealing with too much alcohol and a pill of some type or multiple pills. So the toxic combination, but yes, Narcan, it can bring them out of, you know, an overdose situation if they're taking a prescribed medication if taken too much of it. But the failure of Narcan to work doesn't necessarily mean that they weren't taking and won't have some of this toxic substance on board when the toxicology resort results come back. So you know, we often hear like, okay, results come back. And we often hear about, you know, kind of, you know, the results themselves. But like, as you know, for you, if you're the detective on this, I like the toxicology result for Hayden Panettiere comes back, like what are you looking at? Like, what what actually does that specifically tell you in that document when you get it from a medical exam? Well, it's gonna tell me the levels of what she had? Did she have therapeutic levels of what she was prescribed? Did she have other things on board besides what she was prescribed? Did she have high level of alcohol in her system? Also, it's gonna tell me did she have toxic levels of whatever more than what she should have been taken that that actually led to her death. Once I know what she had on board in her body, when she passed away, then police investigators probably in combination with the DEA in this case, because we don't know, did they bring these drugs or whatever these drugs were from California to South Carolina, they're going to start tracing from Hayden's body to the source, find out where whatever she has in her system, where that came from. And that's where the digital evidence right now is especially important. When I talk about these apps that people use, that digital trace, was anything erased? That's consciousness of guilt. If messaging is disappearing. But we're also looking at, like I said, the Telegram app, Signal app, WhatsApp, to see what kind of communications happen. Is there financial transactions? I want to start digging into the finances of it. Because you don't get these drugs for free. Are they providing money to a source somewhere? So I start tracking back once I know exactly what she had in her. You know, sadly, you know, overdoses happen, you know, and there's probably a number out there about how many happen across this country every single day. Maybe it's someone who's living out on the street. But you know, there's people like Hayden Panettiere, and there's a lot of people in the middle who, you know, live normal lives, but still struggle with addiction. Like when you have a case like this, that's getting a lot of attention because of who she was. What does that investigation look like? In a lot of departments, a lot of agencies compared to, you know, sadly, what we see. You know, often when it's not involving a celebrity. These cases get much more attention because of who she was. We do have people that die every day, many that die every day on our streets. I mean, you can drive through the streets of Denver today and see open air drug use. It's a sad fact right now. And often, frankly, we don't see the investigation tracking back as much when it's someone that's unhoused. Upfront payment of $45 for three months, $90 for six months, or $180 for a 12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. See terms. Show button here. What you want? PrizePix. Run your game. In struggling with routine addiction issues, we may not have the resources going to that investigation as what were delivered to the investigation for Hayden or Matthew Perry or someone like that. Yeah, that's a sad kind of truth of this as well in a story where, you know, we were talking before. I mean, you just remember her from Remember the Titans and what a star she was. And it's just another tragic case of someone who made so many people happy because of the roles that she played. And it's just another tragic case of someone who made so many people happy because of the roles that she played but struggled on so many different levels. You know, and to know also it appeared like she really fought it. You know, she really did. Like, it seemed everything she could. But, you know, sadly, this is just a terrible case and a lot of unanswered questions. We'll see when that toxicology report comes back. I know it can take weeks, sometimes months. So it's a story we'll be keeping a close eye on. Lisa Miller, always great to have you on Law & Crime. Thanks for being with us. Thank you, Chris, very much. That will do it for On the Case presented by Law & Crime. Subscribe to us on YouTube and Spotify. We're also streaming on Peacock. I'm Chris Stewart. We'll see you next time. you